BLACK ANGEL

OBJECTIVE OF BLACK ANGEL: The objective of Black Angel is to be the player with the most VP when the game comes to an end. 

NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 1 to 4 Players 

MATERIALS: 1 Gameboard, 4 Player Boards, 7 Space Strips, 1 Frigate Figurine, 20 Ships, 64 Robots, 18 Dice, 12 Beginning Technology Cards, 48 Technology Cards, 16 Advanced Technology Cards, 60 Mission Cards, 30 Ravager Cards, 8 Discs, 40 Resources, 30 Damage Cubes, 1 Starter Player Token, 12 Cards for Hal, 4 Player Aids, and Instructions 

TYPE OF GAME: Hand Management Board Game 

AUDIENCE: Ages 12 and Up 

OVERVIEW OF BLACK ANGEL 

The Black Angel project has been formed as a last stitch effort to save humanity. Humans have destroyed the planet Earth, making it virtually uninhabitable. Now, the genetic heritage of humanity is in the hands of various robots, each from a different country, and each with their own agenda, get to an inhabitable planet and be the one to reawaken the humans. In order to complete this task, the robot must earn the most VP, allowing them to oversee the start of a new civilization on a new planet. 

SETUP 

To begin setup, place the board in the center of the playing area. The dice should then be sorted by color and placed on the supply area sections of the board. The space strips are then oriented in a way so that they create a chevron-shaped line that points towards the Black Angel, with the Spes token placed on the strip farthest away.  

To form the supply, place the ships, damage cubes, and resources near the gameboard. The technology cards are sorted depending on their color and placed in face up stacks next to the board. One card of each color is then drawn and placed randomly in one of the three spaces found on the display. The advanced technology cards are shuffled and placed face down beside the board, and the top four cards are placed on the advanced technology spaces.  

Form three, shuffled stacks of the mission cards, divided by color, and place them beside the board as well. With the Ravager cards, shuffle them and place them face down to the side of the board. Draw a card from the deck and place it on the action that it is associated with, placing a damage cube on the damage space as well. Repeat the action with another card as well.  

Each player will then choose a color to represent them throughout the course of the game, collecting two discs, eight robots, 3 starting technology cards, a mission card of each color, a ravager card, a resource, a damage cube, and a ship. One disc is placed on the five VP space, and five robots are placed in the break room and three in each workstation.  

The first player is randomly chosen by the group. Once they are chosen, they will collect the starter player token. Each player will get a player aid so that they have a reference throughout the game. In order, the players all role three dice, one of each color, and place them in their compartment. Everyone except the first player will receive an advantage depending on their position in the group. The game is then ready to begin. 

GAMEPLAY 

Through a series of rounds, the players each get one turn. During their turn, the player can choose to follow Sequence A or Sequence B. If they cannot complete one sequence, then they must complete the other.  

Sequence A 

During Sequence A, the player will play a card, perform an action with a die, and draw a card of the matching color of the die. When the player plays a card, they may choose between a Mission card and a Ravager card. If they play a Mission card, then the technology tiles of the same color that are found in the row or column are activated. On the other hand, if they choose to play a Ravager card, then all of the technology cards in the row or column are activated, no matter their color.  

When performing an action with a die, a die must first be chosen. It can come from anyone’s compartment, but it must be bought if it comes from another player’s. It can be bought as long as it is not reserved, and the purchaser is able to pay one resource to the die’s owner. The die is then used to perform an action on the Black Angel board or the Space board. The die determines how many times an action is activated.  

Once the actions have all been completed, the player will draw a card that matches the color of the die that they chose to use. Their turn will then come to an end and the next player in clockwise order will begin their turn. 

Sequence B 

During Sequence B, the player will reroll their die, reset their board, and move the Black Angel closer to Spes. In order to complete Sequence B, the player loses VP points that are equal to the value displayed on the dice in their compartment. Each robot that the player has placed in a workstation allows that player to roll a die that is the same color as the workstation. The player will collect the dice, roll them, and put them in their compartment.  

After the dice have been rerolled, the player will discard all of the cards that have been placed in the six spaces of their board. Ejected cards should not be discarded at this time. All damage cubes are moved to the storage area.  

To finish this sequence, the player will move the Black Angel one space on the Space board, eject all mission cards on the first space strip, and shift all of the space strips towards the Black Angel board. The game continues in this manner until the end of the game has been triggered.  

END OF GAME  

The game comes to an end when either the Black Angel arrives on Spes or the Ravager deck is emptied. The current round is completed, and then the players will complete one more round. When the final round is completed, the players will tally their scores. The only time that robots, resources, and shups are worth points is if the Black Angel reached the planet Spes. Otherwise, they do not count for any points when determining the winner.  

The player with the most points is declared the winner, and they earn the honor of awakening the humans and determining the fate for humanity. 

Ellie Phillips
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