Bofore the start of the third telling, the friends at MMORPGDot tried the beta version : "While A Tale in the Desert III may not have graphics that measure up to the competition or the thrill of real-time combat, it offers complex social puzzles that are a bit more intellectually stimulating. With the possibility of creating puzzles for the next telling, players also share a larger investment in the game. Small communities offer closer relationships that make solving the puzzles a closer interactive process. After chatting with some of the other players, it's obvious the game has a niche market, those looking for something a bit out of the norm, yet still giving them the MMORPG experience."