Black Forest Board Game

Black Forest, one of the most elegantly designed games I have ever played

Black Forest is one of the most pastoral games I've played. The theme of glass making in the 13th Century Black Forest region of what is now known as Germany is certainly unique, at least for the 2020s and somehow enhances what is an already excellent game. Black Forest is an update to a 2013 card game called Glass Road. It replaces the cards with set areas on a map that are described as villages. These villages have tradefolk who provide resources and services for the glass makers (the players). The players do have a single worker that moves between each village, but can only do so if they have provisions to make the journey. This forces the player to make payments for the right to move the worker. Such a mechanic demands the player plans ahead to ensure they have the necessary resources to move around the map. The aim of the game is to score the most points by having the most well developed and diverse estate. This is done by gaining resources and adding buildings to your estate. You can also place ponds, fields, and pastures for livestock. Hence the 'pastoral' feel to the game. The most interesting aspect of Black Forest is the way it manages raw materials vs. production. It represents it using a wheel that is rotated as materials as used. This also functions as a timer as the more people produce and move about the map the more developed their estates become. It's a remarkable system to match an equally amazing game,

A new Uwe cracker

I was never a big fan of Glass Road but this takes the resource wheels and does something I like. Very tight game but AP prone players can cause the final few turns to drag.