A "Fortress Ameritrash" FAQ

Since our very young blog started just two days ago, I've received some questions--some pointed, some more general--about things regarding the Fortress Ameritrash blog, my participation with it, the Ameritrash "movement", and other various things.

It occurred to me that we did just sort of jump in with guns blazing...after all, isn't that the Ameritrash way? We just took our ten-stack of content and piled it right in the opposing territory, as we are so wont to do.

Anyway, I thought that maybe I could deal with some of these questions in such a way that might answer some lingering questions and provide an informal introduction to the blog that we really didn't do in the first place.

Some of these questions are directly addressed at me, and others are more general. For the general questions, I will only answer for myself, and allow others to chime in underneath the comments section. So...let's get hoppin'!



--Did you guys start this blog as a direct reaction to Michael Barnes getting banned?

While the timing is incredibly convenient, trust me...this blog has been a long time coming. I was personally contacted by Matt back in January about finding some place other than BGG to put Ameritrash content. He also had contacted a select few others, and from there we started an email back and forth about the best way to actually DO this thing. We bandied about ideas such as doing a regular compilation column on BGG (sort of like the roundtable review posts you used to see there), we talked about creating our own website from the ground up, but eventually, we came to the conclusion that the blog was the best idea.

From there, Matt got the wheels spinning, setting up this blog, sending us instructions for getting signed up and logged in, and it went from there.

So while Michael's ban did come at a fortuitous time to draw attention to a new blog, this idea was in the works far before "The Banning of Michael Barnes".



--But why create a blog at all? Why not keep this content on BGG?

The short answer? We were essentially asked not to.


The longer answer is more complicated than that. When I first joined BGG back in June of 2005, I was a wide-eyed newbie who found the site solely from trying to hunt down a copy of Star Wars: The Queen's Gambit just as copies of the game were completely drying up within the channel.

I was amazed at what I found when I got there. Not sure if I wanted to stay, I created an account using a different name (that's why my user name on BGG makes no sense to anyone else--I wasn't planning on staying!). However, one thing led to another, and soon I'm doing reviews, session reports, commentary, ratings...once I realized that gee, I'd like to change my user name to something else--it was too late.

But I digress.


It didn't take long for me to get hit full in the face with the anti-American-style game bias that exists on that website. I saw games I liked dismissed out of hand. Games with dice in them were mercilessly slagged. I saw gamers who came to the site due to their love of games like Axis and Allies essentially told they were misinformed gamers with bad taste.


So...I created a little Geeklist called "What Sort of Gamer am I? OR The Ameriplasty Connection" (available to read here). Understand, I was not part of any "movement" at the time...after all, Robert Martin's excellent Ameritrash list was still almost a year away, and his caught fire in a way that mine did not. I wrote that list because honestly, I felt alone in my love for these games, and I was attempting to reach out and find other gamers like me, and to try to cut through that huge fog of bias.

I was naturally pleasantly surprised when the list generated a nice, healthy selection of thumbs and lots of thoughtful responses. Sure, there were a few people who popped in there to heap their scorn on American-style games, but for the most part the discussion was very civil.

Fast forward to Robert Martin's list, and the explosion of discussion that followed that one. I won't rehash that too deeply, but his great list ignited a fire of discussion and passion for these sorts of games that the Geek had never seen. People hurriedly offered their excitement and support about such games getting a spotlight, as if to validate them--"Hey! I like these games too!" Geekbadges were made and purchased (I even bought one, and I'm not a "spend your GG frivilously" kind of guy).


Something more nasty happened this time, though. Instead of the round support from the rest of the community, after only about the third list on the subject, a growing refrain of users were saying, "SHUT UP about these games!" or "Yawn! Another Ameritrash list!". Eventually, the climate for such discussion got so nasty that it was hard to carry it on productively.

(I mean--how hard is it, exactly? I don't like the game The Traders of Genoa and I'm not a big fan of most of the drier Euros in general. So, logically, I don't hang out in the ToG forums blasting people who do, and I don't make it a point to comment negatively under ToG whenever I see it listed on a Geeklist. It's not like Ameritrash game lists weren't prominently titled as such; how hard is it to just...I don't know...look at something else that interests you?)


