First published by Games Workshop in 1983, Talisman: The Magic Quest Game Children who grew up playing board games in the 1980s and early 1990s remember it fondly. But the last version of the dungeon-crawling board game, the fourth, was released back in 2008, long before the modern board gaming renaissance really began. Now Hasbro is bringing it back in a fifth edition. Pre-orders are available now for $59.99. The game returns to the mass market on July 1st.
In talismanPlayers take on the role of standard fantasy heroes in search of a MacGuffin called the Crown of Command. The extremely linear board game takes players around a citadel, where they encounter traps, monsters and even fight the other players at the table. It’s an unusual mix of an action-oriented tabletop RPG and something like that Candylandbut a novel format that has resonated with generations of casual tabletop gaming fans.
Following Friday’s press release, Polygon reached out to Hasbro. They confirmed that the IP has not changed hands. Instead, the game is produced under license by Games Workshop. Here is the official description:
In the game, players embark on an epic adventure to be the first to obtain a talisman, reach the Crown of Dominion at the center of the board, and defeat the Elder Dragon to win. With a diverse cast of characters and a huge world of possible scenarios, as well as a user-friendly, redesigned 5Th Edition Rulebook, this strategy game offers limitless adventures!
While the game retains the traditional spiral game board, new cover artwork has been revealed, depicting a crumbling staircase leading to a glowing crown while giant statues of gilded heroes look on. Product photos also show 12 plastic miniatures for each of the 12 character classes included. More information is promised in the coming weeks. For now we only have the image gallery below.
