Tales of the Arabian Nights
First Released May, 1996
Zen Build Released December 10, 2019
Main Platform: Pinball FX
Switch Platform: Pinball FX 3
Designed by John Popadiuk
Conversion by Zoltan Vari
Set: Williams Pinball Collection 2 ($23.99)
Link to Strategy Guide

We came pretty close to saddling Zen’s version of the unfathomably popular Tales of the Arabian Nights with a rating of BROKEN. Angela, our undisputed best pinball player, was the main advocate for the rating. Among other hiccups that haven’t been addressed in all the revisions and patches Pinball FX has had so far:

• The most common glitches are tied to the skill shot. While we’ve never had any instance of a made skill shot being called a miss, we’ve had PLENTY of instances where it simply didn’t register anything at all. Even if the ball cleanly falls through the correct hole, it’s not uncommon for nothing to happen except the ball entering the playfield while the scoreboard is still anticipating your plunge. The Vice Family couldn’t agree if it was more common for the failure to happen when the skill shot was the middle or bottom hole, which probably says a lot about how bad the entire mechanism is. Meanwhile, if the top hole is lit as the skill shot, the game almost always awards you for a made shot from any full-force plunge, regardless of what hole the ball ultimately falls through. This whole mechanism DOES NOT WORK and needs a full rebuild from Zen’s side.
• The magnet can cause unpredictable behavior well away from the magnet section of the table. We’ve had instances where it causes strange ball behavior as far down as around the left flipper and slingshot, which should be impossible unless it’s one of those Wile E. Coyote magnets (and those NEVER work). We’ve even had it happen when there’s no logical reason for the magnet to activate, meaning the ball isn’t close to where it should be affected by the genie, but also the genie hasn’t been hit for a while anyway. This is a lot rarer than the skill shot issues, but it happens enough that I had to mention it. It’s quite peculiar.
• Like with so many other Williams pins in Pinball FX, we’re comfortable rating TOTAN’s PRO mode as BROKEN in multiple ways. We’ve had instances where multiball should have started but didn’t and instead keeps cycling between Ball Lock #1 and #2. In PRO mode, starting multiball requires you to lock all three balls in a single ball. If you lock one or two and then die, it seems to have trouble counting to “three” in each subsequent ball.  When this happens, we’ve also had instances where all three balls are launched but multiball mode doesn’t start. Also, the ball frequently valleys on the right ramp in PRO mode, something that rarely occurs in any other mode. When it happens, instead of the game performing a soft reset to the plunger, the ball is magically pushed upward and drops down into the bumpers. We’ve never lost a ball by this means, but it’s immersion-breaking. Finally, the skill shot glitches mentioned above are most likely to happen on PRO.

Tales of the Arabian Nights is one of the most popular pins of the 90s. A mainstay in the Internet Pinball Database top 10 until Godzilla came along and finally bumped it down to #11, where it remains. Of the tables that I disagree with the high IPDB standing, which also includes White Water and Scared Stiff, I probably like TOTAN the most. So, it kind of feels like a table that Zen Studios needs to do a better job with, because it’s one of their most unstable Williams/Bally pins, if not THE most unstable. And yet, it ran away with ratings of GOOD from all eight members of The Pinball Chick team. Tales of the Arabian Nights is one of those pins nearly everyone wants to like, even in the face of multiple problems. There’s no denying the lamp is one of the best shots of the 90s. The genius use of two targets on it that change position depending on where the spin stops makes for some exciting wood chopping. That’s before you even consider the fact that every single spin matters to your overall score, with various associated bonuses and perks tied to the spins. It really is special.

Very few pins offer the levels of flexibility and sheer volume of risk/reward choices as it does. Put all your muscle into spinning the lamp and increasing the value of the lightning lamp. That’s Angela and Sasha’s strategy, with Angela throwing in “build-up extra balls ASAP” on top of that. Totally doable. Totally viable. Both have set Xbox records using that specific strategy. Dad prefers to go for the wizard as fast as possible by shoring up the jewels. Totally doable. Totally viable. I prefer to dance between those two strategies but with a focus on building-up the multiplier for the massive end-ball bonuses (I smile EVERY TIME I get a “hold bonus” random award). Totally doable. Totally viable.

