When people fall asleep...

Sunday's D&D game was less great than I'd hoped. I had hoped we'd be playing through some Eberron adventures, but one player was writing essays for his university course, and another played had just come off working at McDonalds for many, many hours - stupid McHappy Day - and actually fell asleep during the session! I'd decided early on that because of the essay-writer, we'd play through a Greyhawk dungeon of my own design, but I hadn't counted on the effects of McHappy Day.

So, that left Greg, Adam and myself (not counting the snoring Ben) in a 1st level dungeon that was quickly turning into to "kill the next kobold" rather than a memorable experience. There actually was a point to the dungeon, but I find running a session with only two players to be extremely difficult and depressing. So, after they'd finished their third expedition into the dungeon, I declared that we'd stop playing D&D and go back to playing board games.

"Talisman!" they cried, including Ben, somewhat sleepily. "You don't want to play Settlers of Catan?" I asked, hopefully. "Talisman!" they replied. Ben woke up more fully. "Talisman!" he chirped.

There are advantages in (a) being the DM and (b) owning all the board games. You actually get to choose the game to play - we'd have a quick game of Settlers and follow it with Talisman.

If you're not familiar with those board games, I've bad news for you: Talisman is no longer being made. Settlers of Catan is, however, and I really recommend it.

In Settlers, you are building settlements on a small island, trying to get the most of the resources that randomly appear. Each hex of the island produces one of five different resources, and a number on the hex indicates when the resource appears. Thus, if an eight is rolled on 2d6 at the start of each turn, each hex with an "8" on it produces a resource for those who have built settlements next to it.

Because you need all five resources at different points of the game, and no-one has good access to all five, trading is a big part of the game. It is also, unlike Talisman, a game that I tend to win more than the others. The game we played on Sunday night was an interesting one. I'd set up my settlements to take advantage of the resources that would be good in the late game, but I was cut off entirely from the early-game resources: which each of the other three players had in spades.

I was getting rather worried as roads and settlements were being built extremely quickly, cutting off my access to further resources. Luckily, I had two advantages that game.

The first was because I was in such a bad position, it was much easier to work against the other players. The second was because the person who was best able to work against me would also work against his own position when he did so.

If you've already guessed the outcome of the game, you're probably right: I won. It was close, and Greg almost beat me at the end, but I prevailed.

"Talisman!" chirped the other three, almost in unison. (Ben was still somewhat sleepy). Why someone can be awake for a board game but not D&D is beyond me. (Actually, not entirely true: the D&D session that day wasn't one of my finest. I'm looking forward to next session when we'll have our second Eberron game).

Because my edition of Talisman is the first, and because I've owned it since 1986 or so, and, more importantly, because I used to take it to school in my bag, the box is no more. Instead, it's currently inside the Seafarers of Catan box. (Seafarers is sitting in the Cities and Knights of Catan box, sharing it with C&K).

Talisman is one of the great fantasy board-games - probably the great fantasy board-game, as I don't know another its equal. The players all take the part of adventurers trying to reach the mystical Crown of Command and use it to rule the land and destroy all opposition (the other players). If your character dies in Talisman before the Crown is reached, you just start again with a new character. The basic game has fourteen different characters, of which you choose one randomly.

There were also many expansions to Talisman, of which I possess bits and pieces. Thus, for this game I played the Assassin and Greg played the Amazon. Ben and Adam played other characters - I think the Sorceress and the Fighter, though I might be getting things confused.

It was a fun game. Talisman can take quite a while to play, and it did. Greg was the leader for most of the game. He acquired the Wand - you always have a spell - and used it unmercifully on us. Especially me. Then we started playing "Grab the Wand". Ben would beguile the wand away from Greg, then I'd attack Ben and take the Wand for myself... shortly to see Greg get the wand back again.

This circuit continued a couple of times, before Greg finally decided that he was ready to attain the Crown of Command. He got there, too, while I languished in the Outer Region of the board because some Random spell had turned me into a Toad - thanks, Greg!

Greg started using Command spells on us. "Submit or perish!" Ben perished, and went back to catching up on his sleep. Adam shortly perished... but I met a Demigod who gave me the Acquistion spell, which allowed me to take the Wand.

For the rest of the game, I mercilessly used the Wand to heal myself, random Greg, and otherwise try to turn him into a toad. Greg just couldn't stop me... and eventually I crowned myself, over the Amazon's corpse, the ruler of the world!

Talisman is a fun game when you win. It's also fun when you're playing it... although, as one of my friends has remarked: "It doesn't matter who you think is winning, you always stop Merric!"

Heh.

I've just received an e-mail from another group of friends, wondering if I want to play some boardgame with them on Thursday night. Well, I'm always up for a nice gaming session, so what game do they want to play? Talisman...

I just wonder what edition it is?