Get off my Lawn: A Fort Review
Hello Wildcard. I would like to play the Tiny Humans card game again
Howdy Clem, you mean the one with the children in it?
What is a Child-ren? Humans are developed fully grown in vats as you know.
Ah…well Clem, back in the before times humans used to have to make tiny versions of themselves by procreat-you know what, lets just forget that and play the game…
Overview
From the publishers of the cute but cutthroat Root, and the also cute but also cutthroat Vast, comes Fort a small box deck building game that's cute... and also cutthroat.
Gameplay
Fort is, on the surface at least, a quite simple deck builder. Players start out with a deck of 10 Friend cards. On their turn, players can play one card from their hand, then perform either or both of the two actions each card contains. Those actions include various ways to gather resources (pizza and toys), upgrade forts, and gain victory points. It’s so easy they even managed to fit a turn summary right on the player boards.
