Game Play Review - Fort

Fort is a game published by Leder Games. The premise of this game is for players to take on the role of kids trying to build their best fort by increasing their circle of friends and collecting toys and pizza. The game end is triggered when the park deck is empty, or when any player has 25+ victory points or reaches Fort Level 5. The player with the most victory points is declared the winner.

This post is broken into the following 3 sections, feel free to jump directly to one:

1. General summary - consisting of information about overall enjoyment, theme, replayability, and upgrades
2. Complexity - consisting of information about the rulebook, setup, player turns, and overall learning curve
3. Player turns - consisting of game type, game flow, rule you are likely to miss, and favorite aspect

Number of players we had: 4
Our play time (not including setup): 45 minutes

Overall enjoyment

Overall our group really enjoyed playing this game. This is one of those games I had been trying to get my hands on for a while, and when I finally did, it did not disappoint! We liked the unique mechanisms in this game - especially how each player has the opportunity to move their game forward by "following" the actions of other players even when it is not their turn.

The theme of Fort is adorable, the artwork is very detailed and really draws players into the game. Fort is fairly easy to learn and play, but there is quite a bit more strategy than one might expect in a game with such a small footprint and considering the theme.

For instance, on your turn you use cards from your hand to take actions, but you cannot play cards that don't benefit that action. Once your turn is up, any cards (other than best friends) that remain in your hand are placed in your "yard" which is open to other players when they recruit at the end of their turn. This means those cards that you have added to your deck might not stay there permanently which is a really fun twist!

Though I added this game to the Starter category, it is definitely on the high side of complexity for what I normally include as a starter game. However, with the small footprint, limited set of rules and quick play time, I think Fort is a great game for beginning or wrapping up any game night.

If we had to pick something that frustrated us, the only thing we could say is that with four players the game almost feels too fast. Playing with three players feels like the perfect length. However, we are hoping that the Cats and Dogs expansion extends play a little longer when playing with four players.

Theme

Fort does not have a game board, instead there is a small victory track board and unique player boards. The artwork on the cards, resource tokens, player boards and victory track board all build the theme extremely well.  The player boards are also designed extremely well. Places where resources and other items are stored are dual-layered which holds the pieces in place. There is also a turn summary right in the middle of each player board and a notch cut out for tucked cards. All in all, the player boards are fantastic.

Replayability

There are a couple of things that increase the replayability of Fort, including:

1. At most, five of the 11 made up rule cards, which help players increase their victory points at the end of the game, are randomly used in any game. This means each game will have a different set of these cards for players to choose from when they are awarded for reaching Fort Level 1.
2. At most, five of the nine perk cards, which give players a unique advantage either during or at the end of the game, are randomly used in any game.
3. There are a couple rules that are really unique and increase player engagement during the game. This includes the follow action that players can take advantage of when it is not their turn, as well as being able to recruit cards from other players. We feel these rules make the game seem even faster than it is because you are constantly engaged and are left wanting to play again.
4. The theme is fun, the game can be taught in about 15 minutes, and setup and break down is fast.

Upgrades

I do not know of any upgrades for Fort, but there is a Cats and Dogs expansion. Watch the video below to see what is in the expansion.

Rule book

The rule book is well organized and easy to follow with plenty of images demonstrating how the game is played. The one thing that makes Fort slightly more complicated to learn are the unique symbols used. Luckily the game comes with a set of oversized player aides showing what each symbol means and how they are used. This works perfectly as a reference card for players when planning their turn.

Setup

Fort takes about 5 - 10 minutes to set up. There are a couple different sets of cards that are shuffled and counted out randomly based on the number of players. Each player takes a player board and the two matching best friend cards. Lastly, tokens are set out where all players can reach them, each player places their marker on the victory track and you are ready to begin playing.

Turns

Each player turn consists of five phases:

1. Cleanup - moving any friends that are in your "yard" to your discard pile. (Only after your first turn.)
2. Play - play a card and take either the public, private, or both actions on the card played. Use multiple cards with the same suit to increase some actions like gathering toys and pizza.
3. Recruit - gather a new friend from the park (known card), park deck (unknown card), or any other player's yard area (be ready for retribution).
4. Discard - any cards that remain in your hand, other than best friend cards, are placed in your yard area and are up for grabs by other players when they recruit. All other cards from your hand go into your discard pile.
5. Draw - draw five new cards into your hand. Any of these cards can be used to follow other players when they are the leader. Following the leader is done by discarding a card with the same suit the leader played for the benefit of taking the public action on their card (not the card you discarded).

On their turn, a player becomes the leader until they complete the five phases above. Once they have finished their turn, the next player becomes the leader and begins their turn. Though there are five phases per each player turn, they go very quickly. Step two is the longest, because it gives all players the opportunity to utilize the public action. This makes each player's turn more dynamic and engaging.

Overall learning curve

The overall learning curve is higher than some starter games, yet not very high when you consider everyone is playing with the same types of cards and the player aides have images and explanations of all the symbols in the game. Once you are comfortable with the game play and symbols, you can focus on your strategy.

At times you may want to play a card but can see the public action may benefit other players and you may choose to play differently. Other times you might play a card simply because you do not want to take the risk of losing it by placing it in your yard rather than your discard pile. Each round is a balance between saving cards to maximize the action you intend to use, and moving your game forward by capitalizing on other players' actions.

Play type

Fort is a symmetrical deck building game with aspects of hand management as well. Taking chances can mean losing valuable cards. Also, while players end each turn as leader by refilling their hand to five cards, some of these may be used on other player's turns if there are actions you want to take advantage of before your turn. Keep in mind, you do not draw cards between turns so you only have whatever is left to choose from when you become leader again.

Another unique thing about the cards is that each has a public and private action. While players can follow the leader to utilize the public action, only the leader can take the private action of the card they played. Using the public and private actions in ways that benefit you most, without giving away too many opportunities to other players, requires a decent amount of strategy.

Game flow

Fort is a quick game that has great flow. Since players can take actions based on the cards other players have played, the game is engaging at all times. When it is not your turn you are strategizing about what is your best next play based on supplies and the cards in your hand. If another leader plays a card you want to take advantage of, and you have a card in the matching suit, you have to decide if you are willing to give up a card in that suit knowing you cannot draw a replacement before your next turn as leader.

Rule you are likely to forget/miss

The rule you are likely to forget or miss is when playing cards with actions that do not have the X multiplier, you cannot multiply the action by playing additional cards in the same suit. There are many actions that do have this symbol, which is why it can be easy to forget that other cards with a lone action, like upgrading your fort, cannot be multiplied. It can be easy to get wrapped up in a really great hand and not realize that the action you want to play does not have the multiplier!

Favorite aspect

Our favorite aspect about Fort is how well thought out it is. Game play is smooth, goes quickly, engages players even when it is not their turn, has an adorable theme and is far more strategic than you first realize. The unique rules make the game different, and since the game is quick and takes up such a small footprint, you will find yourself wanting to play again and again.

Overall we have enjoyed playing Fort and I look forward to incorporating the Cats and Dogs expansion to get more play out of each game. For a small game with a small footprint, Fort is surprisingly strategic. The theme is cute, appropriate for any player group and perfect to introduce to new players because it is not too challenging to pick up and as players become more familiar with how it plays, they can incorporate stronger strategies. Lastly, because of special scoring attached to made up rule cards, it is impossible to tell who will win until it is all over!