# Choice of the Petal Throne — Empire of the Petal Throne™

> Interactive text-based fantasy novel with player choice driving the story. (iPhone/iPad app by Choice of Games LLC.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/choice-of-the-petal-throne/id975038492 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Choice of Games LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/348940935)
- Category: Games, Books, Adventure, Role Playing
- Price: $4.99
- Rating: 4.10/5 from 16 App Store ratings · 37 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 12+
- Requires: iOS 12.0 · 27 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2015-04-09
- Data updated: 2026-08-17
- Monetization: ad-supported
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/choice-of-the-petal-throne/id975038492/reviews.md

## What is Choice of the Petal Throne?

In the Empire of the Petal Throne™, will you find glory, or a knife in your back?

"Choice of the Petal Throne" is a 124,000-word interactive fantasy novel by Danielle Goudeau, where your choices control the story. It's entirely text-based--without graphics or sound effects--and fueled by the vast, unstoppable power of your imagination.

M.A.R. Barker's world of Tékumel™ is a fantasy universe like no other, where South American, Middle Eastern, and Indian cultures collide. The princes and princesses of the Tsolyáni empire vie for their father's mystical Petal Throne, tearing the nation apart with civil war and political intrigues.

As a captain in one of their armies, will you play as male or female, gay straight or bi? A brave and forthright soldier, a hedonistic intriguer with a heart of gold, or scheming double agent?

Tékumel™ and Empire of the Petal Throne™ are trademarks of M.A.R. Barker and are used with permission of the Tékumel Foundation. For additional information, please visit www.tekumelfoundation.org.

## Key features

- Choice-driven narrative
- Text-based gameplay
- Fantasy setting
- Character customization
- Political intrigue
- Interactive novel

## Recent user reviews (10 of 37)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/choice-of-the-petal-throne/id975038492/reviews.md

### 5/5 — Fantastic Writer

*2023-03-26*

I’ve always been intrigued by Tekumel and really never had the chance to play the game

This is short but rich. Feels like Barker’s vibe.

Wish she would write a whole book

### 5/5 — It is Exactly what it claims to be.

*2021-11-07*

I’m giving this five stars because it’s very well written and the devs clearly did their homework on a very obscure pen and paper classic. This game is an excellent recreation of M.A.R Barker’s world of Tekumel. While the writing is excellent and the lore is rich, it’s fair to say newcomers to this world may find this particular game difficult to jump right into. I would suggest that the devs provide a slight intro in the beginning that explains (in a basic sense) the point of clans, or perhaps a brief description of current events to set the scene and the tone of the world. That said, thank you for the story, it was a blast!

### 3/5 — Promising but ultimately flawed

*2020-02-28*

So I have mixed thoughts about this game. 

First the Pros: 

The writing is solid all the way around (not a guarantee at all in CoG games) and the world building is quite unique and interesting and I kept wanting to know more about it. Also there’s some nice degree of choice and how the plot moves forward can very much alter with your failures and/or successes.

Some of the encounters or events are quite imaginative. I was particularly taken with a sequence in which you encounter a “whimpered” which I think is one of the more chilling types of monsters I’ve ever encountered in a game like this.

The cons:

 The game is short. Way too short. I felt like I was about getting to the halfway point when the game suddenly ends with barely a resolution, and that’s on a “good” ending. This to was it’s ultimate crime. I felt at the end, regardless of what choices I made, that I barely impacted the overall resolution of the story, and that’s because at the end of the day, your character IS tangential to the larger narrative (The game of the Petal Thrones). I mean sure, you get to side with one royal or the other in who gets a particular maguffin (whose importance is never explained) but you’re left to your own imagination how that pans out. 

I recognize that writing these branching stories is an arduous and time consuming process but I really felt short changed, especially when there are so many other CoG games that feel truly developed and are easy to invest in. The same goes for the relationships you have in the story. Completely underdeveloped and while your two relationships have great baring on the ending of the game, it doesn’t seem to matter how well or badly you’ve treated them, they’re going to make the same choices, and you spent such little time with them that they feel fairly personality-less. 

