Fortress America

Fortress America is a really cool game simply put. I for one love this one. 24 years later and I'm certain a revision would be awesome.

With all of the revisions and reprints going on certainly someone can get a hold of Michael Gray and get together to put this project through AH. I'm sure it would sell. How many A&A titles do we really need?

Just think of all the new things you could add, without bloating the game either. Fortress America games are often quite close and I've seen them swing either way. The partisan card deck is great. Perhaps an event deck, some new units and more current political backdrop could promise a new and exciting revision. The invaders need some sort of reinforcement system that doesn't interfere too much with the balance set out in the design. There are several design elements at work in this game that are really good and could be opened up a little. Supply, reinforcement, combined arms, technology and the general population all factor in.

Don't get me wrong - this is still one of my favorites as is but I can't help but watch some of the titles that are getting revised without wondering about this one. You could easily add a few mechanics or card decks without ruining the flow or balance. Not to mention the inevitable expansion to drag Canada into the mess (supplying quality liquor). Unless I've missed something about licenses etc...

What do you say Mr. Gray?

Oh...one last thing. DO NOT mess with the dice, add more sure. No card combat.

Had a blast of a game at WBC. The invaders came close but attrition doomed them. Doesn't need a single change IMO. And the built in time limit in the form of the laser towers prevents the game from running too long. A classic.

I enjoyed the heck out of Fortress America, but then again I was "raised" in the 80's full of Red Dawn and Regan's Axis of Evil.

But is the game topical enough to market in today's terms? It's a cool theme, but a little dated other than for nostalgia reasons.

You're right Msample in that the game does run great. I'm all for sprucing things up though. Especially these days.

I got this when it came out and it completely fit the bill at the time theme wise. That's why I mentioned an up to date political backdrop. You couldn't get away with a straight port of the theme. Changing some of the players and reasoning wouldn't seem outrageous. Some new mineral enabling the weaponization of rogue states at a rapid pace...Someone far more clever than I could easily come up with something.

I think first we need a fresh spate of Hollywood patriotic films to come out demonizing the world.

Actually the story backdrop could be even more realistic currently - there's probably more countries with anti-American sentiment now than 25 years ago.

I love this game, and due to being preoccupied with other aspects of life in the 80s and 90s I only played this frst about 5 years ago ... and I can't get enough of it, it's a bloody brilliant game.

As for changes, there's a couple of variants/expansions listed on BGG - one with extra types of units (did Groggy do that one?) and a 5th Column expansion - but i don't think any of them really got off the ground. Personally I think the game is a little too much of a basic wargame (move units and roll dice) to use event cards, plus they would totally change the point of the partisan cards, and probably would benefit most from some extra varied unit types.

How about a Fortess Earth with a world map and real alien forces attacking for an updated theme?

How about a Fortess Earth with a world map and real alien forces attacking for an updated theme?

That would work. Or the machines. We all know they're coming.

To be honest, I wouldn't want to see the theme changed at all. I would want a reprint to retain its mid-1980s tone and setting and all the silly political implications that characterize the game. All that silliness is part of waht really makes the game.

It's actually a good time for a reprint, because it's effectively a three-on-one co-op game. It could use a little cleanup here and there, but it doesn't need any serious revision. I think making the victory conditions a little shorter would be all it would really need.

Michael Barnes wrote:

To be honest, I wouldn't want to see the theme changed at all. I would want a reprint to retain its mid-1980s tone and setting and all the silly political implications that characterize the game. All that silliness is part of waht really makes the game.

It's actually a good time for a reprint, because it's effectively a three-on-one co-op game. It could use a little cleanup here and there, but it doesn't need any serious revision. I think making the victory conditions a little shorter would be all it would really need.

Aren't you the guy who always complains about fat middle-aged men dominating the market? The problem without changing the theme at all is that you'd need to be closing in on 40 to actually have the faintest clue what it's going on about--remember, today's freshman college class was born well after the Wall fell, the Soviet Union collapsed, and Red China became our largest debt-holder and trading partner. If you asked a kid these days who the "Red Menace" is, they'd say Manchester United.

(That said, a troika of China/Argentine "Caudillo"/assymetric insurgency could work without much by way of reworking)

Dogmatix wrote:

Michael Barnes wrote:

To be honest, I wouldn't want to see the theme changed at all. I would want a reprint to retain its mid-1980s tone and setting and all the silly political implications that characterize the game. All that silliness is part of waht really makes the game.

