Tales Runner is a 3D online racing game from the South Korean studio Rhaon Entertainment, launched in Korea in 2005. It plays like a cousin of KartRider, except you race on foot: dashing, jumping and boosting through stages built from Eastern and Western fairy tales such as Aladdin, Peter Pan, Jack and the Beanstalk, Heungbu Nolbu and Momotaro. It spread across Asia - Taiwan, Hong Kong, China, Thailand, Japan, Singapore and Indonesia - and to Brazil and North America.

The North American service changed hands several times, from gPotato to nowcom to OGPlanet, which relaunched it in 2014, and it shut down on April 20, 2017. Fan-run private servers give players, especially in regions where the official game is gone, a way back to the tracks, usually with their own currency rules and shop policy.

Racing Through the Fairy Tales

The basics are easy to learn and hard to perfect. You run, jump, dash and use items on customizable keys, and the best runners chain dashes and boosts through every corner. Stages throw in skiing, rope climbing and swimming, and some races put you on animal mounts that can drift around corners.

The mode list is long. There are singles and team races, relays, tournaments and huge 30-player races, plus a single-player Quest mode, a co-op race where everyone has to stay ahead of a boss chasing the pack, guild races and mounted races. There are 18 characters; new players start with Billy or Ming Ming and unlock others with TR, the in-game currency earned by playing.

Off the track, Tales Runner is a social game. Racing experience unlocks clothing and equipment, card drops from races can be combined into cosmetic items at the Alchemy Store, and the Plaza hub has shops and guild search. Players can join guilds, marry, build family trees and own farms they decorate and harvest.

What to Look For in a Tales Runner Private Server

Tracks and Modes That Work

A racing game is only as good as its tracks. Check which fairy-tale stages and modes are available on a server, and whether the ones you love - relays, the boss-chase co-op, 30-player races - actually run. A server with only a handful of maps gets old quickly.

Characters and TR Rates

With 18 characters and most of them unlocked through TR, the currency rate decides how quickly you can try new runners. Ask how TR is earned and how much characters cost, and whether characters can be unlocked through play rather than only through the shop.

Cash Shop and Equipment

Clothing and equipment are part of progression, so look at what is sold for real money. Cosmetic outfits are easy to live with; items that make you run faster are not, because in a race every fraction of a second counts.

Lag and Responsiveness

Racing exposes lag immediately - rubber-banding and late jumps decide races. Check where the server is hosted and test a few races at your usual time before you commit.

A Busy Plaza

Big races, relays and guild races need full rooms. Look at when the server is busy, which language its community uses and whether it runs events or tournaments. A lively Plaza is usually the sign of a lively server.

Your First Races

Pick Billy or Ming Ming and spend your first races learning to chain dashes and jumps; it matters more than any item. Then find a guild for relays and guild races, and check how TR and the shop work before you spend anything. Vote for the server you play on; rankings here start again every month, so the list below follows where players are now.