- BGG rating
- 1.0
Tales of the Arabian Nights: Solo-Only Content Pack
- 1 player
- 90–180 min
- 2025
- BGG rank
- BGG #4,009
- BGG rating
- 7.0
Tales of the Arabian Nights
1985
Rules assistance for Tales of the Arabian Nights
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 1–10 players
- 180 min
- 12+
- Complexity 2.4/5
For 1 player
Rules assistant for Tales of the Arabian Nights
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Tales of the Arabian Nights is a board game released in 1985 for 1–10 players, 180 minutes per game, and ages 12 and up. It was designed by Doug Kaufman, Eric Goldberg, Kevin Maroney, Ken Rolston, and Brad Freeman and its main mechanics are Variable Player Powers, Trading, and Point to Point Movement.
Expansions
Similar games
- BGG rank
- BGG #722
- BGG rating
- 7.2
Tales of the Arabian Nights
- 2–6 players
- 120 min
- Complexity 2.2/5
- 2009
- BGG rank
- BGG #2,881
- BGG rating
- 7.9
Tales of the Arthurian Knights
- 1–4 players
- 120–180 min
- Complexity 2.1/5
- 2024
- BGG rank
- BGG #1,945
- BGG rating
- 6.7
Junta
- 2–7 players
- 240 min
- Complexity 2.9/5
- 1979
- BGG rank
- BGG #1,042
- BGG rating
- 7.9
Lands of Galzyr
- 1–4 players
- 60–150 min
- Complexity 1.7/5
- 2022
- BGG rank
- BGG #285
- BGG rating
- 7.6
Near and Far
- 2–4 players
- 90–120 min
- Complexity 2.9/5
- 2017
- BGG rank
- BGG #3,886
- BGG rating
- 6.5
Kings & Things
- 2–4 players
- 60–180 min
- Complexity 2.6/5
- 1986
- BGG rank
- BGG #192
- BGG rating
- 7.8
Star Wars: Outer Rim
- 1–4 players
- 120–180 min
- Complexity 2.6/5
- 2019
- BGG rank
- BGG #2,761
- BGG rating
- 6.9
Agents of SMERSH
- 1–4 players
- 90 min
- Complexity 2.5/5
- 2012
- BGG rank
- BGG #3,230
- BGG rating
- 7.1
Ace of Aces: Handy Rotary Series
- 2 players
- 20 min
- Complexity 1.8/5
- 1980
- BGG rank
- BGG #5,717
- BGG rating
- 6.9
Star Wars: Star Warriors
- 2–6 players
- 120 min
- Complexity 3.2/5
- 1987
- BGG rank
- BGG #437
- BGG rating
- 7.3
Above and Below
- 2–4 players
- 90 min
- Complexity 2.5/5
- 2015
- BGG rank
- BGG #141
- BGG rating
- 8.0
Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon
- 1–4 players
- 60–120 min
- Complexity 3.4/5
- 2019
About the game
This entry is for the West End Games version and other printings. For the 2009 Z-Man Games version, go to Tales of the Arabian Nights Tales of the Arabian Nights is actually several games in one. In the standard game, the players are characters living in the 1001 Nights universe, wandering about the map and having adventures. These adventures are designed in a sort of paragraph system, with the player to your left reading what happens to you and exposing the choices you have - choices that then lead to other paragraphs or outcomes. The characters evolve during their adventures, acquiring skills of various degrees of advancement to open up new options and various "statuses" (such as married, despondent, cursed, etc) which also affect play. The object is to become rich and come back to Baghdad. Other variants of the standard game include the Quest game, which forces you to roam the map looking for quests to fulfill. There's also a Merchant game, where your adventures give you arrow tokens which are used on a little separate board to simulate the progress of your caravans. The German edition, Geschichten aus 1001 Nacht, was published in 2000 and contained a revised Book of Tales along with some extra adventures.
Mechanics
Publishers
- Gallimard
- West End Games
- Edition Erlkönig
Questions and answers
Tales of the Arabian Nights supports 1–10 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 Tales of the Arabian Nights is 180 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 Tales of the Arabian Nights 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.
Tales of the Arabian Nights has a complexity rating of 2.4 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a medium-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.
Tales of the Arabian Nights belongs to these categories: Fantasy, Adventure, and Arabian. Its main mechanics are Variable Player Powers, Trading, and Point to Point Movement. 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 Tales of the Arabian Nights are: Doug Kaufman, Eric Goldberg, Kevin Maroney, Ken Rolston, and Brad Freeman. 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 Tales of the Arabian Nights 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.