The voices were chiming in to the effect that "Hey! Take this stuff somewhere else! We don't like these games! We don't like the division this is causing!"


So...we did.



--Is this blog for Ameritrashers only? What, exactly is the point of this blog?

Great question! No, it's not for Ameritrashers only, though that will be the overwhelming focus of the lion's share of the blog entries. We have a site for discussing Euros ad naseum; it's called BoardGameGeek, there's no need for us to try to compete with or try to rehash content from there.

But even the comment "Ameritrashers only"--that's a common misconception. Ameritrash is a style of game. It is a rare bird indeed who would claim to only like one style of game, and for those who would, they are really depriving themselves.

I like this style of game, but one needs only look at my ratings and comments on BGG to see that I am not a "head in the sand Ameritrasher". 3 of the 4 games I give 10 ratings to are EUROS! (The other, War of the Ring, is often cited as being a wargame that has married nicely some very Euro sensibilities into the whole thing). If you look at my 8, 9, and 10 ratings, you'll find wargames, Euros, card games, CCGs, Ameritrash, you name it. I am a gamer first and foremost, never forget that. All of us here are.


The point of this blog is to champion this genre of game without stepping on any toes somewhere else. We already have tons of missives on BGG as to why people love Puerto Rico or Caylus. What has been missing are games of the Ameritrash persuasion getting "equal time" as it were, for us to be able to succinctly state why they are worthy of attention, and to explain to other gamers why we like them, why we choose to play Twilight Imperium over something like The Princes of Florence. You don't have to agree, but at least you can sympathize or understand with our position better if we explain it to the best of our abilities. And that's my goal.


--Are you guys going to continue to post on BGG?

I can't speak for anyone else in this regard. Michael Barnes, obviously, is not going to be...he can't. Robert has indicated he is reluctant to post there again, but that might just be initial anger talking.

I will continue to post there, though I am extremely disappointed in the decision to ban Michael. I've been an admin on a few other CCG and/or gaming forums, and yeah, I've banned users before. But it took far, far more egregious sins than those committed by Mr. Barnes to get that sort of punishment, and only then if it was obvious they had nothing meaningful to add to the conversation. Say what you want about Michael, but he indeed has something to say, even if he often wraps it in the flag of sarcasm. He knows his games, being a long-time gamer, a former FLGS owner and now an online retailer. He's not a blind muckraker, just someone who has an opinion that isn't necessarily stated in the nice, neat packaged soundbites we often get as the "norm" on BGG.

To date, I've done 15 reviews, 33 Session Reports, created 14 Geeklists, and generated 640 "thumbs up" and nabbed 65 Geekbuddies in the process. For me to quit there would be counterproductive, and wasteful of the effort I've put in to the BGG community. It is a community that I value, though it has really let me down over the past few days...


(You guys on the threads singing and celebrating Micheal's banning? While personally attacking his corpse? The hypocricy is STAGGERING. Especially those of you who typicall babble on about personal freedom and the ability to freely express ideas...also, it's worth noting that there are plenty of Euro or abstract-centric game fans who are similarly hateful and dismissive to other users they don't happen to agree with and nothing is ever done about them.)



--I liked the Siege of the Citadel piece. Do you plan on posting it on BGG?

Well, that would be *really* counterproductive, wouldn't it? *GRIN*


My aim is to provide valuable content for this site. I want people to be excited about discussing these types of games. I want there to be open conversation about them without a few grumpy "Old Skoolers" shouting down everyone with their eye-rolling and finger-drumming. I don't half-ass anything (it's the reason I've only written 15 reviews as opposed to more of them.) I want the material I'm providing to be worth reading, and to increase the value of this blog as a whole.

If I go and post the same material on BGG--and that bit about Siege could've easily qualified as a review and possibly netted me a couple of GeekGold in the process--then what point would there be for anyone ever checking this site out?

Believe me, I'll still be doing reviews, ratings, geeklists, and other commentary on BGG. But likewise, I'm going to try to give you guys some quality material and a reason to come here and check out what the guys have to say--Barnes, Martin, Matt, Brady, Frank, EVERYBODY.





So...there you have it, I hope that this information answers a few questions as well as provides a little context and introduction to the Fortress: Ameritrash blog. Thanks for all the great comments and feedback thus far, these are always welcome!