Black Box (1977)

Average Rating:

6.34/10

585 Ratings

259 Comments

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Board Game Rank: 1526

Abstract Games Rank: 136

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Designer	Eric Solomon
Artist	Franz-Josef Schulte
Publisher	Capiepa - Jeux Éducatifs Clipper franjos Spieleverlag Games & Puzzles Publications Parker Brothers Waddingtons Games Show More »
Year Published	1977
# of Players	1 − 2
User Suggested # of Players	Best with 2 players Recommended with 1, 2 players (7 voters) [poll]
Playing Time	20 minutes
Mfg Suggested Ages	10 and up
User Suggested Ages	8 and up (4 voters) [poll]
Language Dependence	No necessary in-game text (5 voters) [poll]
Honors
Subdomain	Abstract Games (15 voters) [vote]
Category	Abstract Strategy Deduction Puzzle
Mechanic
Expansion	Black Box Game Book
Expands
Family	Marble Games
Primary Name	Black Box
Alternate Names	Black Box Game Book La Boite Magique Boîte magique, La Ko-Code Logo Ordo Planétaire
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	Description Edit \| History

Black Box is a puzzle game in which one player creates a puzzle by secretly choosing the positions of 4-5 marbles on a 8x8 grid. The other player tries to guess their positions by shooting 'rays' into the grid and seeing how they bounce around. The player requiring the fewest rays to solve a puzzle wins.

Online Play

BrettspielWelt (real-time, solitaire)
http://www.clickmazes.com/bbox/ixbbox.htm (real-time, solitaire)
http://www.bibeault.org/blackbox/
CCG Workshop (no longer available)

BGG Marketplace

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Pg. 1

Good	$13.99	13-Aug-2010
Good	$15.00	20-Jul-2010
Acceptable	$9.88	29-Jun-2010
Acceptable	$13.00	2-Aug-2007

		Browse \| Add Recent \| Ending \| Fixed Price \| Complete	Pg. 1

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	More Information Edit \| History

You'll find this microbadge for Black Box (german edition) at http://www.boardgamegeek.com/browse/microbadge/2145.

Parker Brothers 1978 edition contents:

The “Black Box” - black plastic playing area and cover
Cardboard slipcover
Rule book
1 plastic-coated wipe-off solution board
1 black crayon
5 yellow balls
48 marker tiles (plus extras)

10 yellow (plus a number of extras)
20 red (plus a number of extras)
18 orange (2 each of 9 different patterns):
- 2 Square
- 2 Circle
- 2 Triangle
- 2 Hourglass
- 2 Starburst
- 2 X-shape (with balls at ends)
- 2 Plus-sign (rounded ends)
- 2 Diagonal lines (three lines, middle one is longer)
- 2 Dual Curves (outline of a circle)

Versions

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Black Box

Nick:

Franjos edition 1990

Publisher: franjos Spieleverlag

Artist:

Year: 1990

Size: 9.84 x 7.09 x 1.57 inches

German

Release Date:

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Black Box

Nick:

Waddingtons Mini Edition

Publisher: Waddingtons Games

Artist:

Year: 1979

Size: 4.25 x 4.25 x 0.88 inches

English

Release Date:

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Black Box

Nick:

Black plastic edition with a cardboard slipcover

Publisher: Parker Brothers

Artist:

Year: 1978

Product Code: 225

Size: 10.38 x 10.38 x 1.62 inches

1.06 pounds

English

Release Date:

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Corrections
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Ordo

Nick:

German edition

Publisher: Parker Brothers

Artist:

Year: 1978

Product Code: 6111088

Size: 12.99 x 9.84 x 1.57 inches

German

Release Date:

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Logo

Nick:

Parker Second Edition

Publisher: Parker Brothers

Artist:

Year: 1978

Size:

German

Release Date:

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Forums	Hot \| Recent \| Active
[Browse »] [Post »] [Search »] All \| Reviews \| Sessions \| General \| Rules \| Strategy \| Variants \| News \| Play By Forum	Pg. 1/2 » 2

