Black Market - good thing or bad thing?

[Bombax]

Hi folks,
Overall is the Black Market structure a 'good thing' or a 'bad thing', or is that down to chance?
Up till last week I thought it was mainly positive, but in a game last week the Black Markets I'd built in a few cities lost me a fair bit of money!
Any feedback would be very welcome.
Thanks,
Jay.

[Will_L]

Both good and bad, depends on luck.
I love 'em.

[Pocus]

I would say that on the long term, they are positive. You can get things from them that you can't get otherwise, or with difficulty, like a special unit upgrade. Now, you are never protected from a series of bad luck rolls ... Don't use them if your empire is brittle and can't cope with bad events.

[Bombax]

Thanks Will & Pocus, your comments tie in with what I've been seeing. When things go wrong on the black market the results can be a bit brutal!!!

[Will_L]

Yeah, last night one of mine cost me 378... told me it was Archimedes "Death Ray" but it turned out to be a bunch of bricks in a crate.

[Bombax]

Yeah, last night one of mine cost me 378... told me it was Archimedes "Death Ray" but it turned out to be a bunch of bricks in a crate.

Excellent!

[w_michael]

I love them, but you have to have a big cash treasury just in case they all consume money. Otherwise, roll the dice and take your chances.

[Bombax]

I love them, but you have to have a big cash treasury just in case they all consume money. Otherwise, roll the dice and take your chances.

From what I've seen, I think that the amount lost depends on how rich you are to start with - i.e. it works on a percentage basis rather than an absolute figure. So even if you have massive amounts in your treasury, you can still lose a substantial amount of that cash reserve if several black markets deliver dodgy deals on the same turn. I'm not 100% certain of this, but it would explain some fairly spectacular losses that I've suffered in recent games!

[w_michael]

I think that you are right. In my game they can now take out 4,000 gold a pop and I have half a dozen of them.

[Bombax]

I think that you are right. In my game they can now take out 4,000 gold a pop and I have half a dozen of them.

Time to send in the guards and round up those black market operators for a little 're-education', perhaps?

[w_michael]

Many of the outcomes are good, and I have a huge treasury to withstand a "little" overhead.

[AshtonMacfarlan]

I am against it, so I think it's bad