I was browsing through a games store almost two years ago, completely unfamiliar with every single box that I picked up. I had recently decided that I wanted to venture into hobby gaming for when I had friends over, but I really had no idea where to dive in (this was before I had discovered boardgamegeek or any other information resource). But I was determined to leave that store with something and my decision was going to have to be based 100% on how intrigued I was by the box.

After about half and hour, I spotted a box featuring a blood-soaked zombie snarling at me while his undead peers shambled towards the Monroeville Mall. The taglines read Survival is in the Betrayal and Will you survive in a shattered world?

It was Mall of Horror. My search was over.



I wanted to get into hobby gaming because I had been reminiscing about how much fun I had playing games in the past. I especially enjoyed a period in my mid-20s when four friends and I would regularly drink a few too many while playing Risk until 4:00AM. I never really had much interest in winning. I had more fun forging alliances and then screwing over my partner at inopportune times. So any game that tells me that betraying your friends is a key strategy for victory sounded like sweet, sweet heaven. Add to that I'm a big fan of Romero's zombie movies (well, before Land and Diary, at least) and this seemed like an ideal candidate for kick-starting my new hobby.

My excitement for the game only compounded once I cracked it open and checked out the pieces. Those great little zombie figures and blood-stained polaroids were leaps and bounds ahead of the production design of any game I'd seen (and are still probably the best I've encountered, even after all the FFG products I've played since then). I was intrigued by the voting wheels, the hidden dice rolls, the peculiar and eye-catching board layout and, of course, the ditzy blondes. I just hoped it would play as good as it looked.



And it does! I think it's an absolutely brilliant game for marrying the perfect mechanics to match the theme. The best zombie movies aren't just about killing the undead by destroying their brains in clever, gruesome ways; they're also a statement on the tenuous devotion people have to each other and, if the social institutions that keep people in line were removed, all hell would break loose. (To use a favourite quote from Johnny Caspar in Miller's Crossing, "You're back with anarchy... right back in the jungle.") I think that the primary mechanic of negotiation and voting (with that great dual-use voting wheel) is a perfect representation of the circumstantial alliances and back-stabbing typical of zombie survival movies. Seen the Dawn of the Dead remake? Think of the power struggles between the mall security team and the rest of the survivors and how they became increasingly vulnerable to the zombie hordes. That's exactly what this game successfully recreates.

When Michael Barnes (and others, but he's the most vocal) address the differences between "Eurogames" and "Ameritrash," Michael is often accused of simply disparaging the type of strategy games that are typically made in Germany, to which Michael often responds by pointing out he's referring more to a style of play(er) as opposed to a type of game. More than any other game I've played, Mall of Horror encourages the Ameritrash style of play: trashtalk, backstabbing, secret alliances, shotguns, zombies, blood, dice, threats... It's basically the polar opposite of humdrum, solitary, and quiet games like Princes of Florence and St. Petersburg, neither of which encourages social interaction or invokes any kind of narrative. There's nothing inherently wrong with either, but they're definitely aimed at distinct audiences who are looking for very different experiences when playing games. I can enjoy a game of Princes of Florence because of its excellent design, but it's just not as comfortable a fit. These types of games often just lack that certain something that makes me want to come back for more.

Basically, they needs zombies.

When people list off the quintessential Ameritrash games, the usual suspects such as Twilight Imperium, Space Hulk, and Dune are listed. I think Mall of Horror (which is a fantastic game in its own right) is a too often forgotten gem. I think it epitomizes what it means to be Ameritrash.

(And it's French. Heh.)