Talisman
- Questions and Answers
Bob
answers some of your questions about his classic game
Q. Would
you say that Talisman is a game of skill or a game of luck?
A. It’s
a combination of both. Like life really. The important thing in
Talisman is that you are always making decisions which will affect
your future. Like life really.
Q. So
what would you say makes a good Talisman player?
A. There are
a few things to bear in mind which will help your performance in
a game:
- Be aware of your character’s abilities and make sure
you are making full use of them.
- Keep an eye on the other players. There may be some way you
can frustrate their progress and they may have useful things
you could take off them.
- Be careful of your timing when moving into the more dangerous
regions. If you make the move too soon, you could come a cropper.
- Never give up. You can always bounce back from any setback
just by stumbling upon the right cards at the right time. Also
remember that no matter how well they seem to be doing, your
opponents could easily run into bad luck.
- Have fun. Enjoying the game is far more important than winning
it.
Q. Do
you have any favourite characters?
A. I think
we all have a soft spot for the troll because in a complex world
he remains so uncomplicated.
Q.
When you are playing Talisman which character do you like
to play?
A. I just
recently won a game playing the Wizard, so I may stick with him
for a while.
Q. Which
other games do you most enjoy?
A. The games
I'm enjoying most at the moment are:
- Fury
Of Dracula, which Stephen Hand designed for Games Workshop
many years ago, has always been a favourite of mine. Dracula
moves secretly around Europe on a concealed board while Van
Helsing and his pals try to hunt him down.
- A haunted
house game called Black Morn Manor.
- Family
Business, a 1920s gangster card game.
- Gibsons'
Sherlock Holmes card game we get out a lot.
- TSR's Buck
Rogers board game gives you the satisfation of invading
planets with a fairly simple set of rules.
 Q.
Do you have any favourite cards?
A. I've always
liked the Poltergeist because in contrast to all the big monsters
and spirits, he's just petty and annoying. Also on the drawing
I made of him in my prototype game he is very cute.
Q.
If you were designing Talisman today, is there anything you would
do differently?
A. Maybe
make myself one of the characters. Though I kind of did that with
the Highlander in one of the expansion sets.
Q. Do
you think Talisman will go on forever?
A. I think
like Monopoly Talisman has established itself as a classic game
which will always have a market. It also has the advantage that
it can be constantly reinvented, as it has been over its various
editions.
Q. Do
you enjoy surfing the Talisman websites?
A. Yes, I
think I’ve visited pretty much all of them and I really like
a lot of the ideas people have come up with for characters , cards
and even additional boards. Its great to see how this game stimulates
people’s own creativity as well as entertaining them.
 Q.
Do you know how the triangular Talisman symbol came about?
A. That comes
from the original drawing of the talisman on the cards I made
for my protoype of the game. Better artists than I took it up
an elaborated it.
Q. You
spend a lot of time writing novels now. Do you still consider
yourself a games designer?
A. Yes. I
have been working on a new game which I think is even better than
Talisman. I just need to find a publisher.
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