iOS Universal, Android, PC/Mac •
It’s been a wacky few weeks for our friends at Nomad Games. At Gen Con we learned that their port of AEG‘s mix-em-up card game, Smash Up!, was being published by Asmodee. Then, earlier this week, Smash Up! soft launched in the Australian App Store which should mean a worldwide debut isn’t too far down the road. To top it all off, Nomad went back to their bread and butter, Talisman, and ordered up a very tasty new expansion: The Dragon.
The Dragon is a big box expansion for Talisman which means we can expect more than just a few new cards and a hero or two. No, this expansion is a doozy, introducing a new Inner Region board which replaces the classic race for the Crown of Command. Instead of those strong Werewolves or crafty Vampires, you now have to face the deadly Dragon Lords on your way to slay the Dragon King to be declared champion.
Apart from the new board, there are also over 300 new cards and tokens added to the game. Strewn across the board will be dragon scales and, when encountered, will require the draw of a Dragon Card. Succeed on the task, and your character will claim the dragon scale, improving their prowess at defeating the aforementioned dragon dudes.
Speaking of characters, The Dragon expansion adds six new ones for your adventuring pleasure. I’m not sure about all of them, but it looks like we’re getting a Fire Wizard, Dragon Priestess, Minotaur, Conjurer, and couple others. As usual, each will have their own special abilities and attributes, and each comes with a shiny new mini.
Talisman is available on iOS, Android, and PC/Mac and The Dragon is live right now on each of them via IAP.
- Talisman: Digital Edition for iOS Universal, $1
- Talisman: Digital Edition for Android, $1
- Talisman: Digital Edition for PC/Mac via Steam, $8
Also, according to the patch notes:
Sweet!
This is a game that I want to enjoy but haven’t really gotten in to yet. I actually liked the Prologue version, which gave you challenges to complete with different characters. The “full” version seems to just be “win the long game.”
Anyways, if I’m looking to spice the game up a bit and give it another go, what one expansion would be the best to start with?
I’m not sure that any expansion will fix the “win the long game” feeling you’re getting. In fact, they’ll probably just make it worse. I enjoy Talisman with all the big expansions that add new boards: City, Dungeon, Highlands. They give me more to explore and add so many cards that it’s rare to see the same things twice. That’s the fun of Talisman, exploring, improving your character, and seeing new stuff. It’s not really a strategic game, but it can build some pretty great stories.
I’d recommend Reaper and/or Blood Moon - neither add any major boards, both have interesting mechanics added and interesting (and OP as hell) characters with some better win conditions than "Roll a die. 4-6 someone loses a life). Be sure, if you do the Crown of Command ending, to check the House Rule “No More Lives” to prevent the end game from dragging on for an hour+ (the computer is very good at regaining lives).
@Neumannium is right as well. I prefer the 3 (now 4) big box expansions, either Reaper or Blood Moon (or both without the Reaper) and random characters. I’ve played it competitively (yes, there is in fact a mostly optimal path depending on your character and what others pick, provided at least the Highlands and Dungeon are in play. The City adds some interesting paths as well) but mostly I prefer to play it with a drink and popcorn to see what happens as I play.