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''Fortress America'' is a strategic
board wargame A board wargame is a wargame with a set playing surface or board, as opposed to being played on a computer or in a more free-form playing area as in miniatures games. The modern, commercial wargaming hobby (as distinct from military exercises, o ...
designed by Michael Gray and published in
1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...
by Milton Bradley. The game depicts a 21st Century United States being invaded on three sides by three world powers. ''Fortress America'' was the fourth of five games in the '' Gamemaster'' series.


Overview

Set in the 21st century, the board game begins with the premise that during the
Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
, nuclear terrorists destroyed much of the
Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...
's supply of oil. In response, the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
launched into orbit a satellite based
solar-power Solar power is the conversion of energy from sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics (PV) or indirectly using concentrated solar power. Photovoltaic cells convert light into an electric current using the photovoltaic ...
system to solve the energy crisis. At the same time, the U.S. had perfected the so-called "
Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...
" technology and incorporated a satellite-based laser system into the solar satellites. This system was capable of destroying intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) before impact. Thus, the USA was completely safe from nuclear threat, ending the era of
Mutual Assured Destruction Mutual assured destruction (MAD) is a doctrine of military strategy and national security policy which posits that a full-scale use of nuclear weapons by an attacker on a nuclear-armed defender with second-strike capabilities would cause the ...
. This creates a great deal of political turmoil - the
USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
is especially upset at the nuclear balance of power being shifted - and while the rest of the world realigns in various ways (through alliances and treaties as well as conventional military conflict) the United States, complacent in its technical superiority, becomes
isolationist Isolationism is a political philosophy advocating a national foreign policy that opposes involvement in the political affairs, and especially the wars, of other countries. Thus, isolationism fundamentally advocates neutrality and opposes entangl ...
in nature. The game opens with the world divided into three major world powers outside of the US: 1) The
Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
Peoples Alliance (yellow player) 2) The Central American Federation (blue player) 3) The
Euro The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...
-
Socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...
Pact (red player) These three powers have launched a surprise
invasion An invasion is a military offensive in which large numbers of combatants of one geopolitical entity aggressively enter territory owned by another such entity, generally with the objective of either: conquering; liberating or re-establishing con ...
of the now-conventionally-weak United States: Asian invaders on the
Pacific coast Pacific coast may be used to reference any coastline that borders the Pacific Ocean. Geography Americas Countries on the western side of the Americas have a Pacific coast as their western or southwestern border, except for Panama, where the Pac ...
, Central American invaders along the Southwestern border with
Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
, and the Euro-Soviet invaders along the Eastern Seaboard. The
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
is brushed aside. The
Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
and
Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an a ...
, still capable of resistance, are nevertheless insufficient to halt the multi-pronged invasions. The unique nature of this game is the notion of three of four players cooperating for the elimination of one player (the US). The game has an interesting dynamic of the US player being outnumbered 3:1 in military strength but steadily being reinforced by laser relay towers which each have a 60% chance to destroy an enemy unit anywhere on the board each turn. The rules of
combat Combat ( French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent conflict meant to physically harm or kill the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed ( not using weapons). Combat is sometimes resorted to as a method of self-defense, or ...
also favor the defender. The invaders must place their reinforcements, which arrive on an even basis over the first few turns and then run out entirely, in their own invasion zones, which are sometimes far from the
front Front may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''The Front'' (1943 film), a 1943 Soviet drama film * ''The Front'', 1976 film Music * The Front (band), an American rock band signed to Columbia Records and active in the 1980s and e ...
, while the U.S. never runs out and can often be reinforced right at the front. The American player receives reinforcements by drawing two cards per turn, which sometimes specify for partisans or military forces to appear behind enemy lines. Others allow the U.S. to reconstruct shattered units from the dead pile in home cities, while all invading units are permanently out of play when lost in combat. The result is a game that - if played well by all players - will result in a very close contest. There are 30 cities represented on the board and the invaders must capture, and hold until the end of an entire turn, 18 or more of them to win the game. This allows the U.S. one round to counterattack and recapture after all the invaders have played a round and temporarily achieved their goal of 18.


Original Milton Bradley release

Commercially, this was considered to be the third most successful board game in Milton Bradley's ''Gamemaster Series'' placing it in the middle of the pack. However, world events and popular culture and Hollywood have influenced a small resurgence in the game's popularity evidenced by the 2012 remake and re-issue. The original game also had two different covers. The first had an image which resembled
Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein ( ; ar, صدام حسين, Ṣaddām Ḥusayn; 28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. A leading member of the revolution ...
and the other cover replaced the Saddam look-a-like with a bearded and sunglasses-wearing version.


Reception

In 1987, ''Fortress America'' won the
Charles S. Roberts Award The Charles S. Roberts Awards (or CSR Awards) is an annual award for excellence in the historical wargaming hobby. It was named in honor of Charles S. Roberts the "Father of Wargaming" who founded Avalon Hill. The award is informally called a "C ...
for ''Best 20th Century Game of 1986''.


Reviews

*'' Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine'' v10 n13 (1986 12 mid)https://archive.org/details/Asimovs_v10n13_1986-12-mid/page/n17/mode/2up


Fantasy Flight Game Release

In 2012
Fantasy Flight Games Fantasy Flight Games (FFG) is a game company based in Roseville, Minnesota, United States, that creates and publishes role-playing, board, card, and dice games. As of 2014, it is a subsidiary of Asmodée Éditions. History Fantasy Flight Publish ...
released a remake of Fortress America with a few design changes. A few new rule changes have been implemented. The game now has a fixed maximum number of turns. Mechanized units can "transport" foot units. A few objectives were changed on the map. Reflecting population shifts,
Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...
and Buffalo are no longer depicted.
Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
and Colorado Springs have been added, and resource areas were juggled. The attackers have optional event cards. A few of the old cards were changed, and one new "free laser complex" card was added for a total of 31 cards.


See also

* Invasion America (board wargame) - a board game covering the same subject.


References


External links


Review of ''Gamemaster Series''
*
Yahoo ''Fortress America'' Player's Group

''Fortress America'' 2012 Re-release
b
Fantasy Flight GamesReview
in
Games A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (such ...
{{Gamemaster Board games introduced in 1986 Cold War board wargames Fiction about invasions Milton Bradley Company games Origins Award winners