So there I was just browsing the 'Geek when I came across a new game that both looked interesting and appeared to be easy. I had it in my mind to pick it up... but alas it was only available in German. Of course that didn't stop me then.

A few months later I saw that The Thief of Baghdad was up for the SdJ. Having in my mind that I wanted all of the nominated games, I ended up buying it. I was not dissappointed.

Theme
What is kind of lacking in the game is the overarching theme. If you look for it in this game, you'll find it. The issue is... its not readily available from the word start. The theme creeps up within the game and as you play the game.

You play, in the game, a group of thieves that try to steal treasures located within certain palaces. The treasures are heavy so you need a certain amount of people to lift them up and take them out of the palace. The issue is the guards guarding the palace. The theme gets brought in here. In order to take a treasure, you need to have one of your own guards guarding the palace. Its like you are sending a spy to help you out.

Components
The components of the game are rather simple. Each player has four guards and 12 thieves of their color. Depending on how many people are playing is how many are used during the game. There are also 8 black guards which are neutral.

There are also cardboard chits that are the treasures. On each treasure is a certain number of icons that represent the number of people needed to pick it up (four through seven).

The board itself is a very nice looking board. It is quite simple and elegant. Each palace is unique and has ample space to put thieves as well a spots for each of the up to four guards.

There are also cards.... a lot of them. There are two types of cards. Palace Cards and Dancer Cards. The Palace cards have a picture of the color palace that is associated with it. The Dancer cards, have of course, a picture of a dancer on it; the Dancer cards are wild.

The Dancer cards are in a seperate pile, whenever you play one you put them back into this seperate pile.

Mechanics
The mechanics of the game is quite simple. The game is card driven.

There are only a few choices to make with your cards. You can make any of these choices as long as you have the cards to do so. But, you can only do up to three thief (#'s 3 and 4) actions during your turn.

1) You can move a neutral guard.
This means you can move any neutral guard from one palace to another, as long as there is room. To do this you pay 2 cards, one matching where the neutral guard starts and one matching where he'll end up.

2) You can move your own guard.
To do this, you can only pay one card. Either where the guard starts or where he'll end up. Same rules apply.

3) You can move your own guard plus one thief.
This is the same as #2, you can move your guard and if there is a thief in the palace where he's moving from, you may take 1 with you. Same cost as #2.

4) You may place a thief into a Palace.
To do this you must pay one matching palace card for each guard of player (including neutral). So if a palace is being guarded by three guards: one of them neutral and one yellow (and your orange), you have to pay 2 cards of that palace's color. You must have at least one guard of your color and of a different color in the palace where you want to put your thief.

5) You may skip all actions and take four cards, one of which may be a Dancer Card. note: This is the only way to get a Dancer card.

Dancer cards as said above are wild. They may be used as you like. They are returned to their own pile though.

Gameplay
The gameplay too is quite easy.

On your turn you may do as many of the available options as you have cards. If at any point you have the number of theives equal to the showing treasure. The treasure and your thieves come off the board and to your person.

You may only do up to three thief actions though per turn. *very important*

The game ends when one person gets the required number of treasures. (which varies dep. on how many players)

Overall
Overall, this is a quick and thought provoking game.

As you play it, you'll see the theme come out. For example, the dancer "distracts" the guard, etc.

This game is also a lot more evil than one would expect. After playing a few rounds, you'll see strategy arise. With that you'll be trying to prevent others fro doing what they want. It can turn rather nasty and still maintain the fun.

While I would categorize it as medium-light... the thinking aspect has you on your feet. It almost has a filler game feel to it, but can be played in the beginnning of the day to get the juices running. I enjoy it quite a bit.

Rating: 7.5/10

-DK