Euro v. Ameritrash #
You’ll often hear people talk about euro-style games and Ameritrash games. Knowing the difference between the two will likely help you know what kind of games you prefer, and what sorts of things you might want to seek out.
Euro-games (Sometimes called German-style games): These tend to be very strategic games where luck plays a very small role. The theme of the game is generally not too important, and in some cases can be ignored by players completely (causing some to refer to themes as “tacked on” or “pasted on”). As found in BGG’s definition, “The players’ decision-making skills have a high significance in determining the outcome.”
Ameritrash (Sometimes called thematic games, or experience games): These put heavy emphasis on the theme of the game, many times will include intricate miniatures, and often (though not always) have a significant element of luck (for example, via dice rolling). The overall play experience is very much driven by the theme, and these games are often judged by how well the mechanics feel thematic.
It could be argued that most games are neither “pure euro” or “pure Ameritrash.” The presence of any luck might make people question the euro-ness of a euro game, while deep strategy and little luck might make Ameritrash fans turn away from an otherwise highly-thematic game. In some instances, you might have a “hybrid game” on your hands.
Still, trying to shoehorn any single game into one of these two categories has been — and will continue to be — the topic of some good-natured discussion among gamers.
A note on the term “Ameritrash”: This word sounds negative, and it’s original intention was likely meant that way. Currently, though, it’s a term of endearment. Many who love highly-thematic games embrace the term, and many people have argued that there’s really no better word to describe games in this category. If you don’t like this word, the term “thematic game” is completely synonymous, and if you use it instead, people will know what you’re talking about.
Mechanics #
There are some mechanics whose terms are fairly clear (“auction”, “bluffing”, “dice rolling”) without any familiarity to boardgames, but other might be difficult to understand what they mean or how they are played.
Abstract: Generally used to describe games that simple mechanics, feature no luck factor whatsoever, and have almost no theme whatsoever. Chess and checkers are common examples of “abstract” games. Though high-strategy, low luck and little theme, abstracts are considered to be a separate category than “euro” games.
Deck/pool builder: A Deck builder is a card game where most often players start with a small set of cards, often split up into draw pile, discard pile, and hand. As the game progresses, players add good cards into it and pull bad cards out (often referred to as “trashing”). Playing different cards trigger these deck-improving actions. The strategy is to develop a deck that allows you win the most efficiently built deck. There are usually many different cards available you can add to your deck, but having a strategy and knowing which ones will help you most is the key.
The term “pool building” applies to games that play the same way, but use tokens or dice instead of cards.
Worker placement: A mechanic where players have a number of available tokens, usually referred to as “workers”, and take turns assigning them to different “action” spaces. Depending on the game, actions may resolve immediately or only once the worker is removed from the board. In most cases, a worker being present on an action space prevents another player from occupying it, or an action space may only have a few open spots, limiting the number of workers that can occupy that space. A “worker placement game” is one that uses this as a primary mechanic.
Commonly used terms #
Balance: A concept that each and every player has an equal chance to win at the beginning of the game, and that no one single strategy is stronger than another.
“Cube Pusher”: A term — often used in a derogatory sense — to describe a game where mechanics largely involve placing cubes on the board, collecting cubes, and exchanging cubes for points or rewards. Such games tend to be “euro” games.
Downtime: The length of time between each turn, used to emphasize time each player spends not “actively” playing the game. More players who take long turns will generally mean more downtime. A feeling of downtime is more pronounced when the game gives you nothing to do or react to when it is not your turn.
Fiddly: When used to describe a game’s components, it means that there a lots of little pieces that need to be moved around so much it can slow the game down, or all the pieces lengthen setup, cleanup of the game. When used to describe the mechanics or rules of the game, it means there are a lot of corner cases or rules that apply in rare or unique instances (it often means a games mechanisms should be more streamlined).
Kingmaker: A player of a game who actively works to allow another player to win. Kingmakers usually appear in games where one player is in no position to win a game, but can actively work in the favor of another. Kingmakers are usually criticized as having “given up,” tilting the balance, or arbitrarily deciding which player will win. Some like kingmaking, for example, in a wargame it is wise not to betray anyone too harshly, otherwise they will kingmake your opponent.
