I'm not a board game fanatic, but I can really appreciate a complex and well-designed board game when I come across one, and Tales of the Arabian Nights delivers! I can't believe this game is as difficult to find as it is, but that's probably because everyone who has a copy is holding on to it. I think this may be the best board game I've played. I love how it just allows you to design a character based on a set of skills and then go adventuring around the board; you can do whatever you want, and your achievements are based on your reaction to individual encounters. I definitely recommend playing this with at least four or five people, and set aside several hours, because it definitely takes a lot longer than two!

The in-game repetition rate for tales is low enough, but game to game, after a dozen playings, you notice more tales coming back. My major criticism is the Book of Tales cover is too thin and suffers. The sheer handing it gets tends to wear it down. So if you get a copy of this gem, xerox the book of tales--despite the cost and time, it's worth it. (If you don't think so, sell me your copy instead. Someone ran off with mine when I loaned it to them for a weekend party.) :) Given that, there is a good replay value by following different strategies in characer type and area, and thus avoiding loops.

We picked up this game as a gift for a friend almost 20 years ago and we still tell tales of the adventures we had. The game play is a little slow because of all of the page turning in the story book, but if your friends are the least bit creative, or slightly intoxicated, you will have tales to remember forever.

This game takes several hours to play, and if you have more than 4 or 5 people it can take all night, but it is well worth the effort. It is very easy to choose poorly and find yourself ensorcelled or imprisoned. But that just makes the game more fun.

You have to make choices, a lot of them. Sometime it seems like there are no good choices, but there is (almost) always something good waiting around the next page.

A "Choose Your Own Adventure" for grown ups.