Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Episode 6 - Catan: Why you can't burn your neighbors city


Episode 6 is out for debate. We were lucky enough to have Todd join us for this episode in which we discuss Eurogames vs Ameritrash. To help people have some idea what we are talking about, here are the definitions as found on BoardGameGeek:

Ameritrash n. A catchphrase for "American style boardgames". In general, this means games that emphasize a highly developed theme, player to player conflict, and usually feature a moderate to high level of luck. Examples of classic Ameritrash games include Axis & AlliesDuneCosmic EncounterTalisman, and Twilight Imperium. See the Ameritrash page for more information
Euro / Eurogame n. synonym for German game. This term emphasizes the more frequent publication of German-style games in other countries in Europe.


Ok, that didn't help as much as I had hoped, so give the podcast a listen and hopefully it will become even clearer. During the podcast, Todd mentions a book which he read to prepare for the show. That is right, there was actually sources used in the show. That is why we bring on the guests, to help raise the level of this show. Anyway, the book Todd mentions is Eurogames: The Design, Culture and Play of Modern European Board Games by Stewart Woods

Just remember, that when you are looking at games and think, is this a Eurogame or Ameritrash, you will know it when you see it.
Potter Stewart


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6 comments:

  1. Great job guys! Todd is a fountain of information!

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    1. Yes he is, and we'll have him back on in the future. I think we should nickname him the Professor.

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  2. I really enjoyed the debate! I also felt that Ameritrash games were the games that I hated with plastic pieces and Eurogames the ones I love with wooden.

    I warmed up to the requirements for the categories but was disheartened to learn that some of my favorite games are now labeled as "Ameritrash." I much prefer the suggestion of "Narrative" as a new name.

    When asking the husband what he thought he ruined it all by saying we should do away with categories all together and just have the games we like and games we don't. He is so boring when it comes to debates.

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    1. Thanks for the comment!! I can understand people feeling we should do away with categories, but they do help when trying to describe a game to someone. If you mention eurogame or ameritrash, people immediately have a little bit of understanding on what type of game it is. Sub-categories help even more with that.

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    2. I had a thought today... what about Amerrative Games?

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    3. I like that. But what about the ones that aren't strong in narrative. Like you said in the cast, maybe 3 categories works best.

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