Is there such thing as a purely economic based Ameritrash game?

Is there such thing as a purely economic based Ameritrash game? Is Monopoly the only Ameritrash economic game? If somebody was going to create the great Ameritrash economic game what would it be like? In What Ameritrash Fans Want 200+
www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/27999 MattDP listed the top ranked games by people with AT badges. There were 4 economic games listed in the top 50.

Age of Steam #26
Acquire #22
Railroad Tycoons #21
Power Grid #18

Note: Monopoly didn’t make the top 50 by AT badges holders (it’s currently ranked #4219 on BGG and falling every day a new game comes out).

While none of these games can truly be called Ameritrash, many of the Ameritrash badge holders would still call these great games. So maybe it is impossible to have a purely economic Ameritrash game. It is possible to have economics in Ameritrash games. Ti3, Starcraft and other AT games do have resource management and even trade.

Based on the games that people with AT badges like and based on the element we like in AT games I think we can develop elements that will make a better economic game.

Player interaction has to be the number one thing we need in an economic game: For most economic games the best way to interact with players is the auction mechanism. But some auctions are better than other. The auctions in AoS #2 are incredibly cut throat (which is great) as well as the auctions late in a Power Grid game. The other way games can have interaction is based on board position. AoS, Railroad Tycoon, Power Grid and even Acquire create play interaction by having players battle over board position. Along the lines of player interaction, I want the ability to economically attack a player or even bankrupt a player.

Other elements that would help improve economic games are better bits to add to the theme. Power Grid and Railroad Tycoon do a much better job at this than Acquire and Age of Steam.

The only other element I can think of right now is some element of randomness to add to the excitement of what could be a dry economic game. AoS, Acquire, RRT and Power Grid all have the right balance of randomness. There was one game of RRT that I would have won as long as I didn’t pull out 2 blue cubes from the bag when taking a production action. Sure enough 2 blue cubes came out the bag and lost.

Are there any other element that would make the next great American economic game?

Are there any other element that would make the next great American economic game?

It doesn't need auctions. It needs wheeling and dealing; buying low and selling high. It needs to be an updated version of this game:

boardgamegeek.com/game/1434

What is stopping Railroad tycoon from being considered AT?

What about I'm the Boss? It's a pure deal-making game with lots of backstabbing. Never plsyed it, though, but it's among my top games to try if I ever get the chance.
http://boardgamegeek.com/game/115

What a great box cover on Dealer's choice. Do you have a copy of Dealer's choice?

Mr Skeletor wrote:

What is stopping Railroad tycoon from being considered AT?

Maybe nothing. I'm fine calling it AT (on BGG we'd get 10 post from people who disagree). It probably has more AT elements than any other economic game and it was the highest ranked economic game by AT fans. It's also my favorite game.

It would more clearly be AT if it were RAILROAD ZOMBIE TYCOONS.

And hell yes, I've got a copy of DEALER'S CHOICE! In fact, if you count my (actually, my brother's) childhood copy at my parents' house, I've got two!

What about Supremacy? Granted it's not strictly economic but it does have a pretty innovative (but poorly implemented) economic model. Selling stuff drives the market down, buying stuff drives the market up.

vialiy wrote:

What about I'm the Boss? It's a pure deal-making game with lots of backstabbing. Never plsyed it, though, but it's among my top games to try if I ever get the chance.
http://boardgamegeek.com/game/115

I forgot about I'm the Boss. There’s some dice rolling to move your piece around. You pick up cards. But the heart of the game is making deals with other players. I played a few times last year and it’s not a bad game. I actually rated it a 7.0 on BGG. Not a game to play with a Euro-snob.

mikoyan wrote:

What about Supremacy? Granted it's not strictly economic but it does have a pretty innovative (but poorly implemented) economic model. Selling stuff drives the market down, buying stuff drives the market up.

The only game where you could threaten to Nuke somebody if they bought or sold too much food or minerals.

A re-theme of Pit to weapons deals would be cool.

Is Cash n' Guns an economic game?

Ameritrash for me has always meant some kind of combat...economics is all good and well but if negotiations fail there has to be a way for you to go in, slap your opponent around, and forcibly take what you want.

I agree that Cash and Guns is probably the most Ameritrash economics game I can think of...you have that threat of violence right in someone's face.

That's one of the things that makes DEALER'S CHOICE great. You can torch, steal, or crash an opponent's cars.

From a theme or setting stand point it’s much better and trashier to play an economic or money based game as Gangsters, Bootleggers, Pirates, Terrorists (War on Terror) or even a used car dealer or industrialist Robber Barron than to play a money based games as farmer, merchant, art dealer, guy in tights or medieval prince.

From a mechanism stand point we want to be able to retaliate, threaten or bluff other players. Also, if the trade and money route does work for us we’d like to be able to retaliate against other players with a gun, fist or nuke rather than taking it up he ass when somebody out bids us for a jester.

The only economic game I have in my collection is James Clavell's NOBLE HOUSE. It's stock market trading in Hong Kong during the 1960's. The mechanics are very dry, but it does have flavor in the amount of backstabbing and random events that occur. A fry cry from what I usually play, but enjoyable nonetheless.