1001 Odysseys is a game of fantastic space adventures. The first human FTL ship, the Odyssey, sets out to explore a new sector of the galaxy after finding an operational alien stargate. Players take on the roles of the Odyssey's bridge crew, as they find planets, meet strange new aliens, and eventually try to find the way back home!

Each time a group sits down at the table, they play through one chapter of a story: a co-operative adventure will result in a new chapter being unlocked for the next session. The chapters aren't linear though, your path through the story book will be determined by your choices. Every standalone book tells of one of the Odyssey's adventures through alien space, but they do not require the same set of players each time. No two playthroughs of a given story book will be exactly alike!

While playing, the Mission Control board will track your progress through the Chapter. When the crew wants to do something in the game, they combine the letters of an Action, Mission, and Location to form a code such as B-3-D4, and look up that paragraph in the book. After reading the paragraph's story and game instructions, you'll advance your adventure one step, and have new options to choose from. Your journeys are recorded in a booklet called the Passport, which holds items, chapter data, and is effectively the "save file" for the game.

1001 Odysseys comes with 4 full story books, spanning approximately 400 pages. Each chapter can last anywhere from 30-75 minutes, depending on the group and the size of the chapter.