The Amazing American Circus

About

The Amazing American Circus is a single player tactical role playing game with fantasy, comedy, historical and business themes. It was developed by Juggler Games and was released on September 16, 2021. It received mostly positive reviews from critics and neutral reviews from players.

The Amazing American Circus tells a story of the most iconic entertainment in American history. The USA, during the Gilded Age, is a turbulent place. On the East Coast springs up a modern metropolis, while in the west, cowboys and robber barons fight for their business. The new era is coming, and this is the last right moment for the circus to flourish!

+17

Skip User Reviews

43%

Audience ScoreBased on 233 reviews

gameplay25 positive mentions

grinding12 negative mentions

Unique and interesting circus theme providing a fresh take on the deck-building genre and combining it with resource management and storytelling.
Variety of performers with distinct cards and mechanics offering strategic depth and replayability.
Well-executed art style, music, and thematic atmosphere that capture the period and circus vibe effectively.

Gameplay is slow-paced, repetitive, and can feel tedious due to lengthy animations, drawn-out battles, and unclear mechanics.
Poor tutorialization and lack of clear explanations make learning the game difficult and overwhelming for new players.
Numerous bugs, balance issues, and some awkward or poorly integrated mechanics (e.g., health loss on shuffle, pervasive random punishments, clunky UI) detract from the experience.

