Our family has a long history with the board game Talisman. Back in the mid 2000s, a friend of mine was selling his third edition version of the game. This was the Games Workshop version with the large, cool miniatures. It was just the thing to play with my two sons, so I bought it off him. For many years, we enjoyed the simplicity of the gameplay and the grand stories that came about while playing it.

Eventually, the boys grew older and their tastes changed. Talisman sat unplayed for years, and during one of my many board game collection prunings, I sold it with few regrets. When FFG got the license and released the Fourth Edition of the game, I watched with only passing interest.

A couple years ago, both my now-adult sons were at the house and we were looking for a game to play. The oldest suggested Talisman, and I let him know I had sold it. Both boys were in total disbelief and let it be known that Talisman needed to be a permanent part of my collection.

And so I tracked down a copy of the revised Fourth Edition base set, plus the Reaper expansion. We sat down to play and while my expectations were tempered, we really had a good time. I wasn’t sure about keeping it, but if nothing else, playing it brings back treasured memories of time spent with my boys.

Over several months last winter, I worked on painting the miniatures. There are a considerable number of heroes even with the base set and one expansion, plus the Grim Reaper and my favorite, the Toad miniatures that represent characters that have been polymorphed. The miniatures are small and not very detailed, but I did my best to paint them to tabletop standard.

With grandkids in the family now, it won’t be too long before I’ll be playing Talisman with eager young children again. I look forward to sharing stories of tales of might, betrayal, and wild fortune from games long past with a new generation of gamers in the family.