Lee and Richard pulled out an unopened box containing the game Black Orchestra. We are only 1/2 way through it.. Lee try to assassinate Hitler but failed but was not caught. Richard will try next whenever he gets to highly motivated stage. But the following is an explanation of the game.

As Hitler’s grasp on Germany tightens and his maniacal fervor is unmasked, men from the highest levels of the Reich begin to plot his assassination. As the clock ticks and Hitler’s ambitions grow, these daring few must build their strength and prepare for the perfect moment to strike. The Gestapo hound their trail, calling these conspirators “Schwarze Kapelle”, the Black Orchestra. Will this band of daring patriots save their country from utter ruin before it is too late?

Black Orchestra begins with each player choosing a historic figure involved in the conspiracy against Hitler. In this dark and dangerous pursuit, motivation is perhaps your greatest weapon. If you can stay true to your convictions in the face of overwhelming threat and inspire your comrades, then you will be able to use your special ability, attempt plots, and even become zealous (necessary for some extremely daring plots).

But every move you make may also increase the suspicion of the authorities. The Gestapo will make routine sweeps, and any players with high suspicion will be arrested and interrogated (possibly resulting in other players being arrested). If you are all arrested or if the Gestapo finds your secret papers, you lose. And the suspicion placed on each conspirator will increase the chances their plots are detected.

On a turn, players may take three actions, such as moving, searching for an item, or drawing a card; or, at the cost of one action per die, roll the dice in an attempt to gain even more actions — at the risk of attracting the suspicion of the gestapo. This dice rolling “Conspire” action allows players to make bold moves when most needed.

After the actions have been taken, an event card is drawn. The game is played over seven stages of World War 2, represented by seven stacks of event cards. These cards walk you through the events of WWII in a roughly (but not strictly) chronological order. New stages open up new areas of the board, cause Hitler and his deputies to interact with the Conspirators, and present various opportunities or threats. During the final stage, many board spaces become off-limits, as the Allies move closer to Germany.

To win, players must collect a plot card and fulfill all necessary requirements listed (such as having Hitler be in a certain space and possessing certain items–detonator & fuse, etc.). The active player may then attempt the plot by rolling the indicated dice, including all additional modifiers and helpful Action cards. The total of number of “Target” symbols needed to kill Hitler is based on Hitler’s military support, but a Conspirator’s security level decides if any “Eagles” rolled will see them detected, and foil the plot regardless. Players must consider their ability to successfully complete a plot and the relative suspicion levels of the different Conspirators involved.

Players will need to work together and agree on the wisest course of action, as well as have a little luck, to succeed. The phenomenon of one player dominating the game because of its cooperative nature is mitigated by the fact that there are no certainties, and often a player will need to make a bold or reckless move to keep the conspiracy alive. Cool heads often prevail, but play it too cool and you may miss your chance. The co-operative dynamic gets really interesting if a player is ever arrested, and fails to resist interrogation, then they will need to make a big decision all by themselves, without revealing their options to the group. No one player can guarantee success. It is hoped that players will have tense conversations similar to those had by the real conspirators and enjoy a truly unique historical experience.

Just received my Elden Ring Kickstarter.. have opened it yet…

Welcome to Limgrave, a mysterious and otherworldly realm where the landscape is rich and varied. As you explore, you’ll build out a hex-based map of your surroundings, with unique locations to visit, resources to gather, NPC’s to interact with, and enemies to fight. Your progress is tracked by a narrative story that provides objectives as well as guidance on how to achieve them – and, depending on your decisions, alternative side-quests and emergent narrative to experience, too.

Diceless and with strong elements of deck-building, combat is both deadly and personal. As your Tarnished character levels up, you must carefully build your attack and effect decks to best optimise with your equipment. Although exploration takes place on the zoomed-out hex map, each player has their own dedicated quest book on which combat encounters will take place face-to-face.

When you enter combat, you’ll open your quest book to the indicated page. There, you’ll find a battlefield grid that raises the level of combat from one of simple physical positioning to state of mental readiness. Using rows and lanes, this unique system means your position dictates not only your physical position in the encounter, but your battle stance: aggressive, neutral, or defensive. Each battle stance has benefits and drawbacks to exploit and avoid with the changing state of battle, which can even vary from one encounter to the next.

Understanding enemy attack patterns is key, helping to inform when to expose an enemy weakness and press home an attack, and when to play defensively while your stamina returns. Drawn at random but possible to manipulate, the marching order will determine which characters act when, and give you the vital opportunity to plan ahead, just as you’d learn ‘tells’ in the video game.

A single bad decision can mean death to the unwary, sending unlucky Tarnished back to the nearest Site of Grace to respawn.

Because combat takes place in your individual quest book, your encounters also won’t disrupt play for everyone else. After making the three actions in your turn — and enduring any enemy attacks — your combat will pause while the other Tarnished continue exploring the overworld, with combat resuming once your turn comes back around.

When your party locates a dungeon, your quest books will be joined together, allowing you to take on bosses together on a much larger stage while still being up close and personal. But boss encounters aren’t the only time you’ll fight side by side. If one of your fellow Tarnished is in trouble, there are also ways to join their personal combat book and lend a hand — or a sword.

The official tabletop adaptation of the hit video game that sold over 13 million copies in its first month after release, ELDEN RING™: The Board Game features huge and lavishly detailed miniatures, as well as close to a thousand cards, four large quest books, and a towering stack of exploration tile, all in the core box alone.

It’s a big box cooperative campaign game for 1-4 players, where each session is playable in 90-120 minutes and core box campaigns will span 30-40 hours, increasing to 90 hours with the expansions. And your Tarnished can make the entire journey with you, from one region to the next…