gameplay
156 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
16%
73%
11%
The gameplay blends deck-building card battles with circus-themed management and RPG elements, offering unique performer mechanics and strategic depth, but is heavily criticized for overwhelming complexity, poor tutorialization, repetitive loops, confusing and buggy mechanics, and lack of clear progression. While the core combat system is praised for creativity and thematic integration, excessive and poorly explained management features detract from overall enjoyment, making the gameplay feel tedious rather than engaging.
- “The gameplay revolves around traveling across the United States, performing shows, and managing various aspects of the circus, such as recruiting performers, upgrading facilities, and handling finances.”
- “The game excels in having a wide range of performers, each with their own unique deck mechanics, and the most fun way to play is not to try and pick the best performers each match but to explore lots of the unusual combinations.”
- “The basic gameplay is an impressive re-theme of spire-esque deckbuilding and card-based combat, only instead of fighting monsters you are trying to impress hostile audiences.”
- “It seems that the developers themselves did not understand what they wanted to make: either a card roguelike or a resource manager, and in the end they mixed everything together and the result was a product overloaded with unnecessary mechanics that are boring to understand and play.”
- “Many of the mechanics are poorly explained and the UI is opaque.”
- “The sub-par tutorialization made the gameplay confusing to follow and progression was not satisfying enough for me to continue.”
story
48 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
31%
59%
10%
The story of the game receives mixed reviews, with some praising its unique circus setting, creative quests, and character variety, while many criticize it as thin, unengaging, and poorly executed. Although the narrative adds some flavor and motivation, it often falls short in character development and overall depth, resulting in a plot that struggles to maintain player interest throughout the journey. Voice acting is generally seen as passable but uninspired, complementing a story that remains enjoyable mostly for fans of story-driven deckbuilders.
- “The story adds to all of that with crazy and very creative quests (distract someone, and use a chicken to open a safe which will end up in a "battle", etc.).”
- “The story and voice acting do a good job of setting a unique presentation, and the concept behind the game in performing and adapting a battle system to a performance is clever.”
- “In between acts/battles, the story and character developments play out like the journey in Banner Saga.”
- “The plot is thin, and once the sheer length of the journey to the end becomes clear, that plot is nowhere near enough to actually keep the player invested.”
- “The characters are boring and forgettable and there wasn't really a need to have a story or dialogue since it didn't even do anything with the characters they tried to develop.”
- “A very nice idea for a game, unfortunately poorly executed and not too well explained and translated, with infuriating story included in the deal.”
graphics
40 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
48%
44%
8%
The graphics receive praise for their unique, charming circus-themed art style and appealing animations, which create a distinctive and enjoyable aesthetic. However, some note that the visuals are simplistic and lack the polish of modern, high-end graphics, with limited options to improve visual quality. Additionally, a few reviewers mention the presence of outdated stereotypes in the art, which may detract from the overall experience for some players.
- “The art style is what drew me to this game in the first place. Months before it was released, I saw an ad for it and immediately wanted to play it. The art and animation in the game does not disappoint.”
- “Wonderful art style, great soundtrack, and original card game mechanics.”
- “[b]Visuals:[/b] 9/10, looks great, it definitely has a circus feeling.”
- “It's unclear if this is due to lack of budget to arrange someone who can create graphical assets properly, or lack of talent.”
- “Regardless, the overall visual quality of the game is very low, beneath what PC gamers have come to expect in this era of cutting edge photorealistic 3D graphics.”
- “While there are options to change the resolution for the game, all this does is scale up the simplistic 2D art assets used to make the game, which makes little or no difference to the graphics quality.”
optimization
19 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
16%
68%
16%
The game suffers from significant optimization issues, including frequent crashes, long loading times, resolution-related problems, and occasional softlocks, making it unstable especially on Windows 11. Additionally, pacing can feel repetitive during extended performances, and certain bugs further detract from smooth gameplay. Despite these technical flaws, the core concept and presentation have potential but require better polish for a more enjoyable experience.
- “Special mention to performance issues: changing the resolution makes the game almost unplayable, crashing, long loading screens, softlocks... there is a bug where the fakir is applied with all buffs from other artists.”
- “I got plenty of random crashes lately, so the game is definitely not created, optimized or even updated for Windows 11.”
- “Which brings me to the next point, leveling up is a nightmare, you get a lot of experience from new performances (cities/missions) but a pathetic amount (this also applies to money) from already visited places.”
- “I got plenty of random crashes lately, so the game is definitely not created, optimized, or even updated for Windows 11.”
- “Special mention to performance issues: changing the resolution makes the game almost unplayable, with crashing, long loading screens, softlocks, and a bug where the fakir is applied all buffs from other artists.”
- “Which brings me to the next point, leveling up is a nightmare: you get a lot of experience from new performances (cities/missions) but a pathetic amount (this also applies to money) from already visited places.”
music
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
16%
17%
The music is generally praised for being fitting, catchy, and well-done, complementing the circus theme and art style effectively. However, it tends to loop quickly and becomes repetitive during long play sessions, with some players wishing for more variety in tracks. Overall, the soundtrack enhances the game's atmosphere despite its limited repetition.
- “Wonderful art style, great soundtrack, and original card game mechanics.”
- “The art is amazing and the music is catchy.”
- “Artwork, music, and story are fantastic.”
- “The same is true of the music which loops very quickly.”
- “The music loops on itself.”
- “If you manage to survive the first two tents, you will run out of money so you cannot buy food or hire more artists, making it an endless losing series spiced with one single track of circus music during the whole gameplay.”
grinding
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The grinding aspect is widely criticized for being tedious, repetitive, and unengaging, with gameplay often feeling slow and dull. Players report unclear or missing instructions, lack of meaningful progression incentives, and mechanics that add tedious complexity without enhancing enjoyment. Overall, the grinding detracts significantly from the game's appeal, making it feel like a monotonous slog rather than a rewarding experience.
- “There's a lot of grinding happening here and sometimes instructions are unclear or missing.”
- “The combats are tedious, repetitive, and dull due to the time they take.”
- “Some abilities were not explained properly and the gameplay and fights/shows themselves are extremely boring and tedious.”
humor
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
80%
20%
The game's humor is characterized by quirky and absurd character concepts and a comical writing style that elicits occasional laughs. While some find the humor charming and suitable for all ages, others feel it falls flat or relies too heavily on developer-driven jokes rather than player-driven fun. Overall, it offers a mix of amusing moments alongside uneven comedic execution.
- “The theme and the characters are really interesting and funny.”
- “The writing is comical in the right ways and helps set the scene for some absurd moments, ones that had me laughing all the same.”
- “Fun for all ages with a bit of humor added into the mix for young and old.”
- “Instead of your teammates going insane killing each other, you get tomatoes thrown at you for being unfunny caw caw.”
- “Crow knows a thing or two about being unfunny caw caw.”
atmosphere
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
89%
11%
The atmosphere is widely praised for being unique, captivating, and visually striking, with many noting its strong and immersive quality. However, some users feel the world lacks depth in exploration and interaction. Overall, the atmosphere is considered a standout feature that greatly enhances the game's appeal.
- “It tries something new, has an astonishing atmosphere, and looks gorgeous.”
- “The atmosphere is great.”
- “It lives from the atmosphere and overall great idea.”
stability
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game suffers from numerous bugs and glitches, including unclear card mechanics and occasional crashes, leading to frustrating gameplay. While these issues rarely break the game completely, stability problems like freezing can disrupt progress and require restarting battles to continue.
- “Very buggy game.”
- “Buggy, missing info, cards aren't intuitive and don't do exactly what they say they do, way too many screens to get to simple actions.”
- “Also ran into a nasty bug that freezes your hand in between acts; the only fix I found is to close and redo the battle, which is very lame.”
replayability
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
14%
43%
Replayability in the game is mixed, with some appreciating the variety of performers and strategic options that encourage experimentation, while others find it limited due to lack of carry-over progression and repetitive optimal paths. Overall, replayability depends on player approach, with more varied choices enhancing the experience.
- “The game offers a variety of performers to recruit, each with distinct skills and personalities, adding depth and replayability to the experience.”
- “There is room to perfect your circus and performances before you move forward, and the replayability is high (if someone says it's not, they're probably choosing the same performers repeatedly).”
- “Replayability, even with the more static elements of the game, could be high.”
- “For a rogue-like, there is not much replayability.”
- “Nothing carries over, so replayability is kinda low—mostly just using other artists and a new one-third of a map.”
- “Replayability is essentially zero and really should be noted.”
character development
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The character development is engaging, with colorful and exaggerated designs that capture the circus theme, complemented by a story progression reminiscent of the Banner Saga's journey-style narrative.
- “The character designs are colorful and exaggerated, reflecting the flamboyant nature of circus performers.”
- “In between acts and battles, the story and character developments play out like the journey in Banner Saga.”
emotional
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's emotional impact is limited, with a narrative that feels charming but lacks depth. The voice acting is widely criticized for being poorly executed and detracting from the overall experience, to the point where some players feel the game would be better without it.
monetization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization is heavily criticized for being exploitative, with many suspected fake reviews posted shortly after launch to promote what appear to be asset flips and cash grabs. Users indicate a pattern of deceptive practices linked to these accounts.

