SSG COU © RULES OF PLAY: (Conic 85 WEST END GAMES, INC. Eric Goldberg Desian Chris Milter Cover and Map Art 1. Introduction 2. Components 3. Arabian Nights is Four Different Games The Standard Game 4. Setting Up 5. Winning 6. Last Turn of the Game? 7. Game Sequence 8. The Book of Tales 9. Movement 10. The Cards Interior Htustration ‘Steve Gilbert, B.C. Milligan, Nick Quane, Mike Rothschild, Carl Skutsch and Robert Tufte Playtesting and Advice Doug Kaufman and Ken Rolston Larry Catalano Development Graphic Design ‘Stephen Crane Greg Costikyan and Paul Murphy Editing TABLE OF CONTENTS 11. Encounters 12. Skills 13. Statuses 14, Treasures 15. Story and Destiny Points 16. Wealth ‘The Storytelling Game 17, Rules Changes 18, Telling Your Story 19, Judging and Voting for Additional “Awards 20. Storytelling Tips 21. An Example of Storytelling ‘The Adventure Rules 22. Quests 23. Merchants 24. Interactive Card Play 25. No Status Limit 26. Using Skills on Other Players Solitaire Game 27. Setting Up 28. Winning 29. Playing A Note to Western Readers Allah be praised! Pages 3 ¢o 7 are all you have to read to play this game.In fabled antiquity, there lived a great king of the lands Which border Aveta and India. hs queen begat hin two lusty sons, Shabeivar ‘ond Shakzaman, who were much renowned. When the king died, Shahrivar ascended f0 his Jattor’s throne, end Shakcaman becante Sultan ‘of Samarkand. The wo brothers ued thelr kingdoms well for swenay years, at the end of which Shahelvar Felt 4 grea’ longing 0 soe his younger brother. He promptly dispatched his ier to Samarkand, where Shaltzuman was overjoyed 1 learn of his brother's invitation, ‘Shalguman hed barely left his Kingdom, when Ihe thought of «present he wished (0 estore upon dis brother. He hastened back to his private ‘chambers, and found.his wife in the arms of a Nubian slave. “Aghast that ‘his queen woud dishonor hn so he drew his sword and slew them out. He then returned 10 his retainers, and journeyet! to be reunited mith his brother. ‘Shahriyar rejoiced tose his brother, ond held foosis and revels in Shakzaman's honor. But Shahzaman was sick at heart atthe thowsht of his wife's perfidy. Shahriyar was troubled by ‘Shatzaman’s distraught condition, and proctun eda great hunt in hopes of lifting his brother's spi, be Shuzaman’s despair was so great hat the would not str from the palace Whilst Shahrivar was off ai the hen’ Shakzaman wandered miserably through the courtyards. At tengih he espied Shahriyar's (queen, a woman of wondrous Beauty. He thought {eogreet her, when he saw tha she and her stave Lins were caverting with Nubien slaves. The thundersiruck Skakzaman reasoned that his Imisfornune wes less than tha af 24s Brother's, ‘and at once his spirits lightened. ‘That evening, Shahrivar, sore perplexed by his brother's changing moods, requesied an explona- Wor. Shahzaman told hin ai. Shahriyar declared ‘eco nr believe his wie would be unfaithful, ‘but decided to test her, Phe next dey, the brokers ‘pretended 1 go on a hunt and rerurmed to the place in secret, Thus a distraught Shahriver saw ‘his queen's baveds revel As soon as Shahizamar left the Kingdom, the Suuan Shahrivar ordered Fis wife and all her ‘faves put to death. Thencefort, he made 1 his fexsion to marry a virgin each nigh, and stay her theneet morning. nthe ensuing years, many of ‘is people led the Kingdom with her daughters ‘At ast came the dey when Shahrpar's yer eau Jind no maidens for his master t0 marry, save for ‘us own daughters, Shekerezod and Dunyasad. ‘Shoherezad was a perfect daughter in every vay, versed inthe wisdom of sagesand te legends of grew sultans. Perceiving her father’ distress, ‘she declared to him her willingness fo mary hit ‘After Shahriyar lay with Sheherezad, she wept, Jor she could not bear to spend her fast night vethout the company of her younger sister. Dunyacod was summoned (othe. palace, ‘whereupon the two sisters tearfully embraced Dunyazad asked Sheherezad 10 elt one of her Fabulous ales, that the night might pass mare