Black hole hacker – review, critique and test

It seems that the problem of human litter finds its solution in space. Anyway, Peter Langkegaer Müller sees parts of humanity as garbage collectors in the form of pirates searching for “treasures” from days gone by, which float in space until, in the worst case, they get sucked in by a black hole. and immaterial.

Now PL Møller is neither a scientist nor a prophet. In addition to his main job, Dane is a game designer. As a result, his vision of the Black Hole Pirates, which he published with and in Pegasus, is probably nothing more than fiction. I don’t want to say it’s just a game.

How is Black Hole Buccaneers played?

Black Hole Buccaneers is a crafting game. from 7 wonders, Sushi Joe Or so, knows how to proceed: each player receives a number of cards, chooses one to keep and passes the rest to a neighbor (usually the one on the left). Same here.

The number of cards for each player is determined by the card revealed. In addition to the number of cards, there is also a maximum weight – a threshold value – which we must not exceed with collected items, if you do not want to risk being swallowed by the ill-fated pit.

Three of these cards indicates that you are playing three rounds with increased demands. Each round has a new limit, both in terms of the number of cards and the threshold.

There are seven types of cards of different types, each with a special function related to either actions following the current round or effects at the end of the round. All cards have two numerical values ​​on top: the value of the card with a green background and weight with a red background. Some cards also have the same values ​​on other edges: these cards can be turned over. Then both values ​​usually change for the better (more value, less weight) – but sometimes the opposite too. Some cards work better in a deck, and others like to play alone if possible, because showing up at the same time as other players has a negative effect.

The problem is being overweight

After each round, the total weight of all cards is determined for each player and at the same time a few special cards (if entered into play) are evaluated. Then the threshold value is corrected again – using a random value. If someone’s scrap collected is above the limit value, they will no longer need to worry about scoring points in this round. He was sucked into the black hole and exited for this round.

Everyone still validates their green values. Whoever reaches the highest value gets points according to the points table which depends on the number of players and rounds. After the third round, whoever has the most points wins.

Black Hole Hackers: Drafting Through Space

In terms of the story, the game is not very good. But story or not, Black Hole Buccaneers is fun. In the first game you have to take a good look at the cards. Some texts are very long and in many cases refer to specific evaluation stages. This is a little confusing at first; But once you get to know the registration process, everything becomes clear. The quick guide for each player also lists the cards that must be taken into account at each stage of the scoring. So you just have to know what to do.

Card stories

It’s also worth taking a closer look at the cards because there are many small allusions to space legends, science fiction stories, or simply things that are almost forgotten. And this is very successful, both graphically and in terms of ownership!

disguised mechanism

Black Hole Buccaneers also convinces in terms of gameplay. Here we have successfully incorporated well-known mechanics that are not so common in crafting games. With hackers, the card function has been successfully combined with the mechanism itself. Just playing cards can have effects, no matter who is playing it. This increases the tactical moment, but also the reaction, which is always present in some way in crafting games, but often manifests itself only passively (in (not) passing certain cards). This is more noticeable in smaller rounds of the game, because you get to know all the cards faster.

The rules of the game describe everything very well and illustrate all the facts with the help of many illustrations, so that there is no need for a lot of examples. There is also a description of the most important card types.

Black Hole Buccaneers never get bored even after a few matches. Some details, such as additional cards that can reduce weight or give extra points, increase the chances of using a different strategy in the game. Although this doesn’t necessarily have to lead to the goal due to the element of luck, it certainly creates excitement and, when in doubt, laughter – out of anyone.