Black Ops: Tactical Espionage Wargaming

Osprey Wargames #10

by Guy Bowers, Johan Egerkrans (Illustrations)

Black Ops is a skirmish wargame of tactical espionage combat for two or more players. It recreates on the tabletop the tension and excitement of modern action-thrillers such as the Bond and Bourne films, The Unit or Burn Notice TV shows, and the Splinter Cell and Modern Warfare series of video games.

The fast-play rules use regular 6-sided dice and a card-driven activation system to keep all players in the thick of the action, while the mission generator provides a wide range of options for scenarios, from stealthy extraction or surveillance missions to more overt raids or assassinations. Stealth, combat and technical expertise all have a role to play, and players may select from a number of different character types - spies, mercenaries, criminals, hackers, special forces and many more - to recruit the best possible team for the job. Players may also choose to join a faction - powerful organizations, intelligence agencies, criminal syndicates, militaries or rebel groups, each with a stake in international affairs. By doing so, their team may receive certain benefits, but may also find itself limited at a crucial time. With the variety offered by the characters, factions and scenarios, no two games of Black Ops should ever be the same!

Although the standard Black Ops setting is an ultra-modern world just a hair removed from our own, the rules are versatile and adaptable enough to suit OSS operations behind Nazi lines, Cold War-era infiltration missions in Moscow or Berlin, or sabotage runs against a rival corporation's interests in a cyberpunk dystopia, and the rulebook will include a guide to running games in such settings.

64 pages, Paperback

First published September 15, 2015

Reviews

[Earl]

Black Ops is a skirmish wargame of tactical espionage combat that recreates the tension and excitement of modern action-thrillers such as the Bond and Bourne films. The fast-play rules keep all the players in the thick of the action, while the mission generator provides a wide range of options for scenarios – from stealthy extraction or surveillance missions to more overt raids and assaults. Stealth, combat, and technical expertise all have a role to play, and players may recruit a number of different operative types – spies, mercenaries, criminals, hackers, special forces, and many more – to recruit the best possible team for the job. Players may also choose to join a faction – powerful organizations, intelligence agencies, criminal syndicates, militaries, or rebel groups, each with a stake in international affairs. By doing so, their team may receive certain benefits, but may also find itself limited at a crucial time. With the variety offered by the characters, factions, and scenarios, no two games of Black Ops should ever be the same!

[Calvin · Rating 5 out of 5]

more than it appears to be

To be honest I’ve eyed this for some time. I read the reviews on Amazon and kept putting it off- buying it that is.
Recently I read that it involved or you could involve civilians and others in the game play. This fact really intrigued me.
Some of the reviews complain that it doesn’t have X or it doesn’t distinguish enough between weapons X and Y. Please don’t let these reviews prevent you from considering this. It’s true but it isn’t- IMHO.
How are they true and not true?
It’s a game after all- if you want something more crunchy there are other games out there that provide that type of play. Go there instead of here. This is an abstraction and has some of the most viable options I’ve ever seen in a 100ish page rule book. There’s very little simple rules for a campaign- that’s okay. No rules for a base or that type of thing- but that shouldn’t hold you back.
I’m very pleased with this purchase. Highly recommend. In fact I’m getting the physical copy and kindle version.

[Russ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I applaud the attempt to create a rules system that includes stealth and awareness, as well as all the special weapons and equipment of special forces. Unfortunately, for my taste, this system is needlessly complex and feels arbitrary in places. Lacks elegance.

[Ralph · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well written rules. I expected high quality from a magazine editor and was not disappointed.

I am still unclear on how Jokers work in an activation deck though.

[John Somers · Rating 4 out of 5]

16/20.

[Conrad Kinch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cracking set of small unit skirmish rules. Would suit 12-20 figures a side tops, but gives a good lively game at that level. The stealth game mode is excellent and allows players to play convincing commando raids and mission impossible style games. It took several plays to appreciate some of the subtleties of the game, but the result is a finely crafted set of rules.

Highly recommended.