Overproduced: The effort that went into the physical production was beyond what was needed or even necessarily. Can be positive, in that a game company went above and beyond to make a very high-quality and good-looking game. Could be negative, in that a person may have rather payed less for a game that functioned just as well without unnecessary elements.
Shelfie: A “selfie”/photograph of your game shelf, often used in conjunction with COMC (Check Out My Collection, described below).
Shiny: A
Turkey: A game that a player once enjoyed, but now enjoys much less.
Weight (light/middle/heavy): Commonly an expression of how difficult a game is to learn, how many rules or mechanics it features, or how long a game might last. Lightweight games have simple mechanics, are easy to teach, and/or play quickly, while heavy games are the opposite. It may be possible to refer to a game as having “light” mechanics but “heavy” strategy. (Many folks view “weight” and “complexity” as distinct concepts, but the differences are highly fought over so it would be hard to to summarize here!)
Acronyms #
Abbreviations #
Boardgames #
18XX : 18xx is the collective term used to describe a set of railroad-themed stock market and tile laying games.
1P / 2P / 3P / 4P / etc : Player count abbreviations (i.e. “1 Player”)
4X : 4X games are a genre of strategy games in which players control an empire and “explore, expand, exploit, and exterminate”.
AP : Action Points (or sometimes AP means Analysis Paralysis, see below), are points in games to determine how much action a player can do in a single turn.
AP : Analysis Paralysis (or sometimes AP means Action Points, see above), when a player has so many choices in front of them that they are unable to make a decision in a reasonable amount of time. This can be frustrating to other gamers if they need to wait for you before taking their turn. Some are more prone than others, and will get AP even with few choices. Some games are just AP types of games! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analysis_paralysis#Board_games
CCG : Collectible Card Game / Customizable Card Game; Recently more commonly referred to as TCG. (See that entry, below).
COIN : “COunter INsurgency“, a collection of games which deal with guerrilla warfare and counter insurgencies around the world.
d4 / d6 / d8 / d10 / d12 / d20 : Terms borrowed from tabletop role-playing games to identify dice with a particular number of sides, with d6 therefore representing the classic cube-shaped die. The common types listed here form a “[polyhedral] dice set” as popularized by Dungeons & Dragons and related game systems, however you may see other numbers as well, such as the humorous use of “d2” to refer to flipping a coin.
FLGS : Friendly Local Game Shop / Store, a reference to a brick-and-mortar store. Usually for people looking for a place to play, or to simply buy locally and support their community.
IP : Intellectual Property, of course not just in reference to board games. It “is a legal concept which refers to creations of the mind for which exclusive rights are recognized”.
JASE : “Just another soulless euro.” used to dismiss a euro game that lacks a strong theme, or has a “pasted on” theme.
LCG : Living Card Game: Similar to TCG, but when you buy expansion decks, they are not random. Android Netrunner is a popular recent example. “**Living Card Game” and “LCG” are a registered trademarks of Fantasy Flight Games.
MSRP : Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price
OOP : Out Of Print game (usually a depressing acronym for gamers to read!)
RPG / TTRPG : Tabletop Role-Playing Game), where players take on the characters in the game they’re playing, much like actors in an improv play.
TCG : Trading Card Game (a.k.a. CCG, Collectible Card Game), as made famous by Richard Garfield’s “Magic: The Gathering”, allow you to buy expansion decks of random cards to try and make the best set of cards (aka Deck Building) for yourself as you play against others building their decks of cards. Similar to LCG, but in those, expansions you buy do not contain random cards.
Internet, Reddit, or specific to r/boardgames #
AMA, AMAA : Ask Me Anything / Ask Me Almost Anything, a general Reddit term for when somebody is doing a question-and-answer / interview.
COMC : Check Out My Collection, used when posting a picture of your personal board game collection. Our COMC guidelines
DAE : “Does Anyone Else“, common one on Reddit
FS / FT : For Sale / For Trade, used in game exchange and sale threads to distinguish from wanted games (often marked with [W]). Note that within this sub, buying, selling, and trading are limited to the monthly bazaar-thread.
GOTW : **, a recurring thread on r/boardgames to discuss a particular game, posted on Wednesdays.
PSA : Public Service Announcement, usually to alert us to some board gaming news or sales.
TIA : “Thanks In Advance“, for when asking people a question. In general use on the Internet.
