Well, progress on the corrections has been going better than expected. I had thought it might take longer but I have had a wave of success just recently and I am flying through the chapters in question. As expected, however, there have been a few changes that I have made along the way. This was unavoidable and so in many ways this has become a 2nd draft of sorts. With each chapter done and dusted it is being filed away as being ‘complete’. When all are in I shall piece them together and see what I have. The prospect is quite exciting but I must not let that get in the way and allow haste to let slip uncorrected errors.
While at work, I have been busily making the old, yet superb, game of Talisman so that I can play it with some of my students! I remember playing this with some friends a long (long) time ago and now I regret never picking it up whenever I visited the game shop in town. Back then, it always sat forlornly upon the shelf gathering dust… now it sells for ridiculous prices on eBay! I had thought of purchasing it until I saw some of the prices and so I decided to make it myself during my lunch breaks at work since I had both the time and the resources available to me.
After three weeks (my lunch breaks vary in length), this is what I ended up with. The game itself is a more portable version of the original Talisman game (a project which I will undertake in a few months time) known as ‘Talisman Journey’ (adapted by Djeryv Tar). The main material I used for the project was simple A4 paper that I then laminated (after cutting) so as to toughen the cards up and yet still keep them light (as opposed to thicker card that I will use for the ‘full’ Talisman). The packets holding the Strength, Craft, Life, and Gold tokens were made from card and cut with a foldable flap to prevent anything from falling out. The only materials that were bought were the box, the die, and the small plastic counters (very cheap – less than 10p each!). The plastic
‘counters’ were a bonus since I was going to use coloured stones or ‘converted’ push-pins. What is more, the plastic counters also have small magnets set into their bases which makes the game quite secure when played ‘on the road’. The pouch I made from felt which I then threaded with string. The picture on the front of the box was downloaded from the internet, edited (so at the base it reads: “Journey Edition”), and then laminated before finally being sealed onto the lid with melt-glue.
If you too would like have a go at making this classic game then head over to Talisman Island. There you will find everything you need with which to make your own portable version of Talisman or the larger version along with all of the expansions that were released for it. Simply visit the aforementioned site, click on ‘Resources’ and then on ‘Downloads’. There you will find links to the zip files containing all the materials for you to print (Tal-Is-Poor & Talisman Journey). It does take a fair amount of patience and time but the end result is well worth it.
Enjoy!
