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The Ameritrash Classics
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Matt Thrower
United Kingdom
Bath
Somerset
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For my latest article on Fortress:Ameritrash I wanted to find out what games from the eighties and earlier genuinely, indisputably deserved the label "classic". To do this I selected games against the following criteria: * Must be over 20 years old - games which have really stood the test of time. * Must have wide appeal and still be seeing regular play amongst a significant quantity of gamers. I decided that this should translate to a minimum of 450 gamers rating. I'd have picked 500, but that would have meant one important candidate narrowly missed the list. * Must be able to stand critical scrutiny in comparison to modern games. I put this into numbers as having an average rating of 7 or more. In the event I actually went down to 6.9 because when I looked at the data, there was quite a gap between this and the next game down, so it seemed a better cut-off point. For games with expansions, I've taken the highest-rated expansions into account. The result is a list of games that, whatever you, personally may think of them, have genuinely earned the title "classic" and the respect of the gaming community. I've ordered the games by average rating in reverse order. For those interested, the finished article is here: http://fortressat.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view...
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Posted Mon Aug 17, 2009 1:40 pm
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Matt Thrower
United Kingdom
Bath
Somerset
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Highest expansion rated 6.90 by 634 users.
You might be a bit surprised to find this propping up the list at the lowest position. I wasn't, given that it approaches Monopoly in terms of "great Satan" status amongst some users on this site. Not one of my personal favourites, to be sure, but it deserves to make the cut in terms of influence alone.
Reprint status: Currently in print from FFG, with a couple of expansions for those that want it. I find it interesting how the a reprint which is not substantially different from the original can actually garner a much better status here on BGG. An effect of the bitter naysayers of the original perhaps?
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2.
Board Game: Junta
[Average Rating:6.96 Overall Rank:307]
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Matt Thrower
United Kingdom
Bath
Somerset
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Rated 6.97 by 2165 users.
I was a bit shocked to find this made the list, given the well-known downtime issues caused by the coup phase and the requirement for lots and lots of players. But there's no denying that the card game at the heart of this title was, and is, brilliant.
Reprint status: Currently available with somewhat improved components. Given that well-known issue, it's somewhat surprising to see that the current edition makes no substantive gameplay changes at all. Trying to sort the wheat from the chaff in this one has alway been a tricky problem: perhaps it's impossible after all?
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Matt Thrower
United Kingdom
Bath
Somerset
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Rated 7.00 by 918 users.
In spite of the fact that I dislike in intensely, I think we can confirm the status of this game by acknowledging the number of home-made copies in circulation, created in defiance of the awesome number of bits and chits required for the game.
Reprint status: As far as I'm aware no-one has picked this up or is planning to. But there's always RealmSpeak.
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4.
Board Game: Wiz-War
[Average Rating:7.00 Overall Rank:399]
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Matt Thrower
United Kingdom
Bath
Somerset
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Rated 7.02 by 1037 users.
Not a game I know a lot about. I have a P&P copy collecting dust in my attic, but the cost of buying eight or nine decks of playing cards and then stickering them all has really put me off ever getting to grips with actual construction of the game.
Reprint status: This has been alleged to be up for reprinting for, well, for a very long time but no reprint has appeared. For those wanting to go the P&P route there are eight albums on Artscow with all the required cards, but that many custom decks is expensive, especially without a current special offer.
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Matt Thrower
United Kingdom
Bath
Somerset
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Rated 7.03 by 507 users.
Another game I know little about, and a mild surprise to find it here. One of the things I think is interesting about this list is the way a diversity of themes is represented, almost like the best game for every theme almost guarantees classic status. Wild West games are still few and far between, which may help account for the continued popularity of this title.
Reprint status: None planned as far as I know. There are albums for the cards on Artscow, but there's a lot of other material you'd need to paste up as well.
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Matt Thrower
United Kingdom
Bath
Somerset
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Rated 7.04 by 3067 users.
I'm surprised not to see this further up the list, but I think it's probably been a victim of the database entry split. This is the first game that I think everyone was expecting to see make this list.
Reprint status: Currently in-print from FFG. A few minor tweaks to the rules and card decks has made their edition very popular, but only time (and in all probability some expansions) will tell whether it's going to be the definitive edition.
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Matt Thrower
United Kingdom
Bath
Somerset
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Rated 7.05 by 2350 users.
This is actually the only one of the old MB big-box games that met the criteria for the list. Tried to play it once when all the players were dreadfully hungover and it went down like a lead balloon and it's never been bought out since. Lesson: games tried under less-than-ideal conditions can put you off the title for life whether deserving or not .. don't do it!
Reprint status: None, as far as I'm aware, and there's no way on earth this is a possible candidate for print and play.
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Matt Thrower
United Kingdom
Bath
Somerset
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Rated 7.12 by 1215 users.
Is this more of a family game than an AT-game? I think it's both: no title which features quite so much screw-your-neighbour and hot monster-on-monster action ought to be left out of the AT canon.
