Black Sea Black Death

About this board game

Black Sea Black Death is a detailed simulation game for 2–4 players with an approximately 360-minute playing time, covering Soviet amphibious operations in early February 1943.

The game recreates Operation Morsky, whose objective was to surround and capture the port city of Novorossisk. Success would open the way toward Anapa and cut the main supply line sustaining the German 17th Army in the Kuban-Taman area.

The action spans 9½ days, with each turn representing one day and each day divided into 5–6 impulses of roughly 4–5 hours. The map uses hexes measuring about half a mile, or 804 meters, and the battlefield includes beaches, mountains, an industrial city, and the airspace overhead.

Units are represented primarily at company and battalion scale, with some formations reaching regimental size. Strength points represent roughly 100 men, while naval units represent one ship or two boats and air units represent ten aircraft. The game includes unusual concepts and a considerable amount of detail within its system.

• One full-color 22 × 34-inch mapsheet
• Two double-sided countersheets with 600 half-inch counters
• A 40-page rules booklet
• Player aid cards and a charts and tables booklet
• Two six-sided dice

Black Sea Black Death supports solitaire play with moderate suitability, while its listed player range is two to four. With its combination of amphibious operations, ground combat, naval forces, and air units, it offers a focused historical study of a demanding Black Sea campaign.