Black Orchestra

How to lose Hitler in 2194 days

Black Orchestra is a simulation game in which we plan an assassination attempt on an underrated painter. To eliminate him, we can use rifles, sniper rifles, poison, explosives, and many other methods. Something that would certainly appeal to the Inglourious Basterds.

Playing in this orchestra mainly involves traveling around European cities to find weapons and the right opportunity to carry out the assassination. During your turn, you also collect additional action cards and support each other randomly to increase your determination. Everything is done in a somewhat “pandemic” style: move around the map, collect tokens, and wait for the right moment to get rid of the “mustachioed virus.”

After finishing our turn, we draw an event card that affects the state of the map, the position of the Nazis, and is usually disadvantageous to us.

Why is it worth being a good German like Tom Cruise?

I love how the gameplay fits in with what we’re doing. In Black Orchestra, the theme plays the leading role. Not only do we have historical characters and events, but we also feel like we’re real conspirators. I also really like the fact that individual events open up new paths for us in Europe and add new options. It’s particularly interesting that the longer the war lasts, the more support for Hitler declines, and he himself becomes more vulnerable to our attacks.

I like how we really work together in cooperative games, and that’s what we get in this game. We have to make joint plans and we can support each other in many ways, e.g. with cards or dice when rolling for determination. It’s full-on cooperation.

During the game, you can feel the stress mounting as the “SS noose” tightens around our actions. We are never safe and must ensure that our resistance movement remains hidden.

When talking about emotions, one cannot overlook the final coup, the outcome of which depends on a single roll of our dice. Although it seems random, just like in real life, sometimes we have to put all our eggs in one basket. We prepare for this throughout the game, gathering the right ingredients for the coup and waiting for the right moment. This formula works perfectly here.

During the roll itself, we stand over the table and watch as the dice slowly roll, nervously awaiting the right result. Even if we fail, someone can always shout, “Wait, I have a way to reroll the dice!” It’s definitely more exciting than watching the lottery. The joy of winning cannot be described, you just have to live it.

The visual setting also contributes to the unusual atmosphere of this game. It may not mix many colors together, but that wouldn’t fit the theme of Black Orchestra. It was supposed to be gloomy and sad, and that’s exactly how it is.

Why did my enthusiasm wane slightly?

First of all, it’s easier to win in a larger group. It’s not a big minus, but the difference is noticeable when playing with four people. It’s easier to spread out all the negative effects that can happen to us.

Mechanically, we are dealing with a simple “pick up and delivery” game with a slight Nazi twist. If it were a game about trains, I might be excited, but here the turns boil down to collecting items and moving around the map.

After a few games, I already know how long you have to circle the map to carry out an assassination. All you have to do is collect some equipment and wait until the fifth cycle of events that lower Hitler’s support in Europe. There is no point in doing it earlier, it’s better to wait patiently, hidden in some corner. On the other hand, it also reflects the life of patient conspirators.

My biggest complaint about Black Orchestra is that the game isn’t very replayable. It’s cool that we can kill Hitler in several ways, but the gameplay boils down to the same thing: walking around the map, collecting items, and waiting for the right moment. There aren’t many variables, so for me, it’s a title I’ll play once in a while.

Summary

I like it when a game fits the theme, and that’s what we get in Black Orchestra. It’s an extremely atmospheric work that shows the real life of conspirators seeking to overthrow a tyrannical regime. The whole thing is set in historical reality, which both educates and entertains. Unless, of course, the assassination attempt fails, in which case the atmosphere at the table may become slightly hanging.

Final verdict: A game full of excitement, but mainly during the last roll of the dice.

[Współpraca reklamowa z Galakta]