Christmas is Coming!

Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat, please don't step on the frog, or something like that, I never was one for carols.

This little chap represents a big part in my warhammer world. He's the toad from the Talisman board game. It was the first game I ever bought from Games Workshop, back in the 1980's. Me and my brothers and friends would play for hours, first with the original set and then later with all the expansions added on. Good times.

Eventually I progressed into other boardgames such as Heroquest and from there it was perhaps inevitable that I would take up Warhammer. Once the switch was made from boardgame to wargame, my old set of Talisman languished in the cupboard for many years. A few years ago I was surprised at how valuable they were to collectors and sold it on ebay, making a tidy sum, though with a hint of regret.

Recently, the game was re-released by the Black Library and I bought it in a nostalgic moment.The game was subsequently taken on by Fantasy Flight games, who have released a number of expansions. And that's where this little chap comes in. He is part of the FFG version of the game, which includes plastic figures rather than cardboard pieces. I painted him up very quickly and will eventually get round to all the characters.

How does this relate to Christmas? It's the one time of the year I can persuade my rapidly growing teenagers to gather round the table for a board game, and Talisman is the one we always seem to come back to (that and Cluedo). So this year I am hoping to surprise my family with these new additions to the game. It's become as much a part of Christmas as turkey, tinsel and TV!