Opponents Wanted

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Spotlight Articles

Outstanding articles that are not necessarily linked to one particular game, but may have broad appeal to gamers.

The Origins of the AVALON HILL GAME COMPANY 1952-1963

Spotlight Article Graphic

The Avalon Hill Game Company is 72 years old this year and time to chronicle the history of Avalon Hill. In Part 1, Origins, we will look at the story of not only the establishment of a game company, but an industry and a hobby. Thanks to Legendary Tactics YouTube Channel for this great series.

Poster: Robert Holifield
Post Date: 4/18/2024


Tributes pour in after death of award-winning veteran wargame designer Dean Essig

Spotlight Article Graphic

Mike Didymus-True, in BoardGameWire, brings us the sad news of the passing of designer Dean Essig.

Poster: Doug Holt
Post Date: 4/1/2024


Alumwell Wargame Show 2024

Spotlight Article Graphic

"...I actually enjoyed this show more than any other that I have been to in the past couple of years." Norm Smith, in Battlefields & Warriors, regales us with sights and surprises from this show, along with some great pictures! And check out the source of an insight that led Norm to conclude "It made me realise that considering these things went into the air in their thousands, the financial investment in longbow archers must have been huge."

Poster: Doug Holt
Post Date: 3/22/2024


Fields of Corn & Rye

Spotlight Article Graphic

"...I was pretty sure that I had found something that might do the job." Norm Smith, in Battlefields & Warriors, discusses a way he's found to address an old itch, namely adding texture and/or crop fields to tabletop settings. Check out what he finds to be a reasonable, cost-effective approach, considering that "...sometimes I think we have made ourselves a picture perfect world and lost something along the way."

Poster: Doug Holt
Post Date: 3/11/2024


More Spotlight articles...


Gaming Conventions

Gaming Conventions

Another new feature for Grognard.com, the Gaming Convention calendar will make it a snap to keep up with all the latest gaming conventions in your area. But we need your gaming convention information, so please contribute.



Grognard News

Grognard Challenge - Expanded Room for Comments! (6/25/2023)

The Comments entry area has been resized to 512 characters.

Grognard Opponents Wanted (9/14/2022)

New Opponents Wanted function. You can now set your ad expiration date, up to one year. Requires site registration.

Gaming Conventions

New Gaming Conventions calendar. You can see all upcoming gaming conventions worldwide.

If you are sponsoring a board gaming convention of some type, or know of one that is not listed on Grognard.com, then please contact us and let us know!

Gaming Clubs/Organziations

New Gaming Clubs/Organizations listing. You can search for existing gaming clubs worldwide.

If you belong to a gaming club, or know of one, please drop us a line and let us know so we can get it listed on Grognard.com!

New Search Features

Now you can search for specific games (or games by publisher) using the new Game Search feature, located at the top right corner of the this page. In addition you can now harness the power of Google to search the entire Grognard.com site for any specific information you'd like. Just enter a search word or phrase into the Google box labeled "Search All of Grognard.com" and click magnifying glass button. Search features will continue to be improved and enhanced going forward so check back often to see the latest stuff.

Grognard Originals

In addition to our links to great content all around the internet, expect to see more Grognard.com "originals" in the future.

Fast, simple, not expensive, little errata, but only reasonably fun. (War game Review)

In his review on BoardGameGeek, Brendan Whyte first turns a critical eye towards the components and rules and lists their shortcomings. Game play fares better: “…the game is fast and quite fun”. Whyte then goes into comprehensive details covering game mechanics and spares no criticism for the game opponent (AI). His discussion concerning solitaire board games vs solitaire computer games is very interesting.

PE TANG 1900 Q&A with Marco Campari

Some Q & A between myself and Marco Campari, designer of Pe Tang 1900 from Lumaca Games.

PE TANG 1900 Strategy Tips

This is the strategy I developed after playing Pe Tang 1900 from Lumaca Games.

PE TANG 1900 Optional Line of Sight Table

Here is an optional table to make it a little more difficult to eliminate the Boxer artillery.

More Grognard Originals...


Grognard Challenge

Latest Challenge

Have a look at the graphics for the latest Challenge and see past solutions and contest winners.

