Door to the black market found right under the entrance.
The Black Market is a hidden level which always generates six random shops and a unique Artifact Stall on the first three layers.
The entrance is always generated randomly on one of the levels in The Jungle. The door to the Market is always hidden behind a solid block which must be destroyed to enable entry.
The Udjat Eye is very useful for finding the location of the Black Market, but is not strictly necessary - It is possible to find the entrance through blind luck, but very unlikely and nearly impossible to do intentionally since the entrance can be hidden anywhere within a span of three levels, and you will only have so many bombs or mattocks to search with. However, if the entrance is on a level with the Dark feeling, it may be hidden between two torches.
The Artifact Stall always generates here and nowhere else. It sells the Ankh, which is necessary to reach The City of Gold. Keep in mind that the Ghost will appear on this level as usual; do not spend too long robbing the shopkeepers or gambling.
Visiting the Black Market will prevent the random generation of shops for the remainder of the game, so be sure to stock up on everything you think you may need. If you pass on an item, your only hope of getting it later is to find it in a crate.
Note also that the level is just as dangerous as the rest of the Jungle levels, with enemies and traps spawning normally along the edges and the bottom layer of the level. Indeed, if the resident Shopkeepers get crotchety it can be one of the most dangerous places in the game!
Clearing Out The Black Market[]
Besides simply purchasing all of the items, which is very expensive, there are several ways to get every item, with differing levels of difficulty. Note that the Ankh, due to the level's layout, may only be stolen or purchased.
Killing The Shopkeepers[]
Angering any shopkeeper in the Black Market is extremely risky, but with right equipment (namely a shotgun), it is possible to systematically clear out the shops. Killing Shopkeepers from off screen with shotgun blasts is an excellent way to accomplish this, though it tends to be difficult to lure out the Ankh shopkeeper to do so safely with him. The best method for dealing with him is to rain bombs on him from above. This method works well because generally you will have quite a number of bombs from the other shops in the Black Market, after robbing the other shopkeepers. After killing him, you can even continue bombing your way to the exit, to avoid having to deal with any surviving shopkeepers. However, doing so will probably mark you as wanted for the rest of the game, spawning a shopkeeper at every future level exit. However, that will allow it to spawn more shops, but you are wanted in each one.
Man-Eating Plants[]
A second method to clear out the shops is to use the man-eating plants, since at least one is usually present on the level. If one manages to get the plant to eat one of the shopkeepers, items belonging to the eaten shopkeeper may be taken without paying (with the exception of the Ankh) and the shopkeepers will remain passive. Bombs and ropes will automatically be added to your inventory by simply walking over them while other items will have to be manually picked up. It is important to note that the shopkeeper that was eaten will become aggressive once he escapes from the plant. However, the other shopkeepers will not follow and their items will also be free.
Telefragging[]
If you have a teleporter, you may telefrag the shopkeepers to kill them without penalty. They release blood when gibbed (useful if you have the Kapala), but their death is not attributed to you, and the other shopkeepers will not become angry. Note that only the items on the left half of the level will become unowned, and pick-upable. Because of this, you way want to drag other items from the right-hand-shops to the left side before telefragging their shopkeepers.
Left-Hand Dragging[]
This method relies on the same underlying mechanic (possibly a bug) as the telefragging method. That is, any items on the left side of the shop floors will become unowned if there are no shopkeepers on that side. To do this, simply pick up any wanted items and place them back down on the left shops' floor. Note that the floor between the left shops and the right shops is shared, so you will not be marked as a thief unless you go completely outside the shops. The shopkeepers will follow you around while you are holding an item. After you've moved all wanted items to the left, pick up an unwanted or duplicate item and use it to lure the shopkeepers to the right side of the shops. This must be done separately for both the top and middle shop floors; Note that you cannot use this method on the bottom floor.
Crimeless Whip Robbing[]
Head to the top right shopkeeper, and jump and whip to aggro, then land on the head of, the shopkeeper. If done correctly, all currently loaded shops will have their items for free, and the player is not wanted (no shopkeepers will spawn at the end of levels). A video tutorial on the technique can be found here.
| Spelunky Classic Places | |
| Levels 1-4 | Cave |
| Levels 5-8 | Lush • Black Market |
| Levels 9-12 | Ice |
| Levels 13-16 | Temple • City of Gold |
| Miscellaneous | Entrance • Unlockable Rooms (Sun Room • Moon Room • Stars Room) |
| See also | Level Feelings |