Lucky 13 Competition

(Text taken from “Site News” on 24th February 2012)

They said it couldn’t happen! They said it shouldn’t happen! But it did happen! Talisman Island is now a teenager!!! Run away before the pouting begins!!!

The guidelines for entries are pretty simple and are mainly about what qualifies as a component. Firstly, a rules sheet or card will count as ONE component even it is spans a few pages as you can always print it booklet-style on a larger sheet. Any character you decide to include MUST have a playing token with it, so that will count as TWO components. If multiple copies of cards are required they DO count towards the total, even if you only include one card in the package for printing. Artwork is not necessary, as entries will be taken on merit and not artistic ability – if a card is called Goblin with his head on fire, I am sure we can all imagine the scene.

So, with that information in hand, people went away and started to fashion expansions! Cards, boards, characters, new mechanics, new ideas!

Well, it’s now been over a month since the closing date for the competition, and I have finally managed to pick a winner and runner up from the 32 entries that were sent in… I think… probably…

There were some really nice ideas sent in, some with a surprising amount packed into those 13 components, which has been part of the reason for the delay! One entry kept bringing me back though as it contained a nice balance of simplicity and an exciting new twist which could mean a few strategies get changed during the game.

I’ve had to cut back on the signed bonus cards I’m afraid as I had forgotten that they had previously been set aside for another project (watch this space…), but have included a few signed cards for a few notable entries.

Please take the time to have a look over all of the entries for the competition. There are some real gems of ideas here, and they might be just what you are looking for in your game. It was certainly a difficult choice to make and I was darting back and forth between a few entries as there is a lot to take in.

*Please note that the expansions presented below are not guaranteed to be complete and may just be text files as it was not necessary to include artwork with the entries.

You may sort the tables below by the Expansion Title and Author sections alphabetically if you click on the relevant header.

So, without further ado (or fanfare!) I would like to announce that the winning entry is… Enchantress’ Cheap Tricks by Rickard Granberg!!

I really like this expansion for its simplicity. It takes a known board space personality and puts another spin on it. Visiting the City now has a new purpose, and possibly a very useful one given the effects of the new cards. I particularly like how he has used the flavour text to explain how these items work, though I am not sure I will be tasting Frog’s Eye very soon!

Rickard has chosen the copy of The Dragon expansion as his prize, so the two bonus cards, Doppelganger and Instructor, will be going to… Trials of the Black Knight by Henri Virtanen!!

Again, this is a nice simple expansion adding a new twist to a known board space personality, perhaps the one with more potential than any other. It also adds new quests, but with a thematic slant based on the nastiness of Black Knight.

You might have noticed a second pair of bonus cards in the image up the page, and there is a good reason for that. I decided to make a special award for one entrant who has shown a particular flair for coming up with various ways of fitting a whole lot of stuff into 13 components, and a strange gift of clairvoyance!!!

When I got the email with the Blood Moon by Glen Pilmore, I nearly spat my coffee across the room, or I would have done if I was drinking coffee, or indeed if I was in a room. Obviously I could not mention this to Glen until after the FFG expansion was announced, but it was rather exciting nonetheless. I imagine when the expansion is available, you will be able to use one or two of his cards to bolster the deck without much trouble!!

Now to the three expansions that I feel should get a little (and I mean little) something! I have available a few cards signed by John Goodenough, being a Talisman, a Dragon and a Random spell. These will be going out to…

Nemesis by Ben Cronin – A cool premise for a NPC that looks very promising. It put me in mind of a character I made called The Guardian, way back in the mists of time!

Divided Crown by Roy Smith – An expansion made for 2nd Edition, but that would work just as easily in the Revised 4th Edition with little or no alterations at all.

Xiuhcoatl’s Rage by Antony Pitt – A self-contained mini expansion that emulates The Dragon expansion. There is some interesting stuff going on there!

So, here endeth the competition! I hope you enjoy all of the entries and will join me in thanking everyone that took part. It has been so difficult to choose between them all, especially as some of the entries were particularly well produced. As I said though, it was all about ideas and I hope you will agree that there were a lot of those!!

Look out for more competitions on the site in the future. Hopefully I will be a little more organised and may just rope in some help to judge things next time. Perhaps someone might arrange to let me have a few more hours in the day?