Black Gold

There Will Be Fun! Black Gold is a board game designed by Wilko Manz that is set among the burgeoning oil fields of the West Texas Permian Basin during the 1920s. Designed for 2-5 prospectors, ages 13 and up, Black Gold takes about 1-2 hours to play. Competitors attempt to claim the best wells, bid for the best tracts, and sell their “Texas Tea” for the best price. Players have to survey the terrain of map tiles for oil wells and then build derricks. They have to deploy their resources strategically to build their oil empires, a process that involves finding, extracting and transporting the fossil fuel resource more efficiently than their competitors. But the game play can also include an element of bluffing during its auction phase, though players who are caught lying about the value of their Sales Licenses are penalized. The inexorable approach of a greedy Oil Baron adds an element of urgency to the game—players have to establish their empires in an increasingly limited time frame. Double-sided modular map tiles, powerful action cards, the randomness of well distribution, and optional rule changes insure that each Black Gold game will be a new experience for players.