Trashdome - Talisman VS Runebound

lj1983 wrote:

Hex Sinister wrote:

Oooh look! You got turned into a froggy! Ha ha! Tee hee! Oh how this game is magical! Talisman: The Harry Potter Edition would sell like hotcakes I bet. You could replace the realm of Talisman with Hogwart's School!

ya know what, I would totally buy something like this, only because there are a bunch of people I know who would play it for the Harry Potter theme.

I would. I've seen this Hogwarts House Cup Challenge game at Borders, it looks like an adventure game. I've never had the guts to buy it though.

Jesus Christ, what is this, Chess VS Monopoly? "Chess is too hard, it makes my head hurt, but any retard can play Monopoly, VOTE: MONOPOLY."

Between Talisman & Runebound I'd vote both: they are two completely different games that neatly fill two distinct niches with the only overlap being the standard fantasy theme.

In Talisman, the movement and action are abstracted enough to make it work with the full complement of players, 6+, making it a party game. It could have been called "Fantasy Stick-In-Th'-Eye™", and just been a box full of sharp sticks with Elvish runes on them.

Runebound, on the other hand, works best as a two-player game. (While Talisman is tolerable with two, it really only gets great with 4+.) With two, Runebound neatly scratches the RPG itch without all the laborious prep and you can finish a complete game in a single sesssion. And with 11 different adventure/plot lines you get something like a million years of unique play.

As for the combat in Runebound, if the other player is sitting there looking blankly at a card and rolling dice repeatedly YER DOIN' IT WRONG. You have to alternate running the combats for each other, and filling in the die rolls with flavor:

[ranged defense roll—success]

"The wizard kicks a chair at your head, which you neatly dodge."

[melee roll—success]

"You take a swing at him and he dances back, cackling... putting him in the perfect position to catch your backswing in the crotch!"

[magic defense roll—fail]

"He screams and pitches forward, his unnaturally icy hand closing around your throat..."

Around here it's never a choice between Talisman or Runebound—they're not interchangeable. If it's just me & my son, it's Runebound. If it's the whole gang, the box of sharp sticks comes out.

HiveGod wrote:

Between Talisman & Runebound I'd vote both

Two games enter. One game leaves.

Mad Dog wrote:

Two games enter. One game leaves.

I know... I already voted Talisman, but all this Runebashing is making my tummy hurt.

HiveGod wrote:

I know... I already voted Talisman, but all this Runebashing is making my vagina hurt.

dave wrote:

HiveGod wrote:

I know... I already voted Talisman, but all this Runebashing is making my vagina hurt.

Well, to be fair, there was sand in it.

Columbob wrote:

Space Ghost wrote:

Runebound.

The expansions are quite good and the solo factor is great.

What's great about the solo factor is that it dispenses with the movement rules altogether, you just hop where you want to go and you get your fatigue back to full after every fight with nothing untowards happening.

Nothing prevents anyone from playing Talisman solo either, even if the box doesn't say you can.

Ya here that Skeletor? Drop the movement => Better Game.

/Boo Ya!

It seems like the endless whining about movement is the main beef against Talisman, which is either a load of crap or something that can be house ruled/varianted out.

I don't see any problem with the movement system whatsoever as the game tells a story about each character. If the plot for each character was completely known before hand then the game would be boring as hell. Don't think of the rings as the specific geographic locations but rather as places along the journey of each hero or villian. In that respect, use a little imagination here, and think of a story where the characters are trying to accomplish tasks and to meet up with all manner of friend or foe.

Next thing I'll hear out of the Runebound crowd is that both games would be better off without any random elements and chock full of auctions and having markets that fluctuate according to how many times a supply is bought or sold. You are missing the point here.

Aaron has pointed out that Talisman isn't without strategy and isn't just a random mess wihout a goal.

Voting for the true classic that has lasted 4 (or 5 if you count the BE edition) editions and is still going strong for a reason...

Variable player powers - check
Near infinite map variety - check
Dice - check
Combat - check
Player interaction - check
Passes Frank's test - check
Is the bane of Europushers across the galaxy - check
Has theme? - You bet your sweet ass it does and it pours on extra syrup on it with every expansion
Not a boring ass area control game? - Check
Has passed the test of time / Isn't just the flavor of the month? - Check, over 25 years of it
Doesn't have any meeples or cubes? - Check

Talisman

The Expanding Man wrote:

How AT is Talisman, compared to Runebound?

"The game was created by Robert Harris who thought it up for the amusement of himself and his friends. In its original inception, the game's objective was to become prefect of a boy's school. Changing the theme to fantasy, he found a publisher in the form of Games Workshop "

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talisman_(board_game)

Talisman. Hot crumpets and buggery in an all boys school.

Game. Set. Match.

Are people just making shit up for the sake of it now or what?
Observe:
Mr MOTO wrote:

It seems like the endless whining about movement is the main beef against Talisman

Have you even read this thread Mr Pot?

Next thing I'll hear out of the Runebound crowd is that both games would be better off without any random elements and chock full of auctions and having markets that fluctuate according to how many times a supply is bought or sold. You are missing the point here.

More bullshit. No one has even come close to claiming that. The prefect game (TM) crowd are desperate.

