Board game basics – The different types of board games
3 Minute Board Games
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Sound effects from
3 minute board games are J Carmichael and S Rodgers
04.05.2022
I was amazed that Battletech was not mentioned by you. Battletech tabletop was used to fund the first multiplayer game when internet did not even exist. Watch that multiplayer game.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdJA5C_Po4U&t=2s
Battletech may be seen as wargame, but it is more like chess with some math, very educational. Parents use it to keep kids sharp for STEM careers, while making kids to have fun.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdNDtfFAhYE
Given the micromanagement, Battletech rules may be intimidating for casual players. This is why I made arts for a visual guide for "Battletech fan" youtube channel. With the visual guide you see that rules are just common sense to simulate giant robots.
Thanks for the video. I just get into the hobby this year, and your video is a great help, I think now understand those categories much better.
Also your suit is a great idea for this kind of video.
"filler" is one definition that would have been nice to have here.
In any case, excellent video and excellent idea to help the people beginning in the hobby!
Very clear and succinct definitions. Well done. Thanks.
In my opinion the definition of Ameritrash and Eurogame is a little bit off. Having wooden pices doesn't make it euro, having miniatures doesn't make it ameritrash. Having both doesn't make it hybrid.
For example catan, it uses plastic pices and in the addons they use miniatures. There is a luck based system (rolling dice for resources) as well. The winner is the person that reaches first a certain amount of victory points. And there is a lot of player interaction because the players trade goods all the time.
Using meeples instead of miniatures doesn't make Vast or Root a euro game. Usind miniatures doesn't make Dogs of War an ameritrash game.
So for me they are defined as following:
Ameritrash: Use a luck based core mechanic and an unlucky person will never win. It might have some kind of knockout system so that sometimes players drop out early.
Eurogame: There is no knockout system for players. Everyone is part of the game until it is over. The core system uses only a low amout of luck, means that a very unlucky person can win the game.
Now to Scythe: The core is an engine builder with no/low luck. There are luck based systems like cards, but getting a good card vs getting a bad card doesn't change anything in the game. You may win with every factory card, you won't lose because of a bad encounter card and so on… There is only a low amount of user interaction. Often the game is played without a single fight, often its more about the fear that an interaction might happen. It has resource management and victory points. The end of the game is defined by reaching 6 Stars. The only thing that makes it NOT a euro game is the violation of the knockout rule. In Scythe a player might be knocked out (very unlikely but I guess possible) this is the only thing that states that it can't be a 100% euro game. All the other mechanics can also be in a euro game.
Euro games don't have to be low interaction. The good ones are low luck.
18XX?!!
Awesome video Man! The best one ever!
Are you going to talk in another episode about Legacy games? Thanks for your help and keep up the great work!
What's a "dry" euro game?
I missed Dungeon Crawlers… 😢
This is brilliant stuff. Maybe will be taught in schools one day 🙂
Thank you for sitting down and bothering! Love your channel, it has seriously fed my hobby, and wishlist!
As a newcomer to the hobby I found this very helpful. I'm currently loving Arkham Horror LCG and Onirim. Looking to eventually get into a legacy or campaign type game like Tainted Grail or Jaws of the Lion, but AH:LCG obsesses me enough as it is. Keep up the good work and I'm looking forward to more of your videos.
THHANK YOU!!!!!
This dude says Catan is a Euro and then defines Euro with all the opposite words you would use to describe Catan lol.
Damn I like your accent
Great video
Wow, havent heard about Euro-Ameritrash debate for like 10 years. It was very prominent though when i was properly getting into the hobby, what i noticed though is that (counter intuitively to some ) eurogamers are much more agressive about their preferences. For example Ameritrash player: oh, catan? Im not that much into wooden pieces and trade mechanics, but to each their own, you have fun playing it – Eurogamer : OMG how can you play this ovepriced piece of s**t, it has no depth and is pure commercialism! Also i found it amusing how eurogamers had blogs, debates and all over "serious" approach while us Ameritrashers sat in the basement playing Descent the whole weekend 😀
Ave Imperator, gloria en excelus Terra!
I started a bit dubious, after the Euro game definition, but in general this video seems sensible and useful. As for Euro games: in my mind there are a couple of key mechanics that seem like the core of the definition. Primarily accumulating and spending various resources, and secondarily worker placement mechanics. Low luck, mechanics over theme, and limited conflict/interaction don't seem like quite enough for an unfamiliar person to start understanding the genre.