1	General additional puzzles for BLACK BOX	2011-08-05	bgguserfjh	1
9	General Black Box Reward!	2011-03-04	loopoocat	2
1	Rules Your opinion?	2010-11-01	BearCat	14
0	Variants Darkening the Black Box	2010-04-21	mawiker	2
11	Variants Inductive Black Box!	2007-11-13	vintermann	0
1	Reviews "It's Mastermind meets Minesweeper..."	2007-07-25	edosan	1
2	General 1978 Parker Bros Black Box Component List Needed	2006-05-19	Pyrogal	8
15	Reviews The mysterious inner workings of the Black Box	2006-03-28	swandive78	7
9	Reviews Blackbox: Still a Classic	2005-07-17	KentuckyKid	0
0	Sessions Quick Game of Black Box	2005-07-17	KentuckyKid	0

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Replacement pattern / score card

A replacement for the pattern / score card if your original, like mine, is lost to the ages. Print it two-up and double sided to make a nice booklet of puzzles and results. Or scale it down a tad and laminate it if you prefer a reusable card.

Meat

2008-04-17

BlackBox.xls

This is an Excel based version of the game.

fractaloon

2005-08-14

GeekLists		Title \| Hot \| Recent
[Summary »]		Pg. 1 of 29 »

1188	Always alone... the definitive list of single player games.	2005-11-30
898	"Sir, before we play this game, I must request that you sit on a tiny chair."	2011-12-19
751	2010 Edition of Look What My Secret Santa sent me...	2010-11-14
711	2009 Edition of Look what my Secret Santa sent me...	2009-11-16
651	Geekgold for Game Lottery - October Edition (Parent Updated)	2009-09-17
621	Your Favourite Game Outside Top 500 - Win Geek Gold - Contest Now Closed	2010-05-17
564	2008 Edition of Look what my Secret Santa sent me...	2008-10-29
403	2011 SPARE PARTS RESOURCE LIST	2010-12-22
359	BoardGameGeek Chain of Generosity	2007-09-19
290	Ultimate Solitaire or Solo Game Battle!	2007-08-29

	Statistics

Board Game Rank:	1526
Abstract Games Rank:	136
Num Ratings:	585
Average Rating:	6.34
Standard Deviation:	1.37
Num Views:	50020
GeekBuddy Analysis:	Analyze
Similarly Rated:	View
Avg. Game Weight:	2.1
Fans:	6

Personal Comments:	259
Users Owning:	908
Users Wanting:	11
Users Trading:	92 [find trade matches]
Has Parts For Trade:	2
Want Parts In Trade:	7
Price History:	View
Total Plays:	986
Plays This Month:	4

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Black Box Game Book

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Average Rating	0.00
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Web Links

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Logo - Dutch review on speldatabase.be	http://speldatabase.be/spelinfo.php?id=7118&zoekcr...	2011-12-28
Game page (German) franjos	http://www.franjos.de/spiele/bbd.htm	2011-11-23
English Review on Spotlight on Games	http://spotlightongames.com/list/nights/b.html#bla...	2010-03-03
Online play	http://www.bibeault.org/blackbox/command/viewGame	2009-08-24
Free online play	http://www.omido.de/de/bb/bb_testspiel.php	2007-10-31
Le site perso de Ludo le gars (français)	http://lgimet.free.fr/BlackBox.htm	2004-04-20
Rules in PDF (Hasbro) (scans only, not text) (includes solitaire games)	http://www.hasbro.com/common/instruct/blackbox.pdf	2003-11-26
Rules in PDF (Hasbro) (page scans, not text) (French version, "Boîte magique, La")	http://www.hasbro.com/common/instruct/BlackBox(Fre...	2003-11-26
Hexagonal Black Box - Java applet by Paul Branch and Eric Solomon	http://www.ericsolomon.co.uk/bb/hexbb.html	2003-07-08