Blackout: Hong Kong - A Gaming Rules! Review

[@NoPunIncluded]

Excellent review Paul, well done!

[@GamingRulesVideos]

Not as good as yours, but I suspect you spent longer on it than I did :) not that time spent on a video equates to views :)

[@alexxpfister]

Thanks Paul for doing the video! I‘m happy you liked the game, but you also mentioned some fair points. I hope some fans of the game will post own scenarios. Look out for them at Boardgamegeek.

[@GamingRulesVideos]

oooo, Even more different scenarios using the core system. Now that's something I'd be interested in. I might even try coming up with my own.

[@alexxpfister]

@@GamingRulesVideos Woow, I would really LOVE to play your scenario, Paul!

[@simplysethpdx4831]

Expansions please! I love the game for it's few flaws. As Rhado mentioned, a little bit more flavor to push the (apparent to me) theme would be nice. This is one of my new favorites. And though I can see there are some kinks, I think the game play could only improve with a little tlc. I've already considered a 3D printed tray for the rondel to hold cubes, with an offset icon/tab to show resources held. 🤗

[@alexxpfister]

@@simplysethpdx4831 I would love to do something for the game. It all depends on the publisher.

[@metalinmyhead]

@@alexxpfister there's no way the publisher will say no to new good idea of yours to make this game even better.

[@brandtsanderson4665]

Well done, sir! Thanks for the thorough review of both the goods and the bass. Love Pfister so I can’t wait for this to hit the states.

[@GamingRulesVideos]

I could have gone on more, but it would have probably been more criticism of the graphic design :)

[@NickDavies75]

Thanks Paul - totally agree with your points on the graphic design and the sprawliness of the board; but glad it's a great game. I've played twice and feel it definitely requires a bunch more plays. Great vid :)

[@GamingRulesVideos]

Thanks Nick.

[@crispiusmaximus]

We tuck the action cards under the top of the board instead, as you only need to be able to see the top of the card anyway. This is how it was taught in Essen, even though the rulebook suggests putting them to the left

[@GamingRulesVideos]

Yeah, I actually tuck them into the left side. The vertical space of each player area is just a bit too much.

[@NickDavies75]

Good shout.

[@TabletopGamesBlog]

Yorkshire Tea is definitely an essential during a disaster situation. Glad you got that sorted. The question is though, how are you going to make hot water? Or even get some water? Hm... ;)

[@GamingRulesVideos]

I have hamster wheels connected to the generators.

[@theborgvachapter3392]

Paul, thank you for the fair review, great job!

[@GamingRulesVideos]

Thanks!

[@bookaddict777]

This was my most anticipated game from Essen and hopefully I will get my hands on it early in 2019. Thank you for the review, Paul!

[@unkindled_dreg]

I was expecting the room to be pitch black and Paul to come in with a torch attached to a helmet and an additional one strapped to Bramble :P

[@GamingRulesVideos]

That was one idea. :)

[@simpler_times81]

I've had Black Out Hong Kong for ages and only just got it to the table for a few games. It's really great! Plays so smoothly. I actually think the theme is really strong on this one too. Probably the atrongest/most coherent theme on a Pfister game that I've played. Fun

[@ShaneandStuff]

I played GWT twice and really liked it so when this was announced I thought the theme looked great. Don't know why I never bought it or looked into it too much before but the other day I saw it on sale for 67% off so I figured at that price I had to try it. I've watched your review, No Pun included, and Tom Vasel and you all basically say the same. Replayability and theme are a bit lacking but the mechanics are great and brain burny. So definitely worth it at that price. And since there's a solo mode in this, that greatly improves the value for me. I also have Expedition to Newdale waiting to be played so I guess I'm finally building up my Pfister collection!

[@GamingRulesVideos]

Cool. Let me know how you get on.

[@KorsaKing]

I enjoyed the review. It was honest and didn't hold back many (if any) punches. Despite that it felt a tiny bit incomplete. In many ways, in the way of board game reviews at large at the moment, it felt like more a technical deconstruction (i.e. academic review) than a piece on how the game made you feel and why (i.e. movie review). The mechanical highlights were excellent. But what points of interaction made you 'feel'? What did you feel? Was it frustration? Was it tension? Was it unabated whimsy? Why did it make you feel those things? What mechanisms and art fed into the feelings above? When I watch a video, I come for the 'personality' as much as the 'subject' if that makes sense. To get a sense of your tastes and preferences. It wasn't clear to me 'why' you liked Blackout so much, bar it lifting bits from Mombasa, and the planning aspects of the card piles. I think you could have laboured a bit more on that, to project a deeper 'sense' of the title and yourself. On the game itself, for me it's a pale shadow of Mombasa. Although the card play has been made less harsh (i.e. you pickup the card you play this turn as well, so you don't have that fatal '1 turn lag'), I'd argue that isn't a clear-cut upgrade. Easier onboarding but less to master. Everything else just feels, streamlined to the point of being less. The shared market. The simplified area control. The lack of variety in the (I agree too big) cards. Like if someone took a finely wrought fire poker and polished and polished it, until all your left with is a metal rod. It does the same thing but lacks the character, joy of use and in many aspects outright quality. The graphic design and art direction is a train crash. End of.

[@GamingRulesVideos]

Thanks for the feedback, will try to put more about WHY I liked things in other vids. This game I like because of the little puzzles and the decisions. What card to place, where to place it, planning ahead, etc.

