
- BGG rank
- BGG #6,128
- BGG rating
- 6.2
Straw
- 2–6 players
- 30 min
- Complexity 1.0/5
- 2006

2024
Rules assistance for Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.

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Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves is a board game released in 2024 for 2–6 players, 20–40 minutes per game, and ages 12 and up. It was designed by Chok-Sien Hiew and its main mechanics are Push Your Luck.
You are cousins of Ali Baba. After he becomes rich, you keep pestering him until he tells you his secret - the hidden cave of the forty thieves. Now it is your turn to visit the cave and make yourselves rich too! Take as much as you can, but beware - you lose your sense of time in the cave. The thieves return at 12 midnight. If you hear them coming, drop everything and run for your lives! Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves is a game about grabbing as many treasures as you can before time runs out and everybody must scatter. Take risks to earn bigger rewards. Collude to throw someone else to the thieves. In the end there can only be one richest scoundrel. Each round, players take turns revealing an opponent's card. As long as the total of all revealed cards do not reach 12, you claim a reward. The longer the round goes, the higher the reward. Whoever reaches or exceeds 12 gets no reward, and is penalised instead. Players know their own cards and may share this information (truthfully or otherwise), thus manipulating how their opponents play. —description from the designer
Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves supports 2–6 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.
The listed playing time for Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves is 20–40 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves for ages 12 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves has a complexity rating of 1.0 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a light game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves belongs to these categories: Card Game, Bluffing, and Arabian. Its main mechanics are Push Your Luck. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves are: Chok-Sien Hiew. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.