Dieasanty. Fuscinated, Shahrivar stayed to ision ‘as Sheherezad began her tale.. 1. INTRODUCTION In Arabien Nighis, you become a hero or heroine in the wales Shetierezad told tothe spell- bound sultan, You can enjoy these tales by outsell, oF with a group of iv to six players, You and your iriends wil enter the world of the seven voyages of Sindbad, of Ali Baba and the forty thieves, and of Aladdin and the magic lamp. You will discover this exotic and fabulous world, them become an important par: of it and sine ll tesco al those of Shaheed hers Arabian Nigls is « pacageaph-system boatdgame. During the game, you will en- counter all sorts of strange beings and reatuses. You wil then reter to are of the Teteted reaction mairices, which wil fer several options, You must chaose one ot those options. paragraph in the Book of Tales will deserve the resulls of your decision, 'A paragraph-system game's based on she same nica ne the "choose yous oven ending”™ ‘books which You cas buy in any bookstore. ‘The books, however, comain single “adventute:"” which You can only play’ through one or two tints, In comrast Is ame is highly replayable because: ‘over 1001 adventures are included; + You must compete agains! Mheunderlying juame system and the other pliyerss ang + the system gives you greater control over events — you decide which cities to visit, ‘which skils to begin with, and so on, FF] Because ofall hese Features, we may not oO How Arabian Nights is Played You begin wih the standard game, upon whic the three other versions are taxed, Here your Character becomes a hero in the unfolding ot Several slories. Once you have an understanding ff theancient Arabian culture, you ean hen add Fichness and sophistication co the tales with the adventure cules. You may wish to play alone wits the solitaire rules. Then there is the storytelling concept, which is new to games but not to your ‘experience. You and your friends wil vie oenter- tain each other by telling tall tales, Once you have read pages 0 7, Youare ready to play this game, That's — S pages. The rest be exaggerat when we say that the game will be played as long asthe tales of Sind bad and Aladdin are remembered, ‘The Easiest Way to Learn the Rules Have someone else teach them 10 you. Falling that, you'll have 1 read them yourself. Don't worry Ifyou don’: retain all the rules on the first read-throug. Yeu’ not studying for @ (est; you're piching up the Dutline of how the game works. When you play the game for the first time, expect to fefer back 10 the rules to reffest your Understanding of how the ame works. The {ale of contents at the begining ofthe rales up you find parila le wen 1, however, you simply can't find the answer toa question, youmay write us and wel try to provide one, See the box below for instructions. ‘of ths booktet (and the Book of Tales) consists fof background material and elaborations upon the standard game. he Thousand and One Arabian Nights alt you, Coie, be our honored guest! 2. COMPONENTS Bach copy of rabian Nights includes: ‘One 22" by 17" mounted game map * One sheot of 160 cardboard counters * One rues booklet * One Book of Tales # Sin 814” by 54" player displays + Que 816" by 11" reaction matrix display © One 84” by 11" component summary One 81" by 11" merchant display * One deck of 64 cards * Two dice += Two plastic bags * Oue game box [any ofthese are missing or damaged, e the bos at the bottom ofthis page for instructions ‘on how Lo get replscemients The components are described more fully in the "Component Summary." 