And that’s not even factoring in MAKE A WISH (lit every seven-and-a-half lamp spins) and the choices it puts to players. You have two jewels left to complete the modes and have a hot ball with a high multiplier and lots of lamp spins. You light and convert MAKE A WISH and it gives you the option of COLLECT TWO JEWELS or COLLECT BONUS, and then you stare at the screen like “jeez.” It happens all the time in TOTAN, and since games can turn on a dime thanks to brutal outlanes and the possibility of the genie’s magnet having about a 1 in 10 chance of dunking the ball straight down the middle, the MAKE A WISH choices aren’t really easy to make. I’m someone who puts the highest premium in tables that give you the ability to create your own strategy, and in the case of TOTAN, that alone carries it over the finish line. If not for that, I’d probably be inclined to give this a BAD rating. Those outlanes ARE brutal, and the shallow angles assure that every ball has a chance of dancing right over the slings and rails and down the poop chutes. And while I’m whining, good lord, does this have the worst type of “kickback” ever. They’re more like the world’s most paranoid magna-saves. The “shooting stars” only last ten seconds, and the f*cking things goes off even when the ball doesn’t need saving. Thankfully, if the ball dies anyway, you get it back.

The rest of the table is surprisingly kind hearted. Every mode can be skipped by lighting MAKE A WISH and choosing the jewel. But, I’m not a fan of the Wizard mode thanks to the need to manually launch the balls, and this is frankly a terrible multiball table. But, I loved the seemingly limitless strategy variations, even if the outlanes can kiss my butt. So, what gives? My dad pointed out to me the risk/reward wouldn’t be as good without the brutal outlanes, since the scoring isn’t really that balanced. And he’s right. Tales of the Arabian Nights’ brutality enhances the very thing I value most about a 90s-era pinball table. Yes, every shot is risky because of the outlanes and a weirdly hard-to-defend drain, making this a table that always feels like a series of bad breaks. It’s a MADDENING pin. But without that, the temptations of the random awards, multipliers, and MAKE A WISH choices would vanish and a lone self-evident strategy would emerge: grind high-yielding lighting lamps. At their max, they yield 600K per spin, and it’s only because of its unpredictable angles that it doesn’t break the entire table. Whoa. That means the flexibility I cherish so much would be non-existent. I’m calling it the TOTAN Paradox, and the TOTAN Paradox states “the more strategic options you give players, the harder the table MUST BE in order to precisely balance all of them, which in turn limits how enjoyable the table will ultimately be.” Tales of the Arabian Nights offers so much more flexibility than my favorite pins often do, but it’s not even close to being one of my favorite pins. Apparently I want flexibility, but not too much flexibility.
Cathy: GOOD (3/5)
Angela: GOOD
Oscar: GOOD
Jordi: GOOD
Dash: GOOD
Dave: GOOD
Elias: GOOD
Sasha: GOOD
Scoring Average: 3.0 – OKAY
🧹Awarded a Clean Scorecard🧹
N00b Factor: Because of the house balls and hungry outlanes, Tales of the Arabian Nights might not be the best pin for brand new pinballers or casual fans who aren’t looking for a challenge. But, it’s not a total wash, either. The lamp is one of the all-time great toy elements in pinball history. Truly the fidget spinner of the sport, and it’s SO rewarding to get good at shooting it. TOTAN is also an excellent table for learning to anticipate rebounds, especially when aiming at the lamp. The genie makes for a less impressive target. It’s just not as satisfying to hit as it should be given the amount of real estate it takes up, which is to say nothing of the insanity that the magnet leads to. Oddly enough, if you ignore the outlane factors, this is one of the easiest wizards to get in Pinball FX. You literally can finish zero modes and get it.
Verdict: Newcomers should approach with caution, but if you’re struggling to learn how to grab rebounds, this might be a good choice to hone your skills in that field. But overall, we don’t think this is a good choice for newbies.

