As in all other block games, both the Fog of War and Unit strength reduction/increase by rotation drive gameplay in Black Swan, as a player cannot know the identity or the strength of an enemy block until it is revealed in combat.

Black Swan is an historical game with some fixed starting points, but the outcome is completely unpredictable, and despite the historical result, the Axis Side (Germany and Italy) can defeat the Allied Side (France, Great Britain, US and the Soviet Union).

The game components are first class, made in Italy with German concrete wood.  The game includes more than 500 game pieces, a 124x86cm heavy cardboard map, players' aid, rule book, two Campaigns and several Scenarios.

SCENARIOS and CAMPAIGNS

With over 220 unit counters, players can enjoy hours of fun by playing the full Black Swan Campaign from 1939 to 1945, the shorter 1941-1945 Campaign, or by playing one of the other scenarios. Each scenario has a different difficulty level, rated in brackets from 1 (Very Easy) to 10 (Very Hard):

Scenarios:

- Warsaw or Nothing, Summer - Fall 1939 (2)

- Operation Barbarossa, Spring - Fall 1941 (5)

- The Giant's Awake, Spring - Fall 1942 (5) 

- Totaler Krieg, Spring - Fall 1943 (4)

Campaigns:

- The Black Swan, Summer 1939 - Fall 1945 (10)

- Lebensraum, Spring 1941 - Fall 1945 (8)

Every scenario has different victory conditions and length, with a different playing time of 1 to 3 hours. The two Campaigns are much longer, up to 50 hours of fun.