The guy holding the Fortress America box doesn't look like one of the greatest military minds of all time. More like the grunt who finds the minefield by wandering into it and blowing himself to bits.
And to think back, I had all 3 games and my ex-wife convinced me to sell them in a garage sell for $20 a piece because we were moving to the UK. Ugghhh!!!! One of many reasons she is now the ex-wife! LOL!
The guy holding the Fortress America box doesn't look like one of the greatest military minds of all time. More like the grunt who finds the minefield by wandering into it and blowing himself to bits.
Considering that my opponent at the time was the boy down the street on the corner, I doubt that I was being pitted against one of the greatest military minds of all time.
Also, the japanese fellow looks as though he needs the potty.
Memo to the MB advertising department: Don't photograph a guy wearing camouflage clothing in front of woodland scenery.
Apparently I'm supposed to vanquish the general from the Third Reich while playing A&A -- always a good thing, but were the Germans really the greatest military minds? However, in Fortress America I seem to be up against a commander from the USA... does this mean I'm representing the Saddam with sunglasses dude (the cover art was changed for this later edition of FA) who is the evil invader?
The guy holding the Fortress America box doesn't look like one of the greatest military minds of all time. More like the grunt who finds the minefield by wandering into it and blowing himself to bits.
the other two do not look smarter than the private, to me.
Yeah, realized it wasn't true when I looked at my shelf and realized Shogun was initially called Samurai Swords and that's the copy I had and I know CotE was out when I bought Samurai Swords. Sigh...my mind is going.
The movie just came up on TV, so I noticed that our German commander resembles Michael Caine in "Play Dirty", where he plays a British spy with a tough assignment in the North African desert.
The guy holding the Fortress America box doesn't look like one of the greatest military minds of all time. More like the grunt who finds the minefield by wandering into it and blowing himself to bits.
"If we come to a minefield, our infantry attacks exactly as if it were not there" - Soviet Marshal Zhukov, 1945.
Own all 3, and love them, unfortunately my Shogun is called Samurai Swords for some reason.
They were sued by the James Clavel estate, which claimed that the name "Shogun" was a violation of copyright. Apparently, they wanted to bring out a game based on the book and mini-series, which was huge at one time. It's funny how things change - there are probably more people who really love the (Milton Bradley) game than the book.
This ad came out before Conquest of the Empire was out IIRC. I bought the initial three offerings and never went back to the trough for #4
Not true. CoTE came out before Fortress.
The first three games were: "Broadsides and Boarding Parties", which had big model ships with sailor and marine figurines.
It suffered from balance and replayability issues (plus the ships, when built, wouldn't fit back in the box).
"Conquest of the Empire", which had a cool economic inflation mechanic, but suffered because the spaces on the map made some empires easy to cripple, and especially because the rules favored purchasing only catapults. It became a slugfest where the player with the most catapults won.
"Axis and Allies" was the big hit from the first batch of games, with Conquest a modest hit. MB released two more games in the series in response to these sales.
"Fortress America" was a reworking of a 1976 SPI hex and counter wargame called "Invasion America", which featured the same situation and factions: The European Socialist coalition, the South American Union, and the Pan Asiatic League.
"Shogun" (name later changed to Samurai Swords due to novelist James Clavell's estate suing MB for copyright infringement), was the last one released.
The most popular (and IMHO the best games) were Axis and Allies (popular), Fortress America and especially Shogun (best game).
Broadsides was discontinued pretty quickly, eventually followed by Conquest, and MB concentrated on producing the 3 biggest sellers.
This ad came out before Conquest of the Empire was out IIRC. I bought the initial three offerings and never went back to the trough for #4
Not true. CoTE came out before Fortress.
I remember looking for a copy of CotE around 1988. The guy at the game shop said it could be had for about $100, so I stopped looking and stuck with Shogun, Fortress, and A&A.
Axis and Allies and Shogun are some of the best game play possible. I am surprised that there are happy memories of Fortress America. I felt so cheated after I bought that game many years ago.
Axis and Allies and Shogun are some of the best game play possible. I am surprised that there are happy memories of Fortress America. I felt so cheated after I bought that game many years ago.
I love that game! It's my top favorite of all the Gamemaster series.
Great pix, I always wanted Fortress America when i was a kid but stores near me never had it. I didn't even know about Conquest until years later, Owell.
I love that game! It's my top favorite of all the Gamemaster series.
