Scour Shakespeare’s London, seeking the Dark Lady.
An excellent solo game of decision and deduction.
Scholars still argue over the identity of the Dark Lady of Shakespeare’s sonnets ~ the woman who held him in agonised thrall while she also was conducting an affair with the Fair Youth: see Wikipedia.
Why is it called Black Sonata?
Having themed the game around Shakespeare’s Dark Lady, John Kean sought a name that would evoke a shadowy pursuit. In his sonnets, Shakespeare repeatedly refers to a Lady as black (both in colouring and deeds). But “Black Sonnet” didn’t sound right.
Black Sonata did, especially since in Shakespeare’s time ‘sonata’ could refer to any instrumental music – music that was “sounded” rather than “sung”.
The way the lady’s movements through Mediaeval London are brought about is amazing.
A small cards is sorted into a specified order (all clearly shown in the manual), and these cards determine her movements from place to place.
She only goes to eleven places, but the many different routes that are offered means that the chance of her steps being easily predictable is very small.
This clever pre-game management of the cards and the order in which the Lady visits different locations takes the place of luck.
The solo player must deduce her location as she moves around town: trying to be in the right place to catch a glimpse of her when she also drops in there, and gain a clue to her identity.
Is she in Cripplegate now, or at Blackfriars?
Several clues will be needed to work out who she is. Often, you’ll search hard, but sometimes you might decide to make a guess about her whereabouts – risky, but maybe rewarding.
Annoyingly, with each clue that’s gained the Dark Lady runs away ~ and she runs further each time each time you gain a clue!
There are times when you are certain that you know where she is. Then she takes a path that leads back to uncertainty.
What a flighty woman!
Can you identify her characteristics and reveal her identity, thereby solving one of literature’s greatest mysteries?
Or will the Dark Lady elude you too?
The box includes a highly informative overview of the women who might have been Shakespeare’s Dark Lady, along with fascinating notes about the locations that she runs to.
Here’s a big bonus … a link to the designer’s advice on using the clues on the cards. Click on the blackened text to read his notes.
In a nutshell …
- takes three or four minutes to set up the cards each time
- definitely advisable to do the easy game first, to get used to it
- the guide makes all pretty clear
(theres a good quick summary at the back) - deduction, puzzle solving is paramount
- minimal luck involved, but it sometimes doesn’t feel that way
- replayable … quietly exciting
- having someone nearby to help or comment is permitted
- swearing at the Lady is forbidden … 😊
- you do not take a card at your starting location …. except, perhaps, in very easy mode
