Table feel
Black Spy has a high level of direct confrontation and strategic depth in confrontation. Players need to be aware of and react to each other's actions frequently. However, there is less emphasis on cooperation in the game.
Rich game profile
Black Spy
The trick-taking game Black Spy is a film noir take on Hearts as you want to enlist the best spies you can while avoiding the black spies, who will always turn against you. Black Spy lasts a number of rounds, with players scoring points each round. The game is played using mostly...
Players
3-6
Time
?-?
Age
14+
Weight
1.4
Rating
6.34
Should this hit the table?
Quick read before the metadata.
Black Spy has a high level of direct confrontation and strategic depth in confrontation. Players need to be aware of and react to each other's actions frequently. However, there is less emphasis on cooperation in the game.
Teach
2.4
Teaching signal
Replay
4.0
High replayability
Interaction
3.6
Highly interactive
Scaling
4.0
Scales well
Strategy
4.5
Deep strategy
Control
2.8
Luck-sensitive
Replay value
Black Spy offers a high level of variability with its gameboard, multiple paths to victory, and variable setups. The presence of expansions adds new content and gameplay elements, further enhancing replay value. The game provides deep strategic possibilities and room for improvement over time. While the player interaction score is moderate, the game scales well with different numbers of players without compromising its appeal or balance. The easiness to learn score indicates a moderate learning curve. Overall, Black Spy has a strong replayability score of 7.9, making it a highly replayable board game.
Luck profile
Black Spy has a moderate influence of luck. Random elements like card draws can have a notable impact on the game outcome, but players have substantial ability to mitigate this randomness through strategic decisions and planning. The game relies on a balanced mix of luck and strategy, with neither element dominating the outcome.
Overview
What ABG knows about this game
The trick-taking game Black Spy is a film noir take on Hearts as you want to enlist the best spies you can while avoiding the black spies, who will always turn against you. Black Spy lasts a number of rounds, with players scoring points each round. The game is played using mostly standard trick-taking rules: Each turn, someone plays a card to the center of the table, then in turn each player lays down (if possible) a card matching the suit or rank of the card led, throwing out any other card otherwise. The highest card in the color led wins the trick, and that player leads the next trick. Points come only from the black cards, with the black spies (yes, "spies", with six black #7 cards) being worth ten points each and all other black cards worth 1-5 points. When someone reaches 200 or more points at the end of a round, the game ends and the player with the lowest score wins.
Category
2Mechanism
2Family
3Type
1Media
Images and visual references
Images, galleries, and videos are grouped here so the page feels visual before every asset is fully hosted.
Editions
Versions and regional releases
| Edition | Year | Language | Publisher / Region |
|---|---|---|---|
| No editions imported yet. | |||
Files and documents
Rules, aids, translations
No files imported yet.
Commerce mapping
Buying signals
Credits
People and publishers
Designers
1
Alan R. Moon
Artists
4
Philippe Guérin
Charles Kibler
Doris Matthäus
Chris Quilliams
Publishers
5
ABACUSSPIELE
Ali Baba e.V.
The Avalon Hill Game Co
Hexagames (I)
Z-Man Games
Linked items
Graph expansion queue
Related games and expansions help build a connected catalog around every title.
No linked items imported yet.