I enjoy a good superhero board game and there are quite a few out there to pick from. From brand-new themed games and reskins of current favorites, Superheroes and Villains have found their way into a wide variety of games. Today we are going to look at a smash-up of a familiar game with a familiar hero and their universe and see how well they play together!
Talisman Batman: Super-Villains Edition is published by The OP and is based off of Talisman 4th edition from Games Workshop. Talisman is originally designed by Robert Harris. This game is illustrated by Ross Taylor. It plays 2-6 players.
Overview
Batman Talisman requires you to sneak and fight your way through Arkham Asylum as one of the villains trying to be the first to reach the Security Control Room in the Guard Tower. Here you need to defeat Batman and turn off all the security in place.
The game focus is on the giant board that will see all the action played on it. It is divided into the First floor, Second floor and Tower. The Encounter cards, Feat cards, Purchase cards and Security Key cards make up the decks as well. There is a Batman character and card with the game as well.
Gameplay
There are 12 Villains you can choose from to play in this game, each with their own Character figure and card. To begin, each player picks one and sets their tracker dials for health, cunning and strength. Characters will also have a level of Fate which is a measure of their luck in the game. These tokens can be used for rerolls of dice through the game.
For gameplay the board is placed in the center of the table with the different decks of cards set up around the board. Each player starts with their villain character lineup as above and the figure. Feats, coins, objects and other character specific additions are made at this time as well.
Each player has a turn that is made up of two parts that must be done in order, then play is moved to the next player clockwise from there. The two parts are 1-Movement and 2-Encounters.
1-Movement
In the first stage players will roll a die and determine their movement for the character that number of spaces around the board. Characters may move clockwise or coutnerclockwise in their current region. When a 1 is rolled, Batman is own the move as well!
Batman moves either direction as well with the extra movement die when it is rolled. Batman may move to adjacent regions as well. If Batman lands on a space and ends his movement on a villain or villains the player who moved Batman must choose a character for Batman to engage in combat with. The character will win or lose but Batman remains pn that space at the end of the turn.
2-Encounters
Once a character finishes their movement they Encounter the space they are on or a character in that space. Sometimes friendly but often aggressive, each space and character brings a unique interaction. If you encounter a character on the space, ignore the space and anything that may be here. Combat will occur now and you Strength and Cunning each side will roll an attack roll. Scores are compared and a winner and loser is declared. Defeated enemies gets you an Infamy card which can be used to trade in for Cunning and Strength gains.
If you encounter a space instead of a character or other player, you follow the instructions on the space and play it out. This will e drawing a certain number of Encounter cards that will result in combat, collection of followers, coins or objects or possible lose them as well.
Evading is another option for Characters when they need to evade other Characters or Enemies. Objects like Armor and Weapons may be acquired as well through the game. You can gain Followers as well as you go.
The spaces on the board will allow you to have various Encounters, but spots like The Guard Post are how you move up from the First to Second floor. You can also move up with the Guard’s Key Card to do it without the Post. The Security door on the Second Floor is the only way to get up to the Tower an find your way to victory!
Impressions
What could be better:
Rule Book. The information provided in the rulebook is extensive, but there isn’t a good play-through example or specific “here’s how you play and here’s how you win” description. There are good descriptions of the game and components/details but I would like to see that added in.
Art. The board is very dark and muted in the color options on the board. I would love to see a little more splash of color or theme with the villains themselves scattered into the art design on the board. The overall art of the character cards is great however.
Things that I liked:
Theme. I love Batman, and being able to play as the villains is a fun twist to most of the superhero themed games we run into. I like the race around Arkham aspect, trying your best to escape and survive. Solid gaming experience thematically for sure.
Speed. The original Talisman game is a long haul, taking quite a lot of time and patience to make your way through. This game seems to streamline that down a bit and really helps with the length of play. We got through the game at a good speed compared to previous plays of the original game.
Choice. Dice rolling games are some of my favorite, but roll and move can be a negative thing for a lot of “seasoned gamers”. Talisman felt like I still had some legitimate choices to make in the game that would influence.
Minis. These miniatures are just the right amount-the characters shine on them and they are functional and paintable if you desired. They aren’t over-produced or small and gimmicky. They seem to fit just right.
Overall
Talisman Batman is a mash-up I never would have imagined hitting the table but one I really enjoyed once we got it there. I enjoyed the theme and felt that it really fit well for this game. For any Batman fans out there and especially those of you who enjoy the Rogues gallery, this is a good fit and one you are likely to enjoy. So as far as the theme goes, it is a hit out of the park.
Even though Talisman is an “older” game by our hobby gaming standards, it is a game that has stood the test of time in popularity and one that sewers to the hobby gamers may not have experienced. This version dded enough new stuff to really shine this old gem up an at the same time give those who know it something fun and new to explore. A few different plays of this won’t feel like enough, it is one that is certainly going to make you want to come back and explore the different characters and interactions on the board.
Overall I would recommend this one to all of you DC Bat-fans out there and anyone looking for a fun dice-rolling time around the Asylum with their favorite villains! It is a game you will enjoy playing through multiple times to really see and experience the mechanics and the wide berth of characters as you fight your way out and away from the law and the Batman!
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