Shahrazad

About this board game

Shahrazad is a 10-minute card game for 1–2 players, offering a solo puzzle or a cooperative challenge in which you build a tale from illustrated tarot cards.

Each turn, choose which card to play from your hand and add it to the tableau. Cards must touch, forming columns to the left or right while shifting halfway up or down. In a one-player game, columns may contain up to four cards; with two players, the limit is three.

Your decisions shape both the layout and the story. Once all cards have been played, cards are turned face-down when a lower-numbered card appears somewhere to their right. You then search for paths running from the far-left side of the tableau to the far-right, keeping the cards that form a valid tale.

• Play with 22 beautifully illustrated tarot cards.
• Use four background colours to create colour groups for scoring.
• Manage columns, gaps, card numbers, and potential paths across the tableau.
• Play two rounds, carrying part of the first arrangement into the second.

After the paths are found, score the colour groups while deducting points for face-down cards and gaps. Keep a column, shuffle the deck, and begin the second round; the combined result becomes your final score and reflects the king’s opinion of your story.

In the two-player version, both players work with a hand of two cards. You cannot discuss which card to play, but you may confer after choosing while deciding where to place it. With its difficult choices and stories that barely hold together, Shahrazad turns tableau building into a compact test of judgment and cooperation.