Black Forest

Uncle Uwe is back in his familiar workshop: resource wheels, forests, animals, and an economy that needs arranging before it starts arranging you. Black Forest has some Glass Road in it and some Ora et Labora too — thankfully a family resemblance rather than a photocopy — while its tighter scoring sits nearer Agricola than Hallertau.

On a turn, you move your wandering worker from village to village and take two actions offered by the area. Some actions fill your wheels with raw materials; others turn that preparation into buildings. The interesting decision is whether to take the immediate resource or commit to a construction that may, or may not, justify the machinery already in place.

The peculiar part is the production of advanced goods. You will either enjoy it as a dense production puzzle or find it cerebral enough to reconsider your relationship with the box. Player interaction comes chiefly through that shared tempo of choices and the pressure to read the randomly assembled building display from the outset; it demands proper study, because failing to see where the available buildings are leading you leaves you behind.

I liked it a good deal, though it never becomes an “oh wow” game, especially if the collection already contains five or more games from this particular Uwe family. It is, however, clearly better than the indifferent Atiwa. A quietly good addition for anyone who wants another branch of this design family, but not a reason to clear a shelf for it.