VICE VERSUS

TOTAN is one of the better tables to challenge your friends at. The spectator factor is high, and in fact, this was what convinced Angela to rate it GOOD and not bust the table’s Clean Scorecard award. For all its many problems, it’s genuinely entertaining to watch a match-up against your friends or family in a game of Tales of the Arabian Nights. Part of that is the nature of the table means there’s tons of near-deaths and close calls with the outlanes offer plenty of cheer out-loud moments. Of course, that also means there’s plenty of groans when those close calls go the other way. At one point, I scored only 30,230 in a game of one-ball. You read that right: 30,230, which led to my father saying “that’s not a score. That’s a zip code!” Not my proudest moment, though a victory for the good people of Hogansville, Georgia, since my father was right about it being a zip code. On the bright side, my family set four Xbox world records between us, and hey, I did win the duel! Tales of the Arabian Nights is far from perfect, but it’s one of the top versus pins in Pinball FX.

GAME ONE: CLASSIC MODE
Sasha: 63,858,560
Cathy: 123,791,130 (#43 All-Time)
Angela: 39,369,210
Oscar: 12,530,950
WINNER: Cathy (1)

GAME TWO: PRO MODE
Cathy: 18,910,090
Angela: 16,354,010
Oscar: 19,241,060 (#20 All-Time, #2 Xbox)
Sasha: 13,571,990
WINNER: Oscar (1)

GAME THREE: PRO MODE
Angela: 9,703,570
Oscar: 19,657,040
Sasha: 12,670,130
Cathy: 26,673,100 (#14 All-Time)
WINNER: Cathy (2)

GAME FOUR: PRO MODE
Oscar: 14,293,800
Sasha: 15,080,350
Cathy: 21,527,240
Angela: 34,930,820 (#10 All-Time, Xbox Record)
WINNER – NEW XBOX WORLD CHAMPION: Angela (1)

GAME FIVE: ARCADE MODE
Sasha: 77,624,990
Cathy: 151,129,850 (#3 All-Time, Xbox Record)
Angela: 103,394,650
Oscar: 88,635,220
WINNER – NEW XBOX WORLD CHAMPION: Cathy (3)

GAME SIX: 200 FLIPS CHALLENGE
Cathy: 53,954,670 (#8 All-Time)
Angela: 52,972,450
Oscar: 25,535,290
Sasha: 45,759,740
WINNER: Cathy (4)

GAME SEVEN ONE BALL CHALLENGE – BEST OF TWO
Angela: 3,321,880, 2,176,550
Oscar: 8,824,390, 7,358,970
Sasha: 3,087,610, 16,054,010 (#13 All-Time)
Cathy: 5,182,020, 30,230
WINNER: Sasha (1)

GAME EIGHT: FIVE MINUTE CHALLENGE
Oscar: 8,993,310
Sasha: 24,932,040
Cathy: 33,809,490
Angela: 37,838,590 (#8 All-Time, #2 on Xbox)
Winner: Angela (2)

GAME NINE: FIVE MINUTE CHALLENGE
Sasha: 39,414,430
Cathy: 30,397,880
Angela: 47,268,830 (#6 All-Time, Xbox Record)
Oscar: 30,370,620
WINNER – NEW XBOX WORLD CHAMPION: Sasha (2)

GAME TEN: DISTANCE CHALLENGE
Cathy: 108,170,620
Angela: 75,770,880
Oscar: 101,935,010
Sasha: 142,576,870 (#2 All-Time, Xbox Record)
WINNER – NEW XBOX WORLD CHAMPION: Sasha (3)

FINAL TALLY
Cathy: 4 wins *WINNER*
Sasha: 3 wins
Angela: 2 wins
Oscar: 1 win