Voting for the true classic that has lasted 4 (or 5 if you count the BE edition) editions and is still going strong for a reason...

So strong the company that was selling it folded and it got fobbed off to FFG.
When Talisman has as many expansions as Runebound then you may claim its FFG's break and butter.

Now let us look at your checklist and see what game comes out on top:

Variable player powers

The characters in Runebound are much more personalised, and have a lot more variety, than Talisman. Runebound wins.

Near infinite map variety - check

What?!?!!? THERE IS ONE FUCKING MAP! Infinite variety my ass.
Runebound gives you map overlays in the expansions. And they are maps and not monoploly tracks. Runebound wins.

Dice - check

Runbound has these too. Draw.

Combat - check

Interesting combat: Runbound.

Player interaction - check

Talisman gets the edge on this because of spells only. Without spells Runebound would have more.

Passes Frank's test - check

Fuck Frank and his test. Who is he the new Greg Schlosser?

Is the bane of Europushers across the galaxy - check

Hyperbole.

Has theme? - You bet your sweet ass it does and it pours on extra syrup on it with every expansion

Runebound has a much stronger sense of narrative, so this one goes to Runebound.
Talisman is just random stuff happening to an adventurer. Runebound has a metaplot (which changes if you use the expansion) and the activities and encounters the adventurer has often link into the metaplot. For example you encounter the sorcerror who summoned Margath at yellow level, while at blue level Margath may attack your home town. Your adventurer is part of a bigger story, not just a random adventure machine.

Not a boring ass area control game? - Check
Has passed the test of time / Isn't just the flavor of the month? - Check, over 25 years of it
Doesn't have any meeples or cubes? - Check

Wow, it is just like monoploly.

Mr Skeletor wrote:

Near infinite map variety - check

What?!?!!? THERE IS ONE FUCKING MAP! Infinite variety my ass.
Runebound gives you map overlays in the expansions. And they are maps and not monoploly tracks. Runebound wins.

In case you haven't played Talisman before... The physical board, without expansions, is the same but the whole point of the map is that it changes as characters move about it. Your comparisons to Monopoly don't hold any water as nothing happens to any of the spaces on Monopoly other than building houses and hotels. In fact, I think I've found the problem with your agnst against the game, you picked up Monopoly's rules and are trying to play them with the wrong game. Reach into your Monopoly box and you'll find the Talisman ruleset and you'll see that that all those spaces that say Draw X card(s) on them don't mean that you can buy the property or build shit on them, you are supposed to draw cards and encounter what people, places, and things are found them. Many of them are permanent or semi-permanent places or things located there... this in effect transforms the map... work with me here skellinator... thus creating a unique experience and build a unique map each and every time you play.

If you purchase one of the many expansions, you can place new map boards down. These expansions have been around for decades as well.

Talisman has spawned a large enough following that tens of expansions (many with different physical maps for people who don't get the whole fact that the map is dynamically built even though the main physical board is static) have been created by fans.

www.talismanisland.com/expansions.htm

Thats just a sampling of the fan created material out there.

I searched for Runebound Island but Google didn't find it. Perhaps it is an underground site that is on a different interweb.

ubarose wrote:

Both Talisman and Runebound = roll, move, pick a card, shit happens.

Aye. Which is exactly what I was talking about with the map.

Runebound drags itself down with an overly fiddly and nonsensical movement system.

Talisman just says "Fuck it, roll a dice, same thing".

Same effect, but only one of them doesn't involve squinting and AP.

I just don't understand folks who like Talisman, but not Runebound, or the opposite. They're the same fucking game. One you move in a circle, one you move on a grid. You could rename Runebound: Talisman -- now in two dimensions. I mean really, you roll, you move, you draw an encounter, you level-up or not, wash, rinse and repeat. Same fucking game. In Runebound fighting can go on for a bit, and more choices lead to more downtime, so I wouldn't play with more than three. But for two or three, Runebound is a more immersive experience. Since most of my gaming is two player these days,

Runebound

I agree with the previous statements that these two games are each better in different circumstances.

Runebound is definitely a deeper game. My six year old can play Talisman, she gets a handicap but can go through all the motions as long as someone can read everything to her. I'm not going to even try to play Runebound with her anytime soon. There is just too much going on for her to keep track of, even Talisman is stretching it.

Anyone who thinks Talisman is a complete luckfest and doesn't have any strategy should play with a young elementary aged kid. Then you discover the strategy that is so basic that we as well experienced players don't even think about. (Like how much you need to level up before crossing the river)

To all those people who don't like Runebounds movement dice, . The movement dice are awesome! They are probably the most realistic representation of movement. (Granted, I haven't played MEQ yet) Didn't roll mountains for three turns in a row? That's because it's been raining and no idiot is going to risk the slippery rock ledge and mudslides.

Runebound is more immersive, and I think about how it would be great to add more story to it to the point where it would be better as a computer adventure game. Whereas Talisman is more social, in part to there being much less rule overhead. And the social aspect is the main reason I boardgame. They are both great games though.

Talisman

I missed three domes and almost a fourth. I am going to have to talk to my boss about giving me less work so that I can have more time to surf the internet.