It's actually a good time for a reprint, because it's effectively a three-on-one co-op game. It could use a little cleanup here and there, but it doesn't need any serious revision. I think making the victory conditions a little shorter would be all it would really need.

Aren't you the guy who always complains about fat middle-aged men dominating the market? The problem without changing the theme at all is that you'd need to be closing in on 40 to actually have the faintest clue what it's going on about--remember, today's freshman college class was born well after the Wall fell, the Soviet Union collapsed, and Red China became our largest debt-holder and trading partner. If you asked a kid these days who the "Red Menace" is, they'd say Manchester United.

(That said, a troika of China/Argentine "Caudillo"/assymetric insurgency could work without much by way of reworking)

Oh horseshit, I'm 24 and I know damn well what went on from 1945-1991 because I'm a dork and I read, and while that makes me dissimilar from 99% of the population that puts me right in line with 99% of the board game playing population.

Stonecutter wrote:

Dogmatix wrote:

Michael Barnes wrote:

To be honest, I wouldn't want to see the theme changed at all. I would want a reprint to retain its mid-1980s tone and setting and all the silly political implications that characterize the game. All that silliness is part of waht really makes the game.

It's actually a good time for a reprint, because it's effectively a three-on-one co-op game. It could use a little cleanup here and there, but it doesn't need any serious revision. I think making the victory conditions a little shorter would be all it would really need.

Aren't you the guy who always complains about fat middle-aged men dominating the market? The problem without changing the theme at all is that you'd need to be closing in on 40 to actually have the faintest clue what it's going on about--remember, today's freshman college class was born well after the Wall fell, the Soviet Union collapsed, and Red China became our largest debt-holder and trading partner. If you asked a kid these days who the "Red Menace" is, they'd say Manchester United.

(That said, a troika of China/Argentine "Caudillo"/assymetric insurgency could work without much by way of reworking)

Oh horseshit, I'm 24 and I know damn well what went on from 1945-1991 because I'm a dork and I read, and while that makes me dissimilar from 99% of the population that puts me right in line with 99% of the board game playing population.

That would put right in line age-wise with the upper-division readings courses I taught at Georgetown a few years back and around 3/4ths of those kids didn't know shit about the Cold War. This, of course, made teaching specialized readings courses on the rise of the US conservative movement a little tough when they didn't know a godamned thing about what a guy like WF Buckley was reacting to.

I'd also say that "read" and "read history" ain't even close to being the same thing. 99% of the boardgame playing population has read Tolkien; I'd wager not more than 30% of non-consimmers have read anything approaching academic--or even popular--history once they passed their "Plato to NATO" world civ course. You have broad tastes; my personal experience with larger game groups worked out to about the same breakdown of cultural ignorance across the group as my teaching experiences. Again--not necessarily the case with wargamers as they tend to have a more than passing interest in the topics they game; not so much the case with folks who tend to play other games. Shit, I met more people around the game table who could tell me the names of Spinal Tap's various drummers and quote The Big [fucking] Lebowski than could talk relatively recent US history (thus exposing my own particular cultural ignorance--all things film. And, much as I like TBL, I never want to hear a word uttered by "The Dude" ever again)

So, "oh horseshit" right back at you.

I'm not talking revision as in toss out the dice (GASP!) and redisgn the combat around a few card decks(Vomit). I guess I'm more talking re-print with a few tweaks added.

The theme is fine as is however it would have to be modernized. Doesn't the world still hate the States?

"America - Fuck Yeah!"

I have Fortress America (collecting dust in my parents basement) and Shogun (collecting dust in my my game cabinet). I always preferred shogun to Axis and Allies and to Fortress America. I preferred the random board set up and the leveling of your Daimyos.

Great army sculpts, ronin, ninja, an income mechanic, bidding system for turn order. It kicked ass and wasn't trying to be a historical simulation like Axis and Allies, and didn't have the Red Dawn undertones of Fortress AT with vague zones of invasion.

Now Shogun aka Samurai Swords could use a reprint or a reworking with either victory conditions or a time line to establish the conclusion of the game instead of "when hell freezes over," or your opponents are asleep at the table. A 5 year window made Risk 2210 excellent and far superior to original Risk.

Maybe I should be home ruling it...

And part of what makes Risk 2210 so good is the degree to which it is Samurai Swords with Robots. Bidding for turn order, hidden forces to ambush your opponent with, fortifications, assassinations, variable set up. 2210 owes a lot to Shogun/Samurai Swords.

Definitely. Risk 2210 is great. it gets alot of play in every game group I have been in the past couple of years.

Risk 2210 did borrow alot from Shogun.