The last twenty years of boardgame design have taught us that there is a lot more to do with dice and cardboard than rolling to see whether or not you end up on Park Place. But to some extent this progress has enforced a sort of orthodoxy: games have to have brisk pacing, constant interactivity, and victory conditions that give first-time players a decent chance of winning, or they get quickly relegated to the shelf in favor of the latest hotness (unless they have cool miniatures, in which case apparently all faults are forgiven).
Couldn’t agree more, Bruce - I had a chance to acquire and explore this a couple months ago, and was impressed not only with the art design and simplicity, but the seriousness with which it treated the subject matter; find me another co-op game that dares to invoke Krystallnacht as an event card, or keeps Auschwitz and Treblinka front and center on the game board.
Best of all, it’s a tense game that hammers home the long in-between periods of relative inaction, where literally all you can do is wait, and hope, followed by more waiting and hoping that the right moment will present itself. You get nervous, biding your time, and start to second-guess your plot altogether, and wonder if maybe you should bail on the whole thing and go for a different one - of which there is no guarantee it will work any better than the current plot.
There will be a chance to order the game at retail - the $100 price is really only a reflection of the secondary market.
My friend who introduced me to Black Orchestra insists I will also enjoy Freedom: The Underground Railroad. So we will check that out soon. That one is currently available at retail from publisher Academy Games. https://academygames.com/games/birth-of-america/product/freedom
I would say it is worse in Black Orchestra, unless you are playing on Easy (where Hitler can drop to “2” support, meaning you only have to roll two bulls-eyes).
That sounds like it would put it on the same level as Arkham Horror: The Card game, something that we’ve only managed to barely win on easy, and only after several failed playthroughs where we know exactly what’s coming up in each scenario. I can’t imagine anyone beating it on normal or higher without maximum optimized decks (by dropping $80 for two core sets), card counting, or solo cheesing it.
One thing I didn’t see you discuss: did you actually enjoy the game? It sounds really interesting, but from some of your descriptions, it didn’t necessarily seem like an “enjoyable” experience.
Really great review though!! I wish you would stop reviewing all these political board games because its always so tempting to get more!
Yup I absolutely “really liked it” as the review score suggests. It was great frustration to deal with all the obstacles the game threw at me in such a thematic way. Highly recommended.
Hi @markrhysmitchell, I bought Silver Bayonet and Operation Shoestring in 1990 when GMT got started, and have most of their catalog. I even reviewed Andean Abyss for this site.
I love GMT’s games - but I don’t think they are necessarily any better at publishing outstanding designs than anyone else. John Butterfield, for example, is published by Decision Games and Compass. Kim Kanger, who I frankly think is the best designer going today, has all his designs published by Legion Wargames. Mark Herman is exclusively GMT now, but Ted Raicer is as well, and he has had some bombs (no one mention Stalin’s War).
I went down the coast to San Diego and that gave me the opportunity to stop at Game Empire in Pasadena. I saw Black Orchestra there and remembered wanting to play it. I’m trying to build a list of good espinoge games and I’m hoping this fits the bill. I also have SPI’s Spies! But haven’t played that yet either. I did get a play through of Homeland and enjoyed that. The problem I’m having with Homeland and Spies is that those two want higher player counts. Black Orchestra, being solitaire on up will make it easier to get out. It also seems to be the least time consuming, not necessarily what I personally look for, but it also helps it get played.
This probably isn’t what you’re looking for, since it more spies than espionage per se, but the player count goes all the way down to one. Because it’s a co-op/solitaire game.
It’s basically Eldritch Horror with a James Bond skin. Instead of cards, it has one of those books where you look up paragraph 132.
More accurately, it’s Tales of the Arabian Nights with a James Bond skin, and a little more actual gameplay. Unfortunately IMO the writing is not very good and that’s key to making a game like that work.
