Bugs: Recent Topics Paging, Uploading Images & Preview (11 Dec 2020)
Recent Topics paging, uploading images and preview bugs require a patch which has not yet been released.
Tales of the Arabian Nights: a Game that Plays You.
- Cranberries
-
Topic Author - Offline
- D10
-
- You can do this.
- Posts: 3085
- Thank you received: 2377
If you bring your Euro gaming need for strategic planning or Judeo-Christian expectations for fairness to the game you will be sorely disappointed. Terrible things will happen to you regardless of the choices you make.
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
- Cranberries
-
Topic Author - Offline
- D10
-
- You can do this.
- Posts: 3085
- Thank you received: 2377
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
- Erik Twice
-
- Offline
- D8
-
- Needs explosions
- Posts: 2300
- Thank you received: 2650
PD: I remember the "sexy stuff" from Arabian Nights not so much because it was sexy but because it was massively racist. I started reading one of the complete editions and there are like three stories in a row in which the Sultan's wife cheats on him with a black slave. Which is like, the worst of the worst.
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
TOTAN is one of these. It’s kind of fun but the promise falls flat. You’re supposed to be the protagonist in a story, but you end up being straightjacketed into situations that you have no control over. You end up being a spectator instead of a hero.
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
It's a game that I play maybe once or twice a year and it's like opening a portal to the most insane cardboard world you could ever dream up. It's perfect.
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
- Cranberries
-
Topic Author - Offline
- D10
-
- You can do this.
- Posts: 3085
- Thank you received: 2377
I need to edit this. Is that possible without intervention?
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
- Matt Thrower
-
- Offline
- Shiny Balls
-
- Number Of Fence
cranberries wrote: I forgot to mention that the game reminded me a lot of actually living in the Middle East: you wander around trying to accomplish something while everyone tries to rip you off, and occasional someone is really, really cool or something magical happens.
I need to edit this. Is that possible without intervention?
Don't think so. PM me with the text you want and where you want it inserted and I'll edit it accordingly. Sorry about the time it took to go live BTW - I didn't know no-one was watching the queue anymore!
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
- Matt Thrower
-
- Offline
- Shiny Balls
-
- Number Of Fence
dysjunct wrote: I was just having a conversation with one of my nerd friends about my endless disappointment with board games that try to tell stories,
Not strictly a board game, but you might want to check out Once Upon A Time. Rather than enforcing a story via the mechanics, it's a way to get players to invent their own. One of my absolute favourite games, recently out in a spanking new edition and fairly cheap, too.
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
Here's the thing: played RAW we never got to play it enough—or even finish enough games—to get past the "totally random, doesn't matter what you choose" perception. But now I've played it enough that I've seen the shape of the thing, and it is beautiful. There's a kind of logic to the choices, and you can indeed drive your character's experience in a general direction—though the will of Allah is still paramount and going against your destiny will cause you nothing but suffering. And sometimes suffering is your destiny: I have seen people win as a scorned, crippled, diseased outlaw.
It took a lot of plays to get here, but we can pretty much run the thing as desired; so much so it's now a perennial family favorite.
Here are my standard suggestions 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 plus 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. (3p is the sweet spot; 4p max)
Thanks for the review!
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
- Legomancer
-
- Offline
- D10
-
- Dave Lartigue
- Posts: 2944
- Thank you received: 3873
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
- Posts: 91
- Thank you received: 41
My house rules are:
Play with a lower number of points to win - I find 8- 10 to be the right range.
Always destiny + story.
No more then 3 conditions at one time. As soon as you get a new one throw the oldest one out.
As soon as one person wins everyone get one last turn. Why? Because it's the epilogue to your story.
I do like the idea of flipping Day / Night every turn.
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
- ChristopherMD
-
- Away
- Road Warrior
-
- Posts: 5244
- Thank you received: 3802
These two statements seem to get used a lot together on this site.
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
- Posts: 91
- Thank you received: 41
Mad Dog wrote: "It's a great game" "but you must house rule it"
These two statements seem to get used a lot together on this site.
Yup. Love it - my go to for house rules.
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.