Talisman with the kid

[Simplicity]

So I picked up Talisman 4th edition because I always loved the 2nd edition game, and now there are enough expansions (Reaper and The Dungeon) for it to be more interesting than my 2nd edition collection...

I tried it out with my 4-year-old, and enough though he's never really been that into boardgames, it really seems to be a hit. He picked a knight to play, I picked the troll, and my wife is playing as the sorceress. He gets a kick out of drawing the adventure cards, seeing the cool picture, and getting stuff. It probably helps that his knight has managed to grab a holy lance (which he then rapidly enchanted) and then the holy grail (which he then tried to drink from in the hopes that it would give him eternal life... no such luck. Only 1 craft).

I realized what a great gateway game this is. There's not a ton of strategy to slow it down, and it tells a really fun story just about every time you play it.

[Sandwich]

I'd never played Talisman until recently, as a college student, but it was still somewhat nostalgic, as it reminded me a bit of a few old games I played in grade school (Heroquest and Key to the Kingdom).

I've never played it with children, but I've played it with somewhat drunk college students which, aside from size differences, may not be too much different. :-/

It's a great entertainment game. I wouldn't want to play all the time, but I certainly enjoy a good game every couple of weeks or so.