Black Gold

Black Gold, better known as Oil Imperium, is a 1989 oil business strategy game from the German studio reLINE Software, released for the Amiga, Atari ST, C64 and DOS.

Gameplay

Up to four players compete to build the biggest oil empire. Each player gets one month per turn to make deals, and at the end the companies’ finances are compared in charts.

• Oil fields: Buy and sell oil fields and storage tanks.
• Drilling: Drill for oil, with a mini-game for the drilling itself.
• Pipelines: Lay pipelines, also as a mini-game.
• Markets: Sell oil on world markets.
• Dirty tricks: Sabotage rivals and hire detectives.
• Research: Buy studies and statistics.

The mix of business strategy and action mini-games, plus the sabotage options, make it great fun in multiplayer. Against the computer, it’s less exciting.

Verdict

Black Gold is a fun, cut-throat business game, best with friends. Its sabotage and mini-games give it real personality.