INTRODUCTION High adventure in the mysterious lands of Arabia. 2-4+ players. Simple boardgame. THE BOARD Square track 10 spaces per side. Total 36 spaces. Each space must be large enough to hold one card. The center of the board contains the Adventure deck and the discard pile. Special squares are listed below. All other spaces are “empty” spaces. # Name 1 Bagdhad (Lower right square. Start square) Gain a Fame token if you land on or pass this square. 10 Mecca (Lower left square) Miss a turn praying if you land on this square. Gain 1 Faith token. 19 Medina (Upper left square) Miss a turn praying if you land on this square. Gain 1 Faith token. 28 Silk Road (Upper right square) Gain a Fortune token if you land on this square. VICTORY The player who has the most Fortune points gets a Fortune win. The player who has the most Fame points gets a Fame win. The player who has the most Faith points gets a Faith win. GAME END The game ends when a player goes to draw a card and there are no cards left in the deck. TOKENS Use different colored tokens to represent Fame, Fortune, and Faith points. DICE Six sided dice are needed. ADVENTURE DECK Players share a common deck. The deck contains 6 types of cards mixed in: Challenge cards, Treasure cards, Event cards, Item cards, Location cards, and Aid cards. The deck contains one of each card listed. FIGURES Each player uses a figure or pawn to represent their character on the board. CHARACTERS Each player chooses 1 Character or Hero: Ali Baba- If Ali defeats a "Men" Challenge he gains 1 Fortune Token. Aladdin- Aladdin gets +1 to Fate rolls vs Magic, Djinn & Underworld. Sindbad the Sailor- Sindbad gets +1 to Fate rolls vs Animals, Beasts & Nature. Thief of Bagdhad- The thief gets +1 to all Steal rolls. Morgiana- (Ali Babas’ Slave) She may reroll one roll per turn. Antar- (The Black Warrior Poet) Antar gets +1 to Fate rolls vs Men. SETUP Shuffle the deck. All players start on Bagdhad. Roll high on 1D6 to determine turn order. TURN SEQUENCE Players take turns. Note that characters will often lose or gain turns. On their turn a player rolls 1D6 and moves his character pawn clockwise that many spaces. If the pawn lands on an empty space that player draws 1 Card from the Adventure deck. If the draw is an Item card, Treasure card, or Aid card, the player puts the card face up in front of him. Treasure cards are worth one Fortune point each. If the draw is an Event card, resolve it according to the rules on the card and then discard the card. If the draw is a Challenge card roll 1D6 (This is called the Fate roll): On a roll of 1-3 the hero fails the challenge and misses his next turn. A failed challenge card remains on the space. On a roll of 4-6 the hero wins the challenge. The winning hero keeps the challenge card he wins. Won challenge cards are worth 1 Fame point each. If a pawn lands on a space containing a challenge card he must face the challenge. If the draw is a Location card it is placed on the space and remains there permanently. Every time a pawn lands on a location card it must follow the instructions on the card. STEALING If a pawn lands on a space containing an opponents pawn he may roll 1D6 (This is called the Steal roll): On a roll of 1-3 nothing happens. On a roll of 4-6 the hero may steal one treasure or item or fortune token from his opponent. CHALLENGE CARDS Den of Thieves (Men) Discard 1 Fortune if you fail this challenge. Whirling Dervishes (Men) Efreeti (Fire Djin) Get –1 to fate roll Mountain Lion (Animal) Get +1 to Fate roll Forty Thieves (Men) Discard 1 Fortune if you fail this challenge. Scorpion (Animal) Jackals (Animal) Get +1 to Fate roll Cobra (Animal) Sassanid Infidels (Men) Sorcerer (Magic) Get –1 to fate roll Sea Monster (Beast) Quicksand (Nature) Avalanche (Nature) Storm at Sea (Nature) Shipwrecked (Nature) Old Man of the Sea (Man) Get –1 to fate roll Desert Thirst (Nature) Sand Storm (Nature) Poisoned Well (Nature) Demon (Underworld) Gain 1 Faith Token if you win this challenge Devil (Underworld) Gain 1 Faith Token if you win this challenge Island Fish (Beast) Dragon (Beast) Get –1 to fate roll Blown off Course (Nature) Zughb Ape men (Beasts) Black Giant (Beast) Get –1 to fate roll Giant Snake (Beast) Isle of Cannibals (Men) Nomads (Men) Ancient Ruins (Underworld) Gain one Fortune token if you win this challenge Sphinx (Beast) Sealed Cave (Nature) Underground River (Nature) Pirates (Men) Discard 1 Fortune if you fail this challenge. Cabalists (Magic) Magician (Magic) Sultans Palace Guards (Men) Incubus (Underworld) Dancing Sword (Magic) Golem (Magic) Dendan (Beast) Giant Fish Shapeshifting Djinn Skeletal Warriors (Underworld) Living Statues (Magic) Wind Djinn Marid (Water Djinn) False Prophet (Man) Gain 1 Faith Token if you win this challenge Fatima Assassins (Men) Khawarij Heretics (Men) Gain 1 Faith Token if you win this challenge Zoroastrian Fire Worshippers (Men) Play Chess with the Caliph (Man) Mameluke Slave Soldiers (Men) Bedouin Bandits (Men) Discard 1 Fortune if you fail this challenge. Corsairs (Men) Discard 1 Fortune if you fail this challenge. Harem (Women) Evil Vizier (Man) Eunuch Harem Guards (Men) Necromancer (Magic) ITEM CARDS Magic Ring- If you lose a turn roll 1D6. On a roll of 4-6 you do not lose it. Magic Potion- Discard to win any challenge. Magic Spy Glass- On your turn you may look at the next 4 cards in the deck Magic Carpet- You may roll 2D6 instead of 1D6 when moving. Healing Elixir- Avoid losing a turn. Discard after 3 uses. Magic Slippers- Get +1 to all of your movement and steal rolls. Seal of Solomon- Automatically defeat all Djinn. Flaming Sword- Fate rolls +1 vs Men Challenges. Celestial Orb- When drawing, draw 2 cards and discard one. Ancient Curse- Fate rolls –1. Discard 2 Faith tokens to discard this card. Philosophers Stone- Discard a Faith token to gain one Fortune token. Green Turban- Fate Rolls +1 vs Magic and Underworld challenges. Magic Astrolabe- Fate Rolls +1 vs Nature challenges. Rukh Egg- Discard to win challenge vs Beast. TREASURE CARDS Gold & Silver (8 cards like this in the deck) Rubies & Sapphires South Sea Pearls Flawless Gemstones Ivory Ship- Gain 1 turn then discard this for 1 Fortune token. EVENT CARDS Enslaved- Miss next turn. Camels (Ships of the Desert)- Gain 1 turn. Arabian Horses- Gain 1 Turn and move 2D6 for that turn. Caravan- Gain 1 Fortune Token. Merchant Vessel- Gain 1 Fortune Token. “Open Sesame”– Gain 1 turn. Listen to Scheherazade- Miss next turn. Read Book of Kings- Gain 1 Faith token. Sufi Mystic- Gain 1 Faith token. Shahada- (The first pillar of Islam) Gain 1 Faith token. Daily Prayers- (The second pillar of Islam) Gain 1 Faith token. Ramadan- (The third pillar of Islam) Miss next turn and gain 1 Faith token. Alms- (The fourth pillar of Islam) Discard 1 Fortune to gain 2 Faith tokens. Hajj Pilgrimage- (The fifth pillar of Islam) Miss next turn and gain 2 Faith tokens. Sheikh Teacher- Gain 1 Faith token. Ulama Scholar- Gain 1 Faith token. An Eye for an Eye- Target opponent misses their next turn. Berber Traders- Gain 1 Fortune Token. AID CARDS Snake Charmer- Discard to automatically defeat 1 ‘Animal’ Challenge. Scalding Oil- Discard to automatically defeat 1 ‘Men’ Challenge. Hospitality- Discard to avoid losing a turn. Led by Wild Beast- Discard to avoid losing a turn. Alchemist- Discard to automatically defeat 1 ‘Magic’ Challenge. Disguise- Discard to automatically defeat 1 ‘Men’ Challenge. LOCATION CARDS Elephant Graveyard- - Lose 1 turn and gain 1 Fortune token (Ivory). Mosque- Lose 1 turn and gain 1 Faith token. Valley of Serpents- Make a Fate roll. Gain a Fame or a Fortune token if you win. City of Brass- Gain a Fame token. Bazaar- Gain 1 Fortune token. Oasis- Gain 1 turn. GAME DESIGNERS NOTES For more atmosphere you may want to put a map of the Middle east in the center of the board. Some of the empty squares might be a good place to put artwork, or have the labeled with Middle East place names such as: Syria, Tunisia, Tripoli, Alexandria, Cairo, Giza, Jedda, Oman, Damascus, Jerusalem, Persia, Yemen, Sahara, Libya, Basra, Afghanistan. STORY TELLING GAME VARIANT by Frederic Moll (fmoll@geocities.com) TALES OF ARABIA