3. ARABIAN NIGHTS IS FOUR DIFFERENT GAMES ‘The rules ae divided into four sections. The first section's for the Standard game, the see ‘ond forthe Storytelling game, th third for tie [Adventurerules, and te fourth for the Solaire ‘same. 3.1) The Standard Game ‘The Standard game isthe simplest version of Arabian Nights. I should be used when there are ‘evs players, more than 4 player, or when you want to complete a game in less than 2 hours. Copyright ©1988 West Bad Games, I Tales ofthe Arabian Nights” ie West End's same for is game of Tantasy adventure. ‘Trademark applied or any of te game's components ure damaged cr missing, please wri West End Gams, Ine. 251 Weet th Steet ‘New York, NY 10001 Ingiate which components are missing ot damaged. Include a stamped, sel/-addressed fuvelope for speedy reply. AS a resull ofthe Uelicate segisration requirements for game counters, counters. will sometimes be ‘spite, wth sal portions nt being hol Tyeontained wilt ihe counter rea, West End anna replace such counters unless they are wholly ilesibe or cherwise crisable, ‘West End will answer quesions about the ‘game's rules: write 10 the above saives. LD Enclose stamped, self-addressed envelopear intemational rely coupon with your questens ‘Questions mst be typed or lesibly prince For mat your questions so they can be amwered "yee" or “no” of with shor! responses. Although we welcome connens and sups tions about the game background and the ‘jst ite, we cant promise respond sich auestoas,Beease Of he pe of WotR FyG.2) Storytelling Game ‘This sa unique game, allowing players to spin tales in the cue tradition of the Arabian Nights 1 is simple to play, but presents ity own challenges (3.3) Adventure Rules ‘The Adventure rules make the game more rewarding and challenging — but ad about an hrour-and-a-half to playing time. 3.4) Solitaire Game Arabian Nights can also be played slone. This same requires knowledge of te Adventurevulés. THE STANDARD GAME 4. SETTING UP (4.1) Sort and Place the Deck and Counters Up to six people can play Arabtan Nights at Before beginning, each player takes player display and one of the six colored sets of player ‘countes, Thee ae sx counters in each se Place *Thecharacter counter on the map in Baghdad The “Destiny Points" and "Story Poiats"” ‘markers on the player display on the Des and Story Tracks; each marker goes in the "1" bbox ofits track. #The “Wealth” marker on the player display in the “Poor” box. sate the Orga and Destination markers for Place the Treasure counters in the box top oF acup. Sort the skil counters by type. Shutfle the deck of cards and place it to one side, Place the "Ist Deck” marker next t0 the eck. Exception: [na two-player game, place the “ond Deck" marker there Each player rolls wo dies. High roller will go lit; other players follow in clockivise order. (4.2) Choose Your Character’s Gender Each player decides whether he wl playa male for female character, (Note that the back ofeach character counter is printed with female ‘character; use whichever side is appropriate.) ‘You may wish to read the Note to Western Readers atthe end of these rules if you choose to play a female character. (4.3) Record Victory Formula Each player must decide how many Destiny points and how many Story points he will need to win, He writes the numbers he eliooses on a Diese of serap pape: — bu! the two numbers must ‘dd upto 20. (For example, you could decide yout needed! 12 Destiny points and & Story points.) You. may keep the dumbers you choose secret from the other players. (See Winning, section 5.) (4.4) Choose Your Skills ach player in turm chooses one skill counter. ‘You may etoose any kill excep for Major Magic (ehich cam only be learned in the course of the game). Repeat this step two more times, so that all players have three skils, Place the skill outers (T’ side up) in any box at the top of your display’ 5. WINNING “There are two ways to win the Standard game of Arabian Nights: 1) by fulfilling your formula of Story and Destiny points and returning to Baghdad, or 2) by becoming a Sultan and returning to Baghdad (Gee section 6, Last Turn of the Game). ‘The usual way to win i through your victory ‘Formula, which you choose when setting up. ‘you have the points necessary to fulfill your » {ory formule, and return to Baghdad and st for an entire turn, you win, Note that, during the turn that you remain in Baghdad, the other players can do various thing to ether Keep you from winning, or share in the victory with you. You should Keep your victory formula secret {rom the other players unt its ule, at which time you must antounce that You have mel your soals, (See section 15, Story and Destiny Points.) 