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Tales of the Arabian Nights

 
3.8 (3)
 
3.3 (5)
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Tales of the Arabian Nights Board Game

Game Information

Game Name
Tales of the Arabian Nights
Publisher
Z-Man Games
Designer
Eric Goldberg
Genre
Storytelling
Z-Man Games

In tales of the Arabian Nights, you are the hero or heroine in a story of adventure and wonder just like those told by Scheherazade to her spellbound sultan. You will travel the land seeking your own destiny and fortune. You will learn stories and gain wisdom to share with others. Will you be the first to fulfill your destiny? The next tale is yours to tell. There is, of course, a winner in tales of the Arabian Nights, but the point of the game is less to see who wins and more to enjoy the unfolding and telling of a great story. 

In this new edition of the groundbreaking storytelling game, you enter the lands of the Arabian Nights alongside Sindbad, Ali Baba, and the other legendary heroes of the tales. Travel the world encountering imprisoned princesses, powerful 'efreets, evil viziers, and such marvels as the magnetic mountain and the fabled elephant's graveyard. Choose your actions carefully and the skills you possess will reward you become beloved, wealthy, mighty - even become sultan of a great land. Choose foolishly, however, and become a beggar, or be cursed with a beast's form or become insane from terror.

You will bring to life the stories of the inestimable book of tales in this vastly replayable board game with over 2002 tales that will challenge, amuse, astound and spellbind you for years to come.

Game contents 1 game board, book of tales, 1 reaction matirx, 6 stand-up figures, 6 player mats, 125 cards, 100+ counters, 3 dice, rules. For 2-6 players. Takes about 2 hours to play. Tons of replay value.

Editor reviews

3 reviews

Rating 
 
3.8
Rating 
 
4.0
U
Top 10 Reviewer 65 reviews
Comments (0) |
Rating 
 
4.0
This game will simply never work for some people, and that's fine. But as a choose-your-own-adventure book in board game form, it's a lot of fun. There's an element of limitless potential to this game, even if most encounters end with nothing too spectacular happening. The prose and art are all great, and it embraces the fatalism of Middle Eastern culture admirably. That said, the most recent edition does require a couple of house rules to really pay off well and not continue interminably.
SI
Top 50 Reviewer 55 reviews
Comments (0) |
Rating 
 
3.5
JL
Top 10 Reviewer 64 reviews
Comments (0) |

User reviews

5 reviews

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(1)
1 star
 
(1)
Rating 
 
3.3
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An Extremely Complicated Chutes & Ladders Variant
(Updated: August 14, 2019)
Rating 
 
5.0
Played as a gonzo storytelling RPG romp with 4 or fewer awesome players this beast rises from the dead—golden halo shining out against the darkness of existential angst—forms a cult and saves the motherfucking world. Played as a *game* game with dull people who couldn't embellish a narrative skeleton even if you handed them the meat-suit, it remains inert in its grave and goes all Lord of the Flies on fun.

Facts about Tales:

- That which does not enrich you will grant you beatings.

- You can drink your way out of a rockslide.

- Allah says NO.

Optional adjustments for maximum enjoyment:

~ Change time of day at the start of each new round
Instead of waiting for the deck to run out—which never happens—advance time at the beginning of the first player's turn: morning --> day --> night --> morning --> &c.

~ Consider playing to a hard total of Story + Destiny
Rather than having each player choose a secret combination. For example, first person to get S+D=12 can win. (This converts a multi-hour slog into a delightful hour-plus—which means we get to play it more often!)

~ Go more RPG than board game with the statuses
Some statuses can overstay their welcome and/or become unfun when combined with others—don't be afraid to hand-wave them away with a merciful "You have suffered enough."*

~ Only play with awesome people
'Nuff said.

*YMMV, but personally I love getting dogpiled under a mound of crazy statuses—in my last game I was a scorned, crippled, diseased outlaw vizier. HELL YEAH
H
Top 50 Reviewer 54 reviews
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Rating 
 
5.0
What a ride.
N
Top 50 Reviewer 31 reviews
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Rating 
 
3.5
You decisions won't matter, but if watching the game smack you around sounds like fun, there's none better than this.
R
Top 50 Reviewer 10 reviews
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Rating 
 
2.0
D
Top 10 Reviewer 133 reviews
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Rating 
 
1.0
L
Top 10 Reviewer 158 reviews
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