Full disclosure; I've only played through the game once as of this review.
Fortress America is a wargame set in the not to distant future where the world unites against America due to a new satellite laser system they've developed. And so America is attacked from East, South and West.
Attackers (Invaders) have to capture 18 cities to win. America must survive 10 turns. 18 cities in 10 turns might sound like a lot but about 12 of the cities are a move or two from the coast so they fall pretty fast. THe advantage for America is the laser system and the fact that it's military respawns, along with partisan units. Wolverines!!!! (Red Dawn? Anyone? My kids didn't get it either) American reinforcements are card driven and so somewhat random. For instance, I drew a card that would allow me to remove enemy units from agricultural areas very early on so there were no enemies there. Invaders' armies are finite. If America kills them all that attacker is done. Combat is dice driven. Different units get different dice and different probabilities in success. There is an advantage to the defender in that they fire first and there is an extra hit marker that always counts for the defender.
My game group generally consists of me and my 3 boys, aged 11 and 10(twins) . This game is at about the edge of their tolerance as far as depth and complexity. And they are relatively seasoned board gamers. FF Games is right at putting the age at 14. Although, a 12 to 13 year old could also fully enjoy the game. Be warned, there is a lot of DOWN TIME for the players not taking their turns. Each turn could take approximately 10 - 15 minutes. As such, I rushed my turn (America) to keep the younger demographic actively taking turns. Even then they would occasionally wander off between their turns, but would always return when it was time to roll combat.
Components are solid, and there are a lot of them! The board and the chits are thick cardboard and durable. Cards are nice, informative and above average quality. My only issue is that some of the territories are to small for 5+ units. But this was a minor inconvenience at best.
In our play it was pretty obvious to me by turn 5 or 6 that the invaders weren't going to be able to win. But me and my kids talked about strategies that might have made their attack more competitive. I'm sure that the game is a lot more of a turn by turn nail biter when played by older players. That said my boys were not deterred in the least, They've asked me a lot to play the game again.
All in all it's a good, solid, fun game. I'm glad I bought it because it's something that my kids and I can enjoy for a long time.
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