6. LAST TURN OF THE GAME? ‘Whena player enters Baghdad with the Sultan status, or after earning the right number of Destiny and tory pois, each ofthe other players hhas one last turn. The “last turn” of Arabian ‘Nights is very exciting. AC the end ofthe “last ten,” one of four things may occur, + No one wins, and play continues. The first player wins. ‘More than one player wins. In fat, fll players rein Baghdad snd have fuliled thei vstory Tormula or have the Sulkan sistus atthe end of the game, they elf win. The fist player loses and another player() wins. Inthe example below, te last player would be the sole winner if he fulfled his victory for- ‘mula or had the Sultan status. All's fair. Example: You have won by entering Baghdad ‘withthe Sultan status. However, in his tum the Jast player also enters Baghdad and plays a Special card which makes you lose @ status. Since you Aare no longer a Sultan, no ane car win ax the mo. ‘ment, and the game éontinues.. 7. GAME SEQUENCE Each player takes his turn of Arabian Nights as follows: (7.1) Pass the Book of Tales I your turn is just starting, you should be holding the Book of Tales. Give it tothe player 3 (on your left, whe now becomes the reader for ‘your turn, (7.2) Check Statuses and Treasures you have any status or treasure markers on your player display, the reader announces their Effects before you move, /See Slaluses, section 13 and Treasures, section 14.) (7.3) Move ‘You may move as far as your wealth level allows. (See Movement, secon 9.) (7.4) Encounter ‘When you have ended your move, you must immediately check for an encounter. Do so by ‘drawing the top card from the deck, unless you ‘occupy a Place of Power. (See Encounters, see- tion 11) (7.5) Cards and Dice ‘After your encounter has been resolved, you perform, inorder, these special ations: 1) Card play: If you have fate cards, you may. play them if you meet the requirements, (See ‘The Cans, section 10.) 2} Conditional skills or statuses: {fyou have any ‘ondidiona statuses or skills, you must make 2 dice tol 19 see whether the status or skills are lost 8. THE BOOK OF TALES ‘The Book of Tales is the heart of Arabian [Nighis, DO NOT READ THROUGH IT! Ii you ‘doy you may limit your enjoyment ofthe game, ‘During the game, the reader wll often bee ced upont to refer tc one a the paragraphs printed {nthe book. A number in bold typeI printed at ‘he beginning of each paragraph. AL various times, the reader will be asked to fon t0 a par ticular number ip the Book “and read the paragraph whieh follows aloud Sections 11, 13 snd 14 daseribe hoy the Book of Tals is ure, 9. MOVEMENT ‘You may move each turn (unless you have a stalus which prevents movement), You are never ‘required to move. (Exception: see 9.2, Places of Power). The maximum number of spaces you may move is determined by your wealth (9.1) How Far You May Move [Look atthe Wealth Track onthe player cispay Aland movement rates pried above each box ‘onthetrack, anda searate below each box. Your ‘movement rate is determined by the box your ‘Wealth marker occupies. Your character may move as many spaces on ‘the game map as your movement rate, A move isa land rove if iis between two spaces whieh are connected by a land route, and a sea move ifthe spaces are connected by a sea route, (Note! ‘The nature of the space does not determine whether a move is by sea or by lands the nature (of the route determines it.) ‘You may combine movement (hati, move by land and sea in the same uta) bucyou may never ‘exceed ether of your limits. Example: If you have sea rate of Sand a Tand rate af 2, you may move a maximum of five spaces, no more than fo of which may be by fans. (9.2) Opportunities to Enter Places of Power Each af the Places of Powter has 2 one-way ar ‘ow leading from it. You may not normally ener Places of Power, During the game, you may receive an ‘opportunity to enter” a’ particular