Review: Black Orchestra

 Review: Black Orchestra

The Basics

Each player is a historic figure who was part of the conspiracy to assassinate Hitler. Over the course of World War II (7 stages in the game), the board will expand and contract (players will have access to different spaces on the map, depending on the current stage of the war), and players will have to dodge the SS raids and suspicion while planning on how to assassinate Hitler. The players will visit different spaces on the board to collect items and cards (dossier files) in order to uncover and fulfill a plot to win the game. However, there are three ways to lose the game: all conspirators are in prison at the same time, inability to draw an event card (time has run out; WWII has ended, Hitler has died by suicide in his bunker, and the players are convicted and tried of war crimes as Nazis), or a special event card called "Documents Located" uncovers the conspiracy and dooms the players to execution by the Nazis. At its core, the game is probably best described as a pick-up and delivery game.

The Specs

Player count: 1-5 (If you play solo, you'll be controlling two characters. It works just fine, but honestly, the game is much more effective at building suspense when you can share it with at least one other player)

Playing time: 90 minutes (fairly accurate, though it can run shorter depending on how SS raids play out or longer if analysis paralysis sets in)

Age: 14+

The Expansions

None so far as I know at this time. There is a promo plot card from Boardgamegeek (BGG), but that's it. I don't see any reason why this game needs to be expanded beyond what it currently is.

Gameplay

Pretty straightforward: each player takes any combination of 3 actions. All actions except Conspire can be taken multiple times. Before taking any of the following actions, however, players need to check at the beginning of their turn if they're sharing a space with Hitler or any of his deputies. If so, that player takes penalties as prescribed by whichever adversary is present.

1. Action - You may resolve 1 effect on your conspirator sheet or on a card in your dossier as denoted by an Action symbol.
2. Collect Item - Take a revealed Item tile in your space.
3. Conspire - Take up to 3 dice, spending 1 action for each die taken. Roll them and resolve the results, which can raise your suspicion, add to the Dissent Track, or give you that number of additional actions.
4. Deliver Item - Discard an item from your conspirator sheet that matches an uncovered ability in your space and reap the benefits of that space.
5. Dossier - Draw a card from the conspirator deck and add it to your dossier (hand).
6. Move - Move on the board.
7. Release - Attempt to get another player released from jail at the Gestapo HQ space.
8. Reveal Item - Flip an unrevealed Item tile in your space.
9. Transfer - Give or take 1 card or Item tile from another conspirator in the same space.

After finishing their actions, each player will draw an Event card that will change the board state in some way. The Event cards also determine which Stage of the war the game is in, and therefore, which spaces are available for actions.

To win the game, the players need to successfully attempt one of the Plot Cards they draw from the Conspirator Deck (the Dossier action). There are numerous Plots in the deck, and each has its own prerequisites before players can attempt to carry them out. In addition to the prerequisites needed to attempt the Plot, there are also bonus elements depending on any variety of elements (such as a conspirator's Motivation level, Item tiles, the number of Conspirators present at the site, that sort of thing) that can increase the chances that the Plot attempt will be successful. Characters then build their dice pool, and then roll the dice to see if the Plot is successful, or if it fails. If it fails, there's a chance the conspirator is arrested, but there's also a chance that the attempt goes unnoticed and can be attempted again. The game ends after the 7 stages of the war are complete (no more event cards can be drawn), and the players lose.

My Thoughts on Gameplay

I don't think it's anything decidedly unique, but the mechanics of the game (hand management, pick-up and delivery, an element of pushing your luck) work pretty seamlessly together and I think it's a solid game. There is a decent amount of luck involved (after all, you literally cannot win if your dice do not cooperate), so I think while the gameplay is cool, the suspense the game creates is really what it's all about. The gameplay does require some coordination, forethought, and skill. But, again, none of that can save you from bad dice. So I'd argue the gameplay actually plays second fiddle to the theme and mood of the game.

Solo Play

Like many co-op games, you can play Black Orchestra by yourself by controlling multiple conspirators. However, I don't find it particularly satisfying. The mechanics all continue to work just as they did before, but the best part of the game (in my opinion) isn't solving a puzzle (the way other solo games tend to keep me engaged), but the suspense that builds up while prepping a Plot attempt, and then the attempt itself as it plays out. That suspense is reduced considerably when there's nobody to share the suspense with. So I think it's worth playing the game solo just to get a handle on the mechanics and set-up, but after that, I don't really think there's anything to be gained by playing this without other people; it just isn't a good solo experience for me personally.

Components

There isn't much to write about here. The components are solid enough that they'll last. You get some specialized dice, wooden pawns and cubes, cards, and player boards. The aesthetic fits the theme, but that's about all I have to say about them.

Final Thoughts

As a few of my friends can tell you, I waited a LONG time to get my hands on this game. It wasn't in stock at any of my local game stores when I learned about it, and the more I read about it, the more I wanted it. I really enjoy this game! I think it does a very good job of building tension, there are ways to ratchet up the difficulty, and I think it's decently easy to teach and learn. That said, it's a game that only makes it to the table every several months. I say that just because there are definitely points in the game wherein the deck and dice are stacked against you, and you're just treading water without any sort of realistic hope of winning the game. I don't think that comes up terribly often! But every now and then, I'll play a game wherein our best shot at killing Hitler comes in the second stage of the game, but we miss. Then we miss a second time the next turn! And then we just never come close in the remaining five stages of the game. The tension built for those chances is terrific, but then the rest of the game can inspire a kind of resignation to our fate. So while I enjoy it every time I play it, it's not one I can play too many times in close succession. Worth playing, but not a must-own for a lot of gamers.