Reprint status: None, as far as I know, but copies of the very similar Escape from Atlantis aren't hard to find on EBay or in second-hand shops.
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9.
Board Game: Kremlin
[Average Rating:7.11 Overall Rank:266]
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Matt Thrower
United Kingdom
Bath
Somerset
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Rated 7.12 by 1292 users.
The lasting appeal of this is undoubtedly connected to the sheer amount of viciousness it managed to condense into a remarkably short, simple and playable game.
Reprint status: It seems to be something of an open secret that this is actually still in print, albiet not in English. Morgana Spiel still publish a German version, and paste-ups into English are not overly onerous if you don't want to pay top dollar on Ebay.
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Matt Thrower
United Kingdom
Bath
Somerset
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Rated 7.15 by 623 users.
A personal favourite of mine, the ongoing lure of this title is its uniqueness. Whilst clearly derived from Scotland Yard the added layers of theme, complexity and interaction/co-operation created a truly unusual and atmospheric play experience.
Reprint status: currently in-print from FFG although it's interesting to note that this is the one title from this list which underwent very significant changes during the update. This stemmed from a perhaps understandable frustration with the way the victory conditions in the original could lead to dull games, and a far less understandable irritation with the ability of the Dracula player to cheat. Most people seem to believe the changes make the game better, although they also make it slightly clunkier and more complex. A small minority - myself included - continue to prefer the original.
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Matt Thrower
United Kingdom
Bath
Somerset
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Rated 7.16 by 1208 users.
The highest-rated game on the list that I'm unfamiliar with, this game went on to spawn a whole genre that actually includes very few Amertrash titles: pick-up-and-deliver.
Reprint status: None so far as I know. However, the files for a visual re-design of the components are available right here on BGG and there are public albums for the cards on Artscow. The effort involved in putting it all together would be pretty considerable though.
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Matt Thrower
United Kingdom
Bath
Somerset
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Rated 7.17 by 4514 users.
Come on, you were waiting for this one to show up, weren't you?
Reprint status: In print, and second-hand editions are easy to come by. Personally I like the older editions with the wooden pieces. It's finding the time and players to play this that's the problem, not the game itself!
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13.
Board Game: Titan
[Average Rating:7.15 Overall Rank:223]
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Matt Thrower
United Kingdom
Bath
Somerset
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Rated 7.19 by 1938 users.
The tagline of "fantasy monster slugathon" suits this down to a tee, but many player are amazed how much tactical and strategic depth this title reveals once you're past the initial impression of buckets of dice. A very innovative design, this has left clear hallmarks on a whole chain of design evolution which includes Magic: the Gathering.
Reprint status: Currently available from Valley Games, and a spankingly lovely edition it is too. But avoid the "expansion" Titan figurines!
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Matt Thrower
United Kingdom
Bath
Somerset
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Rated 7.44 by 457 users.
I was very surprised to see how highly rated the original of this game actually was. However, the relatively limited number of users rating it made me a little wary of assigning it to the very top tier of these classic games.
Reprint status: Revised and updated edition currently availble from Z-Man games. As if you didn't know. Downloadable material from the Z-man website means that the new edition does everything the old one does and more, and is the one to get if you want to play.
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Matt Thrower
United Kingdom
Bath
Somerset
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Rated 7.58 by 3197 users.
There's something heartwarming about the way in which the original civilization-building game has outlasted so very many attempts to "improve" or "streamline" it into something it isn't. Sometimes you just have to accept that if you want a game that charts the rise and fall of entire cultures over the course of millennia, it's going to be complex and long.
Reprint status: None, but second hand copies are not awesomely difficult to find.
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Matt Thrower
United Kingdom
Bath
Somerset
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Rated 7.60 by 1283 users.
For me, this was the biggest surprise of the list. Not a game that gets bandied about all that much when people are talking about remaking the old classics, but one that should be. The "single winner, but you'd better co-operate else the game kills you" mechanic remains relatively unique.
Reprint status: Valley games currently working on a reprint. Regular updates keep coming out, so although it may take a while, it seems likey to get there in the end.
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Matt Thrower
United Kingdom
Bath
Somerset
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Rated 7.65 by 1787 users.
This at #2 is something more of a surprise. It's a great game, certainly, but I'd have thought that it's relative rarity, difficulty of home construction, 2-player limitation and semi-automated Genestealer strategy would have forced it down the list.
Reprint status: Just confirmed by GW, although there seems to be no information on what, if any, changes have been made or what edition the reprint is based on. Pre-order yours now from the GW site.
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18.
Board Game: Dune
[Average Rating:7.65 Overall Rank:64]
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Matt Thrower
United Kingdom
Bath
Somerset
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Rated 7.68 by 2079 users.
Everyone was expecting this at #1, right?
Reprint status: Allegedly FFG is going to be reprinting this, but set in it's Twilight Imperium universe. Some reports are suggesting a 2010/2011 release and a game that is substantially different from the original but based on roughly the same mechanics.
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Posted Mon Aug 17, 2009 11:39 am
Got quite a few plays over the years. No clue where it went :P
