Talisman: Digital 5th Edition - Alliances: Fate Beckons Review

I love board games. There’s just something about learning how they work and finding the little intricacies or quirks that make the whole something hard to replicate, which is then heightened further by the buddies you’re playing with! However, the problem is that I dislike anything too competitive, making my experiences with some classics, like Talisman, less than optimal. Luckily, this may be changing with the newest expansion added, as Talisman: Digital 5th Edition - Alliances: Fate Beckons is all about co-operation!

The core mechanics of Alliances are still very much the same as in the base game: taking turns, players roll the die, move onto a location on the board, and resolve any effects therein. However, instead of avoiding each other while hoarding powerful items or spells, heroes must instead work together to complete certain objectives while also dealing with computer-controlled characters, called Villains, with their own special abilities!

Whenever a game of this new expansion is started, the players are tasked with picking a Trial to attempt, each with its own requirements and modifiers. For example, one may give the Villains more movement or require the heroes to bury a number of Talismans on the board before they can take on the big bad. Only one Trial is available at the start, with subsequent ones being unlocked as they are completed successfully.

If you’re used to playing Talisman: Digital 5th Edition on your own, you may be surprised to hear that Alliances doesn’t allow AI characters to be added to a match. This does make a bit of sense, as co-operating with the bots may be a bit of an issue, and luckily, the game is balanced to take into account the size of the party in question. Once players have chosen their characters and the game is on, the expansion quickly shows how it differs: depending on the number of players, a set amount of Villains is placed onto the map, ready to strike down our intrepid adventurers.

These bad guys are one of the main unique mechanics of the expansion, in addition to being a big contributor to the game's challenge. Each card has a (usually high) Craft and Strength value, in addition to some unique abilities or mechanics, such as the Merchant gaining power as he moves, but also dropping a corresponding amount of coins on defeat. Some Villains can even wield equipment cards, though they also count as characters when it comes to certain cards and requirements, like Warlock quests.

What I like about these enemies is how they dance on the line of being a normal enemy and an AI player: unlike a regular foe, when you land on their space, you are able to completely ignore them if you so choose, only fighting when you decide to. They will also come at you with their best stat, your high Craft be damned! Additionally, these things make drawing Adventure cards a terrifying task, which adds a whole new layer to the game itself.

Instead of moving each round, the Villains have a special requirement for activation. As I mentioned earlier, a certain number of the nasties are added to the board in the beginning. The rest, however, are mixed into the Adventure deck. Once drawn, the new nefarious ne'er-do-well will spawn at its designated location, and every Villain on the board will move, stopping only when they run into a player or run out of moves. Oh, they can gang up on you!

I think my biggest gripe with the expansion so far is this feature, where it's more than possible to be attacked by each and every nemesis on the board. This is annoying by itself — the computer’s turn can take a while to be resolved after all — but if you happen to be unable to defeat even one of them, they will quickly combine their powers into a, frankly, impossible mass that will whittle down even the mighty Troll in no time flat! Thankfully, death is not a big deal, as you come back at the start of your next turn without losing your equipment… except that then there’s the Doom track.

 Yes, Alliances has taken into account the respawning tendencies of our heroes while also working to keep the game’s length to a reasonable degree with this lovely metre. Divided into eleven slots, the doom tracker starts off at zero and ends at 10. Every time a Villain card is drawn, a player is defeated, or a Trial-specific requirement is met, the tracker is moved up by one, and when the final stage is reached, the players will start losing one life per turn, with defeat being permanent, leaving it up to the rest of the party to reach the finish or perish! If this wasn’t bad enough, each new level of Doom will also increase the Strength and Craft of new enemies by a set amount, making them very difficult to take on.

Now, after hearing all this, you may start to think this is all a bit too much for a single heroic party to handle, and honestly, it’s not the easiest challenge to face. However, you are provided with a few tricks of your own to take on the villainous hordes! First off, much like the aforementioned baddies, you can team up with your friends to take on tougher foes. As long as you are in the same space, a willing ally can add their score to yours. Secondly, players may freely trade items between themselves, though it does require the same proximity. Finally, the expansion adds a plethora of new spells and cards that are built with this challenge in mind, such as the ability to switch items at a distance or a spell to call your buddy to help slay a dragon.

Thankfully, all of this hard work is not without its reward. If you manage to pull together with your friends and complete the scenario, not only is the next Trial unlocked for you to challenge, but you also unlock some new cards and Character classes to play around with! Sure, this may feel like a minor thing, but it’s nice to look forward to something after the ordeal.

Talisman: Digital 5th Edition - Alliances: Fate Beckons is a great addition to the roster, bringing a layer of new strategy and mechanics to the formula. Having to keep an eye on Villains and their movements, while also being terrified of the next Adventure card, makes Alliances a very different experience; I enjoy playing with my friends instead of against them. The new additions go a long way to differentiate the expansion from the others, though I do wish there were even more. The difficulty can be a turnoff for some, as it can be pretty brutal, though I do respect the game having a hard limit on any one attempt. If you enjoy Talisman, but feel you’ve played it to death, this may just be the thing to breathe new life into the classic.