Talisman - The Woodland Expansion DLC

WORST EXPANSION IMO! It add some dumb dark and bright fate options. It makes game annoying as ******! I have it with season pass so I cannot refund it because I would no doubt about this!!! If this expansion would not have this idiotic fate mechanics I would play it. Instead it is removed from my Talisman! I only use board expansions, City, Highlands and Dungeon that are awesome. Woodlands make very annoying mess in stable Talisman gameplay events. Woodlands is haotic and thus very annoying. I do not recommend it at all!

I like this DLC. It makes fate a much bigger mechanic than before. It has 2 issues, though. 1. The fate-based cards have 0 explanation ingame what they do. I know you can google it.. But it's just not best design. It literally could have been explained in 2 sentences. 2. Dark Fate has no counters (beyond 1-2 items). If someone rerolls your roll.. Sorry, you cannot use your fate. This almost cost me a game, just because 1 hero had a trinket "gain 1 fate if you don't have any on the start of your turn". So he'd always reroll my dice while i was using spell of command and rolling positive score. It's literally "stop hitting yourself" meme. So yeah, great DLC, but has at least few loopholes.

Before I explain the main reason why I do not recommend this expansion I'm going to list 2 lesser reasons. *Faerie Market is annoying since it is always near the top of the deck and forces you to give away an object and either 1 gold, 1 fate point, or 1 life right, all at the start of the game when 99% of the time you don't have spares. *Dark fate. The game works just fine with normal fate points, and this change just makes it more frustrating. Even using the "Dark is Light" option doesn't get rid of it since there are still cards that allow it to be used in infuriating ways. The main reason I do not recommend this is that the Woodland expansion grants a way to replenish lives in a way that if one player is on the Crown of Command (with the default ending) and there is only one other player who is in the Woodland region, they can be 100% impossible to kill. This is is how it happens: 1. You need the destiny card that forces you to move one space at a time. This card allows you to move between the same two spaces indefinitely. 2. One of those spaces must have a card such as that has no effect when you end your turn on that space and does not get removed from the board. 3. The other space must have Tranquil Glade, which allows you to replenish all lives. 4. The player on the Crown of Command must have no objects or spells that they can use. Since once on the Crown of Command you cannot voluntarily move back a space, this forces you to use the Crown of Command. 5. By simply moving between the two spaces you can always heal back to your full complement of lives before the other player can kill you. Since you can always move one space (i.e. no dice rolls) and no cards are being drawn in this situation there is nothing to force you away from the Tranquil Glade. The game should not be breakable in this manner. And I know it's possible because I have a game in which I'm on the Crown and the AI is doing exactly what I have described above.

I only like that this expansion adds dark fate. It's pretty eh when it comes to the actual region. Still get it for dark fate.

Turns out I really hate the dark fate system. I was sure, despite reading reviews that stated otherwise, that I would be able to disable it and enjoy the bottom right corner board on its own. Nope, the board is so strongly integrated with dark fate that you can't fully disable it. The totem warrior is cool though. I guess it wasn't a total waste.

Interesting mechanics, nice additional cards, adding a board part is always a good way to add interesting variations to the bae game

Of all the five expansions adding additional regions to the original board, this one is by far the most confusing and the most convoluted. The dark and light fate mechanic appears pretty cool at first but all the people I've played with have commented on it as redundant. The woodlands region itself is pretty much overloaded with many incomprehensible mechanics, such as paths and destinies, and the people I've played with have always found those frustrating or overcomplicated. The characters introduced in this expansion are pretty good though, they add an interesting perspective to the game and can be perfectly used independently without enabling this expansion. So, the DLC is not bad at all and can be dealt with, but I rarely add it to my games with friends.

Too many of the paths are bugged and don't work properly. Really needs a lot of work done to smooth this out more. Rest of the game is great though.

One of the "4 corners" expansions that adds a significant new area, and tons of cards that completely change how a game plays out. The dark and light fate thing is cool but changing the "interrupt" period for the dark fate in the settings is a must as it really slows the game down constantly waiting. As with almost all of the expansion DLCs, you can try before you buy - there's one that can be played for free every week, and it changes every Monday. Or, you can keep setting your computer clock ahead a week until you find the one you want to play.

The developers have created another great expansion to the long running Talisman series of expansions and boards. This addon contributes new characters, mechanics, the missing corner of the board, and a lot of good quality of life improvements. More options is always great with Talisman. The new fate system adds more complexity and strategy with the Fate system. Do you use your fate to help yourself, or do you try to mess with other players? I like the new characters, but remember that this is not a game known for balenced play. Some characters will perform better or worse depending on player choice, items, mechanics, or just plan bad luck. Should you buy this expansion? This DLC adds more things to the game, which is a double-edged sword. It's an absolute must buy for fans of the series, but those on the fence may want to instead try DLC that instead enhances play and doesn't add more rules. Consider buying the Frostmarch or the Sacred Pool first for more fun cards, then try the Reaper, Bloodmoon, or another corner first.