Fortress America, originally part of Milton Bradley's Gamemaster series, depicts an alternate near-future in which all of the world attacks and invades the continental United States. From the west arrives hordes of Asian foes; from the south arrives a union of South American countries through Mexico, and from the east lands come legions of Soviets who have taken over all of Europe. America besieged has to rely on the remaining ground and air forces left in the country along with partisan uprisings to defend mom's apple pie.
Up to four players can play Fortress America, one player being the U.S. and up to three others controlling the invading units from a particular direction. Being a near future scenario, the units in the game include conventional infantry, APCs, hovertanks, helicopters, bombers, US partisan units, and special "Star Wars" laser relay systems that fire from space.
The game emphasizes combined arms in that players receive a bonus if infantry, mechanized, and air power are all used in a conflict. For the invading countries, all the units they receive for the game are given at the start so they must manage them wisely. The U.S., however, starts with a skeleton defense and builds up throughout the game through a random deck of cards. Further, the U.S. slowly builds up its Star Wars system, so the longer the invaders are delayed, the more powerful the U.S. becomes both conventionally and through its defense system.
Reimplemented by:
Fortress America (2012)
- One of the best games in its genre at the time
- Unique siege idea with asymmetric play
- Kept the core gameplay for the reprint
- Long playtime limits table presence
- Siege
- Modern War
- Shogun
- Axis and Allies
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Asymmetric gameplay — One player is in a race against time defending against three attackers.
- Dudes on a map — A thematic game featuring 'dudes on a map'.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- Hunter is another one of those games we ended up playing a lot at University mostly while drinking
- Hunter has several problems it takes a lot longer to play than it should for what it is especially when you're doing the coup those can drag on quite a long time and also fundamentally it's pretty racist
- I think the hunter idea of a Banana Republic itself is pretty dated but the idea of a corrupt government where players of different office members competing for positions and stockpiling money definitely has potential just there's got to be a better way to interpret it
- Cosmic Encounter is still going strong and that is an achievement and a half
- it's core idea of a simple gameplay element Modified by a whole bunch of variable Powers has had a profound influence on all of gaming and unlike a lot of designs from this period it still holds up pretty well today
- so happy birthday to me for 42 years old today here's to 42 more
- if you want to do the same thing yourself just go to board game geek click on advanced search and search by year published range and just fill in the year and feel free to post your list Below in the comments
References (from this video)
- Sounds fantastic.
- Played this so much as a kid.
- Really like it.
- Pretty long, several hours.
- America defending itself against invaders from the east, south, and west.
- A futuristic America under invasion.
- Involves futuristic military technology and even gorillas fighting for America.
- Axis and Allies
- Red Dawn
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Area Control — One player controls America, others control invading forces.
- Combat — Involves fighting against invaders using various technologies.
- Dice Rolling — Implied through combat resolution.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- This is the year that is... Happy birthday to me. But also America. America is turning 250 years old this year.
- So, we don't have a lot of Euro games made about us, about our old castles and such... yet.
- We're just talking about games that give the Americana feeling.
- There's nothing more American than Panam.
- It really is the Cold War in a box.
- There's nothing more American than the cowboy.
- So, all right. My number one is again something very American is we're we have so much pride of our national park system.
- Happy birthday to America.
References (from this video)
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- It became my thing.
- just was like this It just blew my mind.
- these games were just so amazing and I liked playing them.
- Almost every week I would walk to you know, six or seven blocks to the local thrift store and see if they had any new board games in stock.
References (from this video)
- Iconic box art and strong nostalgic value
- memorable theme and toy-like components
- fond memories of youth play
- long playtime
- imbalance concerns with certain teams on occasion
- militaristic, patriotic conflict with sci-fi/hover vehicles
- Defend United States against rival powers in a global scenario
- nostalgic war fantasy with larger-than-life components
- Access Analysis
- Alice
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Asymmetric area control — teams or factions vie for control of zones with different abilities
- Combat: Damage Based — combat and movement are extended, contributing to a lengthy session
- combat/attrition emphasis with long playtime — combat and movement are extended, contributing to a lengthy session
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- This is one of the most iconic box covers. I love this game.
- Saddam Hussein is on the cover.
- I learned this before Access Analysis. And I taught Access and Alice.
- This is such a fantastic game.
- Way Out West was ahead of its time.
- Moving water to plants is good.
References (from this video)
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- dice-based combat with charts / random outcomes — uses dice and simple resolution to drive combat outcomes
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- dice are probably the first board game mechanic
- the more sides of the dice the more extreme their variables will be
- dice can add uncertainty to actions and while you may recall vividly the fistful of ones you rolled in an important battle the overall distribution of rolls in the game should balance out over time
- there's really no such thing as luck there's just probability
- get better and stop blaming the dice when you lose
- friction is all the random things that happen in war that turn it from a mathematical challenge into the messy chaotic experience
References (from this video)
- nostalgic appeal and epic feel
- satisfying for fans of classic war games
- long playtime
- older components/media may feel dated
- world domination through large-scale military action
- Cold War era global conflict with superpowers vying for dominance
- asymmetric, battleground-style warfare across a global map
- Axis & Allies
- Fortress America (itself a point of comparison in the discussion)
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- area_control — players vie for control of territories on a world-map board.
- combat_resolution — conflicts are resolved using predefined combat mechanics and units.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- There are so many good games.
- There's a lot of iconography. I wish there were sheets that tell you what icons do.
- The new Cichlades Legendary Edition is absolutely amazing.