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It looks like Merchant of Venus wasn’t the only license that Fantasy Flight Games secured from Hasbro. The company has announced the upcoming release of Fortress America, a 1980s Milton Bradley game fondly remembered by many now grown-up gamers.
Of course, FFG has had to update the game’s background some—in addition to their usual game play changes—as the original, with a Soviet invading force, was heavily influenced by the cold war. That update, though, has not gone smoothly for FFG. When first announcing Fortress America, the company described the game as the aftermath of U.S. global retaliation against terrorism. This offended some people and Fantasy Flight has already changed the story, which is now something about an international response to a successful U.S. strategic missile defense program. In any case, I don’t know if ground troops invading the United States will resonate as strongly with the public as it did in 1986, but I’m certainly willing to give it a try. In signature FFG fashion, the miniature figures look impressive!
Another thing I wonder is why Hasbro decided to license this Mike Gray-designed game out but reproduced Shogun/Samurai Swords/Ikusa in-house. Perhaps they also questioned translating it to modern times (just speculation on my part).
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That’s very interesting about the background story being related to a US missile defense system. As I recall, that was part of the background of the SPI hex-and-counter wargame “Invasion: America” from the late 1970’s. Of course, the two games share a common theme, but it seems an odd detail to share by accident.