The Player Aid display from the Milton Bradley game Fortress America is shown below. Note that this game employs the Shitloada Dice method of combat resolution using handfuls of red six-sided, white eight-sided, and blue ten-sided dice. By looking at the Combat Results Table, the bigger the die, the better the chance of destroying a target.
Under the Unit Specifications Chart, you can see the unit types available and their Class (i.e., Foot, Mechanized, Air, and Lasers). Their movement allowance is also show for the first and second movement phases in addition to the enemy casualty priority when they 'hit.'
The Sequence of Play is also shown along the left side.
Here's a brief summary of Fortress America courtesy of BoardGameGeek.com:
Fortress
America depicts an alternate near future in which all of the world attacks and
invades the continental United States. From the west arrives hordes of Asian
foes; from the south arrives a union of South American countries through Mexico,
and from the east lands legions of Soviets who have taken over all of Europe.
America besieged has to rely on the remaining ground and air forces left in the
country along with partisan uprisings to defend mom's apple pie.
Up to four players can play Fortress America, one player is the US and up to
three others control the invading units from a particular direction. Being a
near future scenario, the units in the game include conventional infantry, APCs,
hovertanks, helicopters, bombers, US partisan units, and special "Star Wars"
laser relays systems that fire from space.
The game emphasizes combined arms, in that players get a bonus if infantry,
mechanized and air power is all used in a conflict. For the invading countries
all the units they receive for the game are given at the start so they must
manage them wisely. The US however starts with a skeleton defense and builds up
throughout the game through a random deck of cards. Further, the US slowly
builds up its Star Wars system, and so the longer the invaders are delayed the
more powerful the US becomes both conventionally and through their defense
system.
This game is part of the Gamemaster series of games that came out by Milton
Bradley in the 1980's. The complete series includes Broadsides and Boarding
Parties, Conquest of the Empire, Axis and Allies, Fortress America, Shogun, and
then a re-released Shogun under the title Samurai Swords. The whole series is
famous for their high production value and their low complexity, thus they
offered a great series of beginner level wargames that were both eye catching
with their plastic pieces and the ability to play an entire game in one evening.
Unfortunately all of them, save for Axis and Allies is out of print and tends to
demand a hefty price on the online auctions and net marketplaces.
