ameritrash Archives - GMS Magazine

Settlers of Catan – So Long, And Thanks For All The Wood

I’d heard about Settlers of Catan a hundred billion times, at least, as it’s widely called “The Fazzer Of Ze Euroz Gaming”, and I’ve heard it panned by Ameritrash folks as a gaming atrocity. Although not as widely hated, at least publicly, as renaissance farming or weenie trading games, it has been the subject of scorn and ridicule. “It doesn’t have a body count”, they said. “It doesn’t have much player interaction”, the said.

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Star Trek: Expeditions

I don’t hate to be wrong, but I really hate to be wrong like this. I broke my own rules, which was stupid in and of itself, and I deserve the outrage that I will be receiving from people who I told were wrong. So, here goes: Reiner Knizia can make an Ameritrashy adventure game. There. I said it. I’m even prepared to say that as highly improbable as it is, the game he made is not only not atrophy your testicles from boredom, it in fact is brilliant fun. I still can’t believe it myself, but it’s true. Star Trek: Expeditions (ST:E) is a really, truly fun, thematic co-op adventure game that not only adheres to its theme, but does so well.

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Total Rumble Review

I think I am reaching the conclusion that I like cards games a lot more than I thought. Don’t get me wrong, I am partial to an sort of games, and Ameritrash does get my attention more often than not. Can’t help it… miniatures, brightly coloured boards, tons of pieces. Even with near to impossible to understand mechanics and not very well written rules, I still like them.

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King Of Tokyo

From GenCon 2011 until just recently, companies have decided that dicefests are the new deck builders. We’ve seen Elder Sign, Quarriors, Bears!, Martian Dice, and now King of Tokyo come to fruition, and I’m quite excited that publishers are finally realizing that deck building has been done to death.

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Birth of a Legend: Lee and the Seven Days

So here we have a recent issue of Against the Odds Magazine, which is a very interesting publication on military history with a game in every issue. What more can I ask? Years ago, I used to subscribe to Strategy & Tactics magazine and I’ve played games published in the Wargamer, so this is all familiar ground for me. The magazine is of high quality with excellent articles, artwork, etc. and I highly recommend it to war gamers.

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Micro Mutants Evolution / X-Bugs

It’s a flicking game akin to tiddlywinks, but it’s actually interesting, unlike tiddlywinks. Players take on the role of theater commander of a faction of cybernetically enhanced or alien insects that have various powers, allowing them to hide in bushes, fire missiles, spit acid balls, and all sorts of other things.

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A Gaming Innovator – David Ausloos

today’s interview is with someone that you may not have heard of, but someone that deserves recognition. David is an incredibly talented graphic artist and game designer who has worked with companies such as Grindhouse Games, Stronghold Games, and White Goblin Games on games such as the prolific ‘Incursion’, the recently reprinted and updated ‘Survive!’, and the soon to be released horrorfest, ‘Dark Darker Darkest’

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Immersion in Games

Games, for the most part, have a theme. Many games are designed entirely around involving players in their theme. RPGs form the lion’s share of these, and the remainder form a category that is commonly referred to as Ameritrash (this isn’t a derogatory term in most circles, despite the sound of it).

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