The Amazing American
Circus

The Amazing American Circus (2021) is an adventure strategy card game about travelling across America to turn a run-down circus troupe into an amazing spectacle in an epic quest to become the greatest showman. To play you choose which cities to visit and then pick the best performer cards to both impress the crowd and develop your troop. It stands out not only for its 19^th Century circus adventure but for being a deck-building card game where the battles are about performance rather than violence.

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You choose a city for your circus crew to visit in the hopes of putting on the best possible show. Each city has unique types of spectators and side-quests where you can help people with their lives. Once you are set up you select three performers from your troupe and which of their five cards you use in their performance.

You need to balance which tricks you select. Some are better at impressing the audience, while others can boost your performer's morale, or help them ignore hecklers and prepare for the big finale. Choose well and you can maximise not only the show but look after your troop at the same time. You only get one chance at the show, so taking your time to get to know the people and gain allies can really benefit your troupe. All the while you must carefully manage your limited resources.

As you progress you gain gifts or curses from audience members who loved or hated the show. You also acquire special quirks or ailments as well as learn new twists on the tricks to make each of your performers unique. This helps you not only in shows but with the optional side-quests. Take these on and you find yourself in regional adventures like using circus performers for a train heist or even taking on a gang of bandits in their mountain hideout.

It's a game as much about the (antagonistic) role of the audience as it is about the performers. The audience members serve as the enemies in this game, but rather than battling against them you are trying to impress them enough that they enjoy the show and spend lots of money. This results in an unusually entertaining puzzle where you must find the combination of performers and tricks to best win over a particular audience.

The result is a deck-building card game that focuses on performances rather than battles. It’s the novelty of non-combat conflict and the strength and integration of the overarching narrative, character stories, and side quests that give the game heart and make it stand out in the genre.

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Our examiner, Angela Hickman Newnham, first checked The Amazing American Circus 16 months ago. It was re-examined by Jo Robertson and updated 14 months ago.