One other thing: I appreciate the thought that went into the world building. It’s great. But EVERYTHING has a weird name in a made up language, and I can’t tell you how often I had to consult the glossary, which itself was filled with MORE weird terms in the made up language. If the game had been longer and I felt like it was important to know this stuff to make smart decisions, I think I would have happily looked past it, but for as slight as the story winds up being, it seems like an awfully big ask to require your readers to learn a made up language for the purposes of what is essentially a short and uninvolving story. 

I know that all sounds harsh, but again the writing is good and the world is interesting, but I don’t think that’s enough. Especially when there are so many other much better CoG out there.

### 4/5 — Embrace the unfamiliarity and be rewarded

*2018-06-27, version 1.1.1*

This novel was a pleasantly unique experience. While it took some time to immerse myself in a world with such rich language, history, lore, and characters the commitment was well worth it. The story makes no apologies for its complexity and unfamiliarity and this is largely why it succeeds. While the tale itself borrows from familiar enough fantasy tropes (a solid choice given the unfamiliarity) the setting and larger events are quite fresh. All in all I can recommend this quite comfortably. Don’t shy away from the strangeness and difficulty; it’s what makes this so enjoyable.

### 5/5 — Excellent adventure!

*2018-06-02*

This game is one the better introductions to M.A.R. Barker's famed, science-fantasy world of Tékumel. It is a world of (male and female) warriors and sorcerers, psionic powers, weird, millennia-old technology, interdimensional travel, and strange alien gods and creatures.
If you are tired of Tolkien-like fantasy clones, give this a shot. The world was inspired by medieval India, Imperial China, and Mesoamerican cultures, not Anglo-Saxon and Judeo-Christian societies and mores (Tékumel was LGBQ-friendly before the word even existed). And all of it is peppered with Golden Age science-fiction bits and bobs: weird (at times terrifying) aliens, and potent futuristic technology that sometimes looks like magic.
So leave your expectations of what Fantasy should be behind, and embrace the non-Western cultural norms, the Urdu and Nahuatl sounding words (Barker, just like Tolkien, was a University-level linguist, as well as an artist and writer), and the cool sword and sorcery-like adventures full of bizarre monsters, vast treasures, weird cults, and, yes, deep dungeons.
The game, which is well written, offers numerous options and choices that bring the world of Tékumel to life.
I personally would love to see a follow up to The Choice of the Petal Throne.

### 2/5 — Are you as Crazy as a Zrne Beast?

*2018-04-28*

If so, pay $3.99 for this story. 

This reads like a confusing Literotica story. The author has built a world that I am sure makes a great deal of sense to him or her. But as an outside looking in its bewilderingly hard to follow. 

Reading this, I found myself screaming “WHAT?” more than a Biloxi wrestling crowd during a bad promo. There is so much reliance on strange terms that it’s hard to glean any kind of story from Petal Throne. This ruins any sense of immersion. The “glossary” is actually four separate glossaries, that’s how much in-universe verbiage the author uses. Besides customizing your name, gender, and sexuality there is nothing here that Choice Of customarily offers and that I have come to love.

### 2/5 — One word: gobbledegook.

*2017-12-12*

This game piqued my interest with the promise of something a bit different from the familiar mediaeval Europe-esque fantasy, and indeed the game seemed to promise a well-written adventure in an exotic fantasy world. However, after a few pages I found myself lost in a bewildering swamp of tongue-twisting made-up words that added nothing to the already wonderfully vibrant world. I love fantasy and I love fictional languages, but no story should have so many invented terms that it requires its own glossary (in four separate sections, no less) in order to make sense of what the characters are talking about. What's more, although a few of the words refer to things there's no English word for, many of them are completely unnecessary for the world or the story. To take just one example, there is an invented word for "a grain used to make bread and porridge" - would it really have taken so much away from the world just to call it rye or barley? Same goes for "a material similar to linen", "a material similar to silk", "a house-cat" and so many others. Plus I'd say many of the elements of the world are excessively fantastical (six-legged sheep? Why? What does that add to the story?) but that's just my personal opinion. I really didn't want to let these things ruin the game for me, but I after the first chapter or so I began to find it utterly unreadable. If you reckon you can handle it then go ahead, I hope you'll be able to push past the gibberish and enjoy the story. But unfortunately, this is one tale I'll have to miss out on.

