Stack of the game at launch at Gen*Con 2009

I remember when I was in school one of my favorite things was getting my new “Choose Your Own Adventure” book from the weekly reader. Now many years later I think I have found the boardgame equivalent. “ Tales of the Arabian Nights” is an amazingly rich story telling game that will lead you down many paths and entrench you in a world unlike many others. The game takes you to a mystical time and allows you to take on the persona of several Arabian heroes and heroines. Through out your journey you will choose your way in and out of danger, determine your fate and search for treasure and rewards that only the stories have told of.

Our game of "Tales of the Arabian Nights"

In our game I jumped in about 30 minutes late but soon was caught up to the others and we were on our way. Each character starts out with a mission in which he or she has to accomplish several things. While doing the encounters you build up Destiny and Story points and if you are lucky you build Wealth levels as well. But just as with the “Choose Your Own Adventure” you need to be careful when choosing your encounter strategy. Unlike the books though if you die in the game your “Son or Daughter will pick up and avenge your death”. This is where I thought the rules were a little lacking, the penalty for death was you loose any cards that modified your character, including negatively, and got to start over at the home spot with your wealth, destiny, and story scores intact. The game lasted us about 2 hours total but it did not feel that long and we all walked away having enjoyed the game.

This is a great “Big box” game. For the money you spend there is a lot of product here. It can play up to 6 people and handles it easily. It contains a story guide the likes I have barely seen in a D&D manual. There are dice to help determine your destiny when pulling an encounter card. All in all well worth the money.

I give this game 4 out of 5 pawns.

4 out of 5 pawns