TL;DR : “Too Long; Didn’t Read“, Another one found all over Reddit, this usually is at the end of a long posting and serves as a summary for people who don’t want to read the full text.
TOMT : Tip of my Tongue, someone can’t quite remember the name of a game and is looking for some help.
WSIG : What Should I Get, when people ask about what might compliment their collection. (also in the sidebar)
Companies and Resources #
BGA : BoardGameArena, a popular site for playing board games online in both real-time and “asynchonous” formats. (Check out our Playing Online-page for more. Only BGA is listed here not as a particular endorsement, but because it’s one of the few with a common abbreviation.)
BGG : BoardGameGeek, the long time authority on all things boardgames – a lot of information, though the site’s navigation takes a while to learn.
CMON : Cool Mini or Not, popular miniatures game publishers, which include the popular KS campaigns Zombicide and Sedition Wars.
CSI : Cool Stuff Inc, an online retailer with competitive prices, especially in the USA.
D&D / DND : Dungeons and Dragons, a tabletop roleplaying game
FFG : Fantasy Flight Games, a big publisher in the board game business. Is a subsidiary of Asmodee.
G&S : Geek and Sundry, an Internet community centered around web videos. Usually mentioned here in reference to Wil Wheaton’s TableTop series.
GW : Games Workshop, a British wargame publisher best known for the Warhammer series.
IGA : Indie Game Alliance, a support organization that helps members with designing and publishing games.
KS : Kickstarter, a crowdfunding site where some great boardgames come out from both independent and established publishers.
MM : Miniature Market a popular online retailer based in the US.
PAX : Penny Arcade Expo is a series of gaming festivals held in the USA (Seattle & Boston), Australia (Melbourne), along with PAX Unplugged, a convention dedicated to tabletop, held in Philadelphia.
RG / RGG : Rio Grande Games a publisher best known for bringing a number of european games to the US, but nowadays has its own catalogue as well.
SU&SD / SUSD : Shut Up and Sit Down, a couple of guys doing some great journalism on boardgames.
TTS : Tabletop Simulator, a software program that simulates the physics of tabletop game pieces & components, allowing folks to play games virtually, either online or in-person.
WotC : Wizards of the Coast, who own the IP rights to D&D and M:tG. WotC is owned by Hasbro.
Popular Board game Abbreviations and Acronyms #
7W : 7 Wonders
aFFO : A Feast for Odin
AH : Arkham Horror
ANR / A:NR : Android: Netrunner
AoS : Age of Steam (OR Age of Sigmar)
ASL : Advanced Squad Leader
BR : Blood Rage
BSG : Battlestar Galactica
CAH : Cards Against Humanity
CitOW : Chaos in the Old World
CoB : Castles of Burgundy
DoW : Dead of Winter
FCM : Food Chain Magnate
GoT / AGOT: A Game of Thrones (usually in reference to the board game, but there are GoT card games too).
GtR : Glory to Rome
KDM / KD:M : Kingdom Death: Monster
KoT : King of Tokyo
LNOE : Last Night On Earth
LotR : Lord of the Rings. There are many games with this IP, so the posting will usually provide more context.
LoW : Lords of Waterdeep
MK : Mage Knight
MoM : Mansions of Madness
MtG / M:TG : Magic: The Gathering card game
MvM : Mechs vs. Minions
PG : Power Grid
PR : Puerto Rico
RftG : Race for the Galaxy (or its spinoff, Roll for the Galaxy)
T&E : Tigris & Euphrates
TEG : Tiny Epic Galaxies
TI / TI3 / TI4 : Twilight Imperium / 3rd Edition / 4th Edition
TM : Terraforming Mars OR Terra Mystica
TS : Twilight Struggle
TtA : Through the Ages
TtR : Ticket to Ride
WotR : War of the Ring
Have Good Etiquette! #
As posted by Darth_Meatloaf, there’s some good etiquette that would make a list like this unnecessary: It should also be noted that when abbreviations and acronyms are going to be used, it is generally good form to use the following format the first time you mention it:
Recently I played Glory to Rome (GtR) with my friends. Charlie also has a copy of GtR, so we...
And then in subsequent mentions in that thread/comment you can use just the abbreviation.This tends to remove the confusion.
Not everyone knows these terms, and people might forget some of the obscure ones, so it really helps new people to spell it out the first time.