Talisman (Revised 4th Ed): The Woodland Expansion

I first played this expansion on the digital version and hated it. But, after I was convinced to purchase the physical copy and finally played it, I take back most of my previous judgement. The light/dark fate mechanic isn't awesome, but it's necessary for the functionality of pretty much all the Woodland adventure cards, so you just have to accept it. Once you get past any superficial complaints, the whole fairy magic theme is actually pretty fun. You have just as much chance to come out super-powered as you do as a toad... or dead. So, thematically, it fits with chaotic fae lore. One thing I do not take back is that the characters are pretty terrible. They all operate on the token collection gimmick and are more complicated than the fun they provide. Unlike almost every other Talisman expansion, I play with the board and cards and never really touch the characters.

This is my favorite expansion in the series. It has the most additional characters in a box that I like. I like the Ent, I like the Ranger, I like the Spider-Queens web abilities. The best part is that it introduces new ways to use Fate tokens, and you become aligned to Light or Darkness based on how many tokens of the corresponding color/side you have. The new Goal cards are great as well, at least to me they make more sense than some of the other ones I have seen. You'll also have a good reason to delve into the woodlands portion of the board as you'll get benefits by reaching the end of the woodlands.

Great addition with new characters, events that span the entire board, and expanded rules. The only downside is that it creates an unbalanced board if played alone and a MASSIVE board if played with all four corners.

This expansion is a bit different from the others. My friends and I have been playing the base game with the City and Highlands expansion for about a year now. After a certain point the thrill sort of dried out… The woodland expansion offers new, exciting characters, events and items. Definitely a must have! The quality, like other Talisman items is outstanding and worth the price, unlike other similar board games. It’s well crafted and thorough. Brilliant addition to a collection.