Item - Twist of Fate

After running afoul of the Grand Vizier (Jafar, who else?), you must go out into the world to make your fortune, then return to get your revenge.

This book is well-written, cleverly designed, and fun to play. Other books in this series involve journeys with specific destinations, but this one is an open world. There are plenty of places to go and different means to get there. Don't assume that going to the same place a different way will lead to the same stories; there is some path dependence. Wherever you go, you will have adventures in the style of the Arabian Nights.

I love how this book provides so many ways to overcome obstacles. There are very few dead ends and multiple ways to obtain vital items. As a result, this book is less frustrating than some others in the series. There's one unavoidable encounter in the middle of the story, but it's not too difficult to find an item that gets you through.

As an example of the book's flexibility, the author acknowledges that the reader may be female by providing an additional solution to a problem: swapping clothes with a captive to aid her escape. Those clothes can then be used later in the adventure.

The encounter with the rokh is set up to be most readers' means of making their fortune, yet you can bypass it altogether and still have a fair chance of winning. If you find this book too easy, I challenge you to seek out winning paths that don't involve stealing the rokh's treasure. There are at least five other ways to initiate the brief endgame phase.

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