### 5/5 — A Truly Unique World

*2017-08-28*

This world is truly remarkable, full of magic and a peculiar sense of honor. The game thankfully provides a glossary, which is in some ways almost indispensable. I wish that the ability to access it's contents were a little more streamlined, but this is a minor quibble. The story is a delight, and clearly offers multiple ways to play. Definitely recommended for anyone who enjoys unusual fantasy.

### 5/5 — Very interesting

*2017-01-25*

Loved the game. Very cool game that kept me reading all the time. It would be great if there was a part two of this game because this one enchants the reader and throws the reader into such a mind blowing fantasy that you can't take your eyes of the screen.

### 3/5 — Interesting world that's a bit tough to follow

*2016-07-20*

The setting for this game is very unique amongst choice games and the writing is solid. It can be very difficult to follow along with events as there are loads of made up fantasy words and hard to remember names and titles and I didn't find the glossary of terms included in the game to be particularly helpful.

As others have said the ending feels incredibly abrupt. I was thinking that is just completed the first leg of a great adventure when the epilogue events started and I was surprised to see it end when it did. Still worth the price though!

## Frequently asked questions about Choice of the Petal Throne

### What is Choice of the Petal Throne?

Choice of the Petal Throne is a 124,000-word interactive fantasy novel. It is entirely text-based, meaning it relies on your imagination rather than graphics or sound effects. Your choices directly control the unfolding story and its outcomes.

### What kind of story can I expect?

The story is set in the Tsolyáni empire, inspired by a unique blend of South American, Middle Eastern, and Indian cultures. You'll navigate a world torn apart by civil war and political intrigue as princes and princesses vie for the mystical Petal Throne. You can play as a soldier, an intriguer, or a double agent, with options for gender and sexual orientation.

### Is this app free to play?

The application is free to play, but it does contain advertisements. There are no in-app purchases or subscription fees associated with this game.

### What platforms is this game available on?

This application is designed for mobile devices. It is a text-based game, so it does not require high-end hardware and should be compatible with a wide range of smartphones and tablets.

### What are the main gameplay mechanics?

The core gameplay revolves around making choices presented within the text. These decisions will influence your character's development, relationships, and the overall progression of the narrative. The game features character customization, allowing you to define your role and identity within the Tsolyáni empire.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 1.1.6 — 2026-01-08

You can now choose a font in the Settings menu. Switch to Helvetica for crisp sans-serif text, or try the OpenDyslexic font, designed against some common symptoms of dyslexia. If you enjoy "Choice of the Petal Throne", please leave us a written review. It really helps!

### 1.1.5 — 2023-06-27

Bug fixes. If you enjoy "Choice of the Petal Throne", please leave us a written review. It really helps!

### 1.1.4 — 2023-04-19

Now you can disable touch slide controls in Settings. If you enjoy "Choice of the Petal Throne", please leave us a written review. It really helps!

### 1.1.3 — 2021-10-25

Bug fixes. If you enjoy this game, please leave us a written review. It really helps!

### 1.1.2 — 2021-08-11

Updated to include new iPhone 6.5 screenshots and general improvement updates.

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## More apps by Choice of Games LLC

- [Choice of the Dragon](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/choice-of-the-dragon/id348940932)
- [Choice of Broadsides](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/choice-of-broadsides/id365660770)
- [Affairs of the Court (Legacy)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/affairs-of-the-court-legacy/id386916020)
- [Choice of the Vampire](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/choice-of-the-vampire/id388848648)
- [Affairs of the Court](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/affairs-of-the-court/id438137959)
- [Choice of Zombies](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/choice-of-zombies/id494073073)

All apps by Choice of Games LLC: https://appshunter.io/developer/348940935

## Related topics

[choice of the deathless](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/choice-of-the-deathless)

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-17.*