[@NorthernerInSpace]

Thanks for doing this Paul. I’ll probably try and pick this up sometime next year. Unlike the other Pfister games, for some reason this didn’t shout ‘buy me’. Maybe one of the reasons is the diminishing number of people around me wishing to play ‘heavy’ Euros. As a solo player, that mode does interest me, so as I said earlier it may be something I buy at a later date.

[@GamingRulesVideos]

Yeah, I'm tempted now by the solo mode, and I'm not a solo gamer. I want my Orchid Trees!

[@alexxpfister]

Wouldn't it be great to play a scenario designed by Paul himself? Convince him! :-)

[@frantz2000]

@@alexxpfister well, I mean, I am a Patreon, so doesn't that mean he has to do what I want him to do ;).

[@alexxpfister]

@@frantz2000 100% correct!

[@franciscocarranza9941]

Thank you for sharing your pros and cons.

[@boardgameschill3495]

Love your work!

[@GusG_]

Nice review!

[@nomaskurnia4564]

The only mistake of this game is not hiring Klemens Franz for design & art job. Klemens Franz's works always blast for euro style's games.

[@GamingRulesVideos]

Klemens is great, although I'm not sure his art style would have worked well in this game. But yeah, it needed something better.

[@unkindled_dreg]

Though I like Mr. Franz's art, its quite debatable if his work will 'always' be appropriate for an euro game.

[@nomaskurnia4564]

@@unkindled_dreg Franz's work never bored me.. but i'm curious and waiting him to working for space theme or fantasy theme.. 😁

[@unkindled_dreg]

@@nomaskurnia4564 Even though he isn't my fav, neither am I bored, his art style is quite soothing.

[@brownrhythms]

I would rather have Ian O'Toole as he has done stellar work for Vital.

[@reneraps6313]

Great review, as always. Read the rules some days before Essen and thought it would be a great game. Then visited the eggertspiele booth and decided not to buy the game. Main reason: the icons on the cards are very small. Didn't notice the almost similar purple and red, but did notice the amount of table space for the player boards (shouldn't be a big problem to me). However, I still would like to have a try on this game. Thanks Paul.

[@acgeek1120]

There's a typo on the one dollar coin. It's surrounding still says Five. probably indifference for people who don't read Chinese, but it is annoying for me as a gamer from Hong Kong....

[@GamingRulesVideos]

I did not know that. Thanks for pointing it out, I will spread this knowledge as I love sharing this sort of stuff.

[@losfp]

Spot on, Paul. It was a curious play for me (I've only played it once so far, and I don't own a copy... yet). There's so much to dislike about the game... terrible graphic design and uninspiring artwork. A really rigid round structure that can feel a bit tedious. Awful downtime if you have a couple of AP prone players. Really clunky scouting phase. But yet.. yet... I kept thinking about the game, and yeah, I think I will buy a copy. I also agree that it's my least favourite of AP's three big box games, but honestly they're all SO GOOD. The card / hand management is superb fun. It's a really nice puzzle to figure out and it's very satisfying to chain a bunch of effects from collecting the right resources to complete an objective, which gives you a new card and maybe lets you complete an area as well. with a bit more care in the presentation and a bit more clarity in some of the rules (mostly scouting and defining exactly when it's ok to take actions simultaneously and when the turn order absolutely matters), it could have been amazing. As it is, it's merely very very good.

[@jacccmf2807]

Great video!

[@GamingRulesVideos]

Thanks.

[@Fotisg]

Another great review Paul, spot on as well. What's worries me is that a company like Eggertspiele did such a foul, production wise. While the quality of the components are ,generally, top notch the art but more importantly- the graphic design was sub-par comparing to Eggertspiele's past releases of similar weight and heavy in iconography. This is even more baffling when you take into account the post-PlanB releases of Eggertspiele, like the colorful and beautiful Coimbra or the really soul-less (imho) but still good looking new edition of Camel Up. Blackout,compared to Mombasa, is more accessible, streamlined and easier to teach but its -almost bad- looks will prohibit most people from getting it on the table. At least the game is really good, so there will be a reward for those that will endure looking at a black board for 120 minutes or so :)

[@GamingRulesVideos]

Whether the graphic design was driven by Eggertspiele or Plan B I don't know. As you say Coimbra is really good, but it's not always the same team involved.

[@WanderingLunatic]

There are people I wouldn't attempt to teach this to because of the graphic design. I know they'll have a miserable time, and then by extension so will I. Such a shame because it's a great game.

[@GamingRulesVideos]

yep.

[@PMMagro]

It isa great game, sure if you are colour blind or playing with not good lighting the ..."dakness is an isue for sure.

[@JeanDubuc]

I guess the poor graphic design and colour scheme explains why I see this game on 50-70% discount in stores (Australia) - I hope they do better in Maracaibo

[@brettsmith8490]

Its just very clear after watching a few reviews now that this game was rushed to make it to Essen which was a shame cause it will hurt this game long term. Terrible art and a fake slapped on campaign mode, average component quality, just is such a shame for this game.

[@GamingRulesVideos]

I'm not sure the art / graphic design was rushed. It may have been, I don't know, but it may have just been their choice. IMO, there are some fundamental graphic design mistakes made here that even "rushing it" doesn't explain. You just don't do those sorts of things. Then again, what do I know? :)

[@Mentalspagat]

Sorry Paul...not one of your best reviews... Too much on graphics and shortages of the game and too much repetitions in the review - but how you play it, what you have to do, what exactly are the mechanics...I've got no idea about that.

[@GamingRulesVideos]

Thanks for the comment, and yeah, I did spend a bit too long on the issues with the graphic design. However, for the rules, I don't give them in my review, I just focus on what I like and don't like about it and try not to cover the rules in much detail.