Pegasus Spiele releases Black Hole Buccaneers
Friedberg, June 5, 2023: Big fun doesn't need a big box–as is beautifully demonstrated by the card game Black Hole Buccaneers. In this drafting game set in the distant future, the players go on a treasure hunt at the edge of black holes and try to turn humanity’s trash into points.Packed to the brim with pop culture references, the clever drafting card game is now available.
Great adventure, fame, and untold riches beyond measure–as Black Hole Buccaneers, players are well on their way there! They have made it their mission to gather ancient collectibles dumped into orbit around black holes, hundreds of years ago, as humanity's ultimate garbage disposal. But caution is advised: If the players gather too many things, they risk being sucked into the black hole's maw.
Black Hole Buccaneers is a drafting game that is played over three rounds. In each round, players travel to a different black hole. Each one displays how many Space Trash cards a player draws into their hand at the beginning of the round, and they all have different threshold values. The total weight of the objects collected in a round cannot be greater than the threshold value, otherwise they may be swallowed up by the black hole and get zero points. However, the initial threshold value is only a guideline that can still change by the end of the round.
The Space Trash cards feature items from seven different categories: Spacecrafts, Toys, Time Machine Parts, Shapeshifters, Robots, Artifacts, and Relics. Anyone who has a bit of pop culture knowledge will sure recognize some item or another from movies, television, video games or the toy industry, for example the "Stuffed Oracle", the "Cynical Dental Light" or the "Antigravity Carpet".
Each of the seven categories works slightly differently. Toys, for example, are played face down instead of face up. Time machine parts become more valuable the more parts of the set a player has collected. Robots lose value when played at the same time as other robots. But all 67 Space Trash cards have two things in common: they each show both a value and a weight.
Using the popular mechanic of card drafting, players must choose a single card from their hand each turn, which they play into their playing area. The rest of the cards are passed to the next person. At the end of the round, when each person has played all but one card from their hand, the players score their Space Trash. First, the special abilities of some cards are triggered, such as “Easter Egg”, “Alien Kiddie Pool” or the “One Ring”. Then everyone determines the final weight of their collected Space Trash and the final threshold value of the black hole. Those who were too greedy and exceeded the weight limit of the final threshold receive no points. The others get points depending on which round they are in and how valuable their Space Trash is. Whoever has collected the most points after three rounds wins.
Black Hole Buccaneers by Peter Langkjær Møller is a card game aimed at treasure hunters aged 10 and older, who already have some gaming experience. While the rules are pretty straightforward, it takes some skill to make the most of all the cards' special abilities. A game lasts 30 to 45 minutes and can be played with three to six people. The clever little drafting game is now available in stores and online.