Review
Blackout: Hong Kong
Blackout: Hong Kong is a dry, German-style sandbox euro with no interest in easing you into its world. Beneath that brisk welcome sits a small gem for players who want the machinery first.
- Published
- 2018
- Designer
- Alexander Pfister
- Publisher
- eggertspiele, Arclight Games, Broadway Toys LTD
- Players
- 1–4
- Playing time
- 150 min
Blackout: Hong Kong arrives with the dry confidence of a German-style sandbox euro from a master of the form. It is not here to sell you a story. It puts a system on the table and expects you to get on with it.
Even the rulebook makes for an abrupt introduction. It seems barely interested in explaining what is happening before it throws you into the mechanisms: straight into the deep end, with no warm-up lap.
It is not here to sell you a story.
TheCuttlefish
The heart of the experience, then, is the sandbox of choices and the management of its system, rather than a theme that takes you by the hand. If you want rules that welcome you in before teaching you the game, you will have to go looking for them here. The rulebook earns a brisk “could be more hospitable”.
Still, beneath that unwelcoming first mouthful is a gem: Blackout: Hong Kong is quietly excellent for anyone who likes their euros dense, unadorned, and entirely unconcerned with making a fuss.
Still, beneath that unwelcoming first mouthful is a gem: Blackout: Hong Kong is quietly excellent for anyone who likes their euros dense, unadorned, and entirely unconcerned with making a fuss.
TheCuttlefish
Source: BoardGameGeek
0 comments
Sign in to react or comment.