“Low player interaction and low luck” catan: laughs
Catan: We are the start of the gaming trend. We come in peace.
Cosmic Encounter: Get off my intergalactic lawn.
Also Bad Religion for the hybrid good choice!!!
I don't know much about classification of games, thanks for this video. I have a board game called 'Wooden Ships and Iron Men' and I call it a "Hex Game". My cousin had many war games also in this Hexagon board layout. These games have many flat pieces with a picture and number for item reference. What would their category be called?
There aren’t any wooden bits in Gaia Project and it’s about as Euro as a Euro gets.
Thanks. This video was a good start. I consider myself new to board games overall as I've wanted to get into them for year and am not familiar with all the terminology and information out there.
And there was some nostalgia to the video. I remember my childhood collecting and painting skeletons and zombies for warhammer fantasy and my neighbor and I used to play 3rd edition of Magic the gathering after school most days.
You didn't address Deck Building, Deck Construction, &/or Drafting
Mechanics are people who work on machines.
What about 4x Games?
Card games are not board games. Card games are games, even table top games, but not board games, unless they use boards in the game play.
Hi, great video!
One another difference between ameritrash and euros, that speaks about typical europe and american way of live. Euro normally have catch up mechanics to help the players that are getting behind in points during gameplay. And ameritrashs rewards the player that is winning and punishes really hard who is losing in points during the game. In america
If you play Twister in California, it's an Ameritrash game since you're using mostly plastic pieces.
This video very accurately proofs that naming conventions in the board game community is utterly terrible. Neither "Eurogame" nor "Amritrash" means anything to somebody from outside the board game community. The fact that the material of the pieces plays a part in where to categorize a game is even weirder. Is Ticket to Ride less of a Euro because it has plastic pieces? The fact that one of those has a derogatory term is flat out insane. Kickstarter games as a term for games that aren't crowdfunded while at the same time doesn't apply to the majority of actually kickstarter funded games is just as crazy.
Ugh, I hope the community eventually adopts relevant names somewhere in the future. Untill then I prefer the classifications use by BGG.
Just found your channel thanks to this video. Seeing your definitions does help me understand and explain my own game collection to friends.
I don't play party games either. Well, I don't get to. Because you need friends and parties. So. Yeah.
2d6 probabilities
2: 1/36
3: 2/36
4: 3/36
5: 4/36
6: 5/36
7: 6/36
8: 5/36
9: 4/36
10: 3/36
11: 2/36
12: 1/36
Is that what you look like?
Its about what i expected to be honest. Good video as always you handsome person you.
I prefer Ameritrash – Player interaction is what it's about! It's why im hanging out with my friends!
Where does Concordia fit in?
This is super helpful to someone just deep diving into the hobby — thank you! Also, just curious what's the story behind your logo?
What is the difference between deckbuilding and drafting, as applies to games?
It's not just that you're expert in board games and extremely proficient in telling a story, but that your presentation is so hilarious.
I personally hope that you've already compiled your top 100 board games list with links to purchase the individual games themselves to your sponsors that sell them.
I just want to click "add all" to my cart and buy them. We've tried three of your recommendations so far, absolutely loved them, and now have a weekly Friday game night.
Who knew board games could be such a great obsession?
By 1:23 I started taking notes. You could even turn this in to how to create a great board game on those training sites LOL. Or have some sort of website board game configurator that lists board game features and then makes recommendations, has your personal ratings for each, and of course acquisition links.
"I don't cover party games on the channel, because I don't dam well play them." LOL
I think a key point in the euro vs ameritrash is that euro games commonly use very abstract iconography because unlike the US, Europe has 44 countries speaking different languages and creating dozens of localised versions for dozens of very small markets is usually not feasible. Most of the time euro games are language-free and companies only localise the rulebooks.
Could you cover some more party games?
E mihi ana
As someone who has only started getting into this hobby (from a history in GW games), this was a fantastic source of easy-to-consume info. Thanks! Subscribed!
What about Dungeon Crawlers? Dexterity Games? Games that involve lying (e.g. card game Coup); that involve negotiating; that involve ‘whatever Cryptid is’; I loved this video and I kept looking for more, to see all the known/most common game categories.
as an american, I love the term ameritrash.