Talisman

The Talisman board game consists of

	Contains Board 14 Characters 104 Adventure Cards 24 Spell Cards 28 Purchase Cards	Released in 1985. (1st Ed 1983) Easily available on eBay as of November 2005. Price is around US$60 for a good condition set. Almost always comes with the box. The first edition is almost identical to the second edition. There's no need to get it unless you are a collector or after the box art.
	Contains 14 Characters 36 Adventure Cards 6 Spell Cards	Released in 1986. Easily available on eBay as of November 2005. Price is around US$40 for a good condition set w/o box. Box sets turns up from time to time. May need to pay slightly more for it.
	Contains 8 Characters 37 Adventure Cards 11 Spell Cards 6 Alternate Ending Cards 6 Character Sheets	Released in 1986. Easily available on eBay as of November 2005. Price is around US$40 for a good condition set w/o box. Box sets turns up from time to time. May need to pay slightly more for it.
	Contains Board 14 Characters 4 Adventure Cards 36 Dungeon Cards	Released in 1987. Easily available on eBay as of November 2005. Price is around US$55 for a good condition set. Usually comes with box.
	Contains Board 8 Characters 42 Timescape Cards 2 Spell Cards 12 Purchase Cards	Released in 1988. Easily available on eBay as of November 2005. Price is around US$60 for a good condition set. Usually comes with box.
	Contains Board 2 Characters 4 Special Characters 7 Adventure Cards 3 Dungeon Cards 72 City Cards 10 Spell Cards 20 Purchase Cards	Released in 1991. Easily available on eBay as of November 2005. Price is around US$110 for a good condition set. Usually comes with box.
The Dragon Expansion	Contains Board 4 Characters 87 Adventure Cards	Released in 1993. Suppose to be quite rare, but still turns up on eBay easily. Price starts at US$250. It is usually in mint condition, including the box.
	Contains Board 14 Characters 104 Adventure Cards 24 Spell Cards 28 Purchase Cards	Released in 2007. A straightforward reprint of the second edition with minor rules changes.
	Contains Board 14 Characters 104 Adventure Cards 24 Spell Cards 28 Purchase Cards 36 Fate Cards	Released in 2008. A revised print of the BI edition.

Tips On Buying

If you like Talisman and are short of cash, just get the Expansion set and the Adventure set. These two sets add new characters and adventure cards. The other boards do not add as much value. The Dungeon set adds 14 characters, but they are not indispensible.

Usually auctions with several boards together are cheaper.

Make sure the seller describes the contents and condition adequately. The box condition is usually considered separately, as most boxes are in fair condition.

Rules

I think Talisman (2nd ed) is a terrific game. However, it has some shortcomings leading to unbalanced game play. I tweaked some of the rules to improve the game, but I do not want to introduce too much complexity as well! Some changes are from the 3rd edition, some original and most are from the net (uncredited).

See my altered rules (original at house rules).

See my modified characters rules.