The game board represents a fantasy land. Players chose a character from a list of semi-standard fantasy types: Barbarian, Wizard, Monk, etc. The objective of the game is to travel through the land encountering event cards and gathering strength along the way. Hopefully players will eventually become powerful enough to travel to the center of the board, endure the trials there and take the Crown of Command for the victory. There were also several expansions released for this game, which add new character choices and new places to travel.

Part of the Talisman series of games and expansions published by Games Workshop Ltd..

The first edition differs from the second only in the box cover art and the cards, which were printed in black and white (same artwork as the second edition, though). The first edition had no expansions.

Expanded by:

Talisman: Expansion Set
Talisman: The Adventure
The Talisman Dungeon
Talisman Timescape
Talisman City
Talisman Dragons

Also by:

The Jewel in the Crown
Talisman (Second Edition): White Dwarf #115 Cards

Re-implemented by:

Talisman (Third Edition)
Talisman: Revised 4th Edition