Fortress America

About this board game

Fortress America is a 2–4 player strategy game from 1986 that takes about 180 minutes, depicting an alternate near-future invasion of the continental United States.

America is attacked from every direction. Asian forces advance from the west, a union of South American countries moves through Mexico from the south, and Soviet forces arrive from the east after taking over Europe. The U.S. must defend its territory with the remaining ground and air forces, while partisan uprisings offer additional resistance.

One player controls the United States, while up to three other players each command invading units from a particular direction. The near-future setting provides a distinctive range of military forces, including conventional infantry, APCs, hovertanks, helicopters, bombers, and U.S. partisan units.

• Combined arms: using infantry, mechanized forces, and air power together in a conflict provides a bonus.
• Fixed invading forces: invaders receive all of their units at the start and must manage them carefully.
• Growing U.S. defense: the United States begins with a skeleton force and builds up through a random card deck.
• Star Wars laser relay systems: the U.S. gradually develops space-based defenses that become more powerful as the invaders are delayed.

This creates an escalating contest of timing and resource management. Invading players must use their available forces wisely, while the U.S. player seeks to survive long enough for conventional defenses, partisan activity, and the increasingly powerful Star Wars system to reshape the battle.

With its three-front invasion, asymmetric sides, and emphasis on coordinated military forces, Fortress America presents a large-scale struggle for control of the United States.