Recommended (archives)

Wargaming - General Info

Board Wargames

Miniatures Wargames

Computer Wargames

Academic Gaming

Board Games

Internet Based/PBEM Games

Individual Wargamer Blogs

Wargaming Magazines

Asst Software/Player Aides

In Memoriam

Grognards Lost

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A B C D E F G H I
J K L M N O P Q R
S T U V W X Y Z '-9

Game: Black Swan



(b10115)
 
 




Publisher: VentoNuovo Games
Game Type: Board
Designer(s): Emanuele Santandrea
Search for this game with VentoNuovo Games


Description:


BLACK SWAN is the new block wargame covering WWII in Europe from 1939 to 1945, for 2-5 players with great solitaire suitability. As in all other block games, both the Fog of War and Unit strength reduction/increase by rotation drive gameplay in BLACK SWAN, as a player cannot know the identity or the strength of an enemy block until it is revealed in combat. BLACK SWAN is a historical game with some fixed starting points, but the outcome is completely unpredictable, and despite the historical result, the Axis Side (Germany and Italy) can defeat the Allied Side (France, Great Britain, US and the Soviet Union). Developed with a system of wooden blocks and cubes and played out over an astonishing 125x87 cm (49"x34") full laminated multicolor mapboard, the only paper component in the box is the rules manual. In total, more than 500 wooden/sticker components have been created by the best Italian artisinal industry. Wooden parts are painted "A buratto", a technique usually adopted for painting car parts and accessories. SCENARIOS and CAMPAIGNS With over 220 unit counters, players can enjoy hours of fun by playing the "Black Swan Campaign" from 1939 to 1945, the shorter 1941-1945 Campaign, or by playing one of the five scenarios. Each one has a different difficulty level, rated in brackets from 1 (Very Easy) to 10 (Very Hard): Scenarios - Warsaw or Nothing, Summer - Fall 1939 (2) - Operation Barbarossa, Spring - Fall 1941 (5) - The Giant's Awake, Spring - Fall 1942 (5) - Totaler Krieg, Spring - Fall 1943 (4) - Overlord, Spring - Fall 1944 (5) Campaigns - The Black Swan, Summer 1939 - Fall 1945 (10) - Lebensraum, Spring 1941 - Fall 1945 (8) Every scenario has different victory conditions and length, with a different playing time of 1 to 3 hours. The two Campaigns are much longer, up to 50 hours of fun.


Articles


Article ID
Pub Date
Article Description
9
Date: 7/30/2023
Poster: Pat L.
Orange Swan: Rules Differences with Black Swan (video)

Seek Out and Play reviews the rules differences between Orange Swan and the earlier Black Swan from VentoNuovo Games.
8
Date: 7/23/2023
Poster: Pat L.
Orange Swan: Global Campaigns (video)

In this video, blogger Seek Out and Play reviews the Global Campaign rules required if you want to combine Black Swan and Orange Swan into one game. The video also discusses Optional Global rules.
7
Date: 7/1/2023
Poster: Pat L.
Live Interview with Vento Nuovo for upcoming KickStarter : Black Swan (video)

Big Board Gaming live streams a comprehensive interview with Emanuele Santandrea, war game designer.
6
Date: 6/24/2023
Poster: Pat L.
Black Swan, Shrink & Stickering Session (video)

Big Board Gaming live streams this unusual unboxing video that includes comments from viewers and an extended sticker applying session!
5
Date: 6/17/2023
Poster: Pat L.
Interview with Emanuele Santandrea Designer of Black Swan: Europe 1939-1945 from VentoNuovo Games Coming to Kickstarter Soon

Emanuele Santandrea traces his personal journey from map maker to war game designer and Grant Kleinhenz brings us all the details in this interview about Black Swans and how they can make things interesting. The interview includes several distinctive illustrations and a good overview of components and game mechanics.
4
Date: 4/23/2021
Poster: Mark D.
How to Play Black Swan: Play Examples Part 2

Black Swan published by Vento Nuovo Games is a strategic level wargame of World War II. Seek Out and Play helps us learn the game by explaining and illustrating examples of play from the rulebook. The second and final video of the series which visually demonstrates play examples from the rulebook. The examples run from assaulting Gibraltar to strategic air movement to assaulting a fort and more.
3
Date: 4/14/2021
Poster: Harvey M.
How to Play Black Swan: Play Examples Part 1

Black Swan published by Vento Nuovo Games Is a strategic level wargame of World War II. Seek Out and Play helps us learn the game by explaining and illustrating examples of play from the rulebook. This will be an ongoing series.
2
Date: 4/7/2021
Poster: Mark D.
Black Swan - How To Play

How to Play Black Swan: Turn Sequence A short video that describes the basic turn sequence for "Black Swan" by Vento Nuovo Games. The video covers all five major phases of the game. It features short breakdowns of each of the major sections and provides for a better understanding of how the game is played. Approximately 7 minute video, produced by Seek Out and Play.
1
Date: 1/7/2021
Poster: Mark D.
Standing on the Shoulders of Giants - A Review

Outstanding and well-illustrated review of the new VentoNuovo Games title Black Swan. Review created and shared by Cleitus the Black for BGG.