Talisman: The Realms (Expansion)

Overview

The Realms is a small expansion which adds a bridge section between the Dungeon and the City – both of these expansions are required in order to add The Realms.

Other components include alternate endings which feature extra-powerful enemies in the nether deck, and coloured bases to make character location much easier.

Introduction

This review was conducted using the Talisman v4 Digital Edition on Steam (Talisman Digital Classic Edition.) This is an excellent and faithful adaptation of the game to PC.

First Impressions

At first glance, the expansion may appear pointless – why would I need a shortcut between the dungeon and the city? Once you start playing though, you will find it is really a new destination rather than a link.

Setup

Simply place the board between the Dungeon and the City and deal out the rewards. Depending on the ending, there may be other cards to place. The decks will need a quick shuffle, but it doesn’t need to be extensive.

Add the coloured bases if you wish to – they pop onto the bottom of characters.

Add the alternate endings if you wish. If any of these are drawn, you will need the nether deck.

Cards are placed from the treasure, armoury and magic emporium decks faceup as an incentive/reward. This gives a good chance of a talisman being on the board from the start of the game.

Early game

The bridge and tunnel decks are hard for base characters. This is well demonstrated by the AI in the digital edition when a talisman is present – they will charge suicidally towards it and inevitably die very quickly.

In human games, this board is likely to be ignored for the first third of the game.

Mid game

Once characters reach six or more strength and craft, the rewards on this board make for a very tempting target. The new cards include interesting traps, powerful monsters and useful treasures aimed at helping with the other new cards.

Most players will likely want to take at least one stab at the board while a treasure they seek is in sight.

When a player enters the tunnel, they take three tunnel cards as their personal deck for as long as they remain in the tunnel. Each turn, they turn over the top card and encounter it. If they fully resolve it, their turn ends and they may continue next turn. If they fail, the card remains on the virtual player “board.”

Each turn that a character has tunnel cards remaining in their personal deck, they may encounter the top card or exit the tunnel. If they exit, they return to the board they entered from and discard the remainder of their tunnel deck.

If a player completes their mini-deck, they may choose to advance to the next square and fight a tricky battle. If they win, they finally get to choose their treasure.

End game

If you are playing with one of the new endings, the end game will likely be much harder and longer. For example, the gauntlet places a nether card on every space of the central region, making it a very dangerous journey indeed.

This will likely lead to longer games as players seek out higher strength and craft along with better equipment and followers.

Suggested audience

This will likely be one of the last expansions you consider, more for the completionist than the casual player. The complex strategy required makes it a challenging choice for new players – expert level recommended.

Final thoughts

I was initially reluctant to like this expansion, but the more I play it, the more I enjoy the subtleties. Definitely one to try out when you get a chance.

This will likely lead to longer games as players seek out higher strength and craft along with better equipment and followers.

Suggested audience

This will likely be one of the last expansions you consider, more for the completionist than the casual player. The complex strategy required makes it a challenging choice for new players – expert level recommended.

Final thoughts

I was initially reluctant to like this expansion, but the more I play it, the more I enjoy the subtleties. Definitely one to try out when you get a chance.