Skip Critic Reviews

63%Critics’ scoreBased on 5 critic reviews

Skip Game Offers

Buy The Amazing American Circus

5h Median play time

35h Average play time

1-100h Spent by most gamers

*Based on 3 analyzed playthroughs

Skip Videos

Videos

Skip Games Like The Amazing American Circus

72%1.7kreviews

Deep Sky Derelicts

2018

Tactical Role Playing

71%479reviews

None Shall Intrude

2025

Tactical Strategy

64%602reviews

Deck of Ashes

2022

Tactical Role Playing

90%7.6kreviews

Tainted Grail: Conquest

2021

Survival Role Playing

83%13.7kreviews

Across the Obelisk

2022

Tactical Role Playing

More games like The Amazing American Circus

Skip FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

The Amazing American Circus is a tactical role playing game with fantasy, comedy, historical and business themes.

The Amazing American Circus is available on Xbox Series X|S, PC, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4 and others.

On average players spend around 35 hours playing The Amazing American Circus.

The Amazing American Circus was released on September 16, 2021.

The Amazing American Circus was developed by Juggler Games.

The Amazing American Circus has received mostly positive reviews from players and mostly positive reviews from critics. Most players liked this game for its gameplay but disliked it for its optimization.

The Amazing American Circus is a single player game.

Similar games include Deep Sky Derelicts, None Shall Intrude, Deck of Ashes, Tainted Grail: Conquest, Across the Obelisk and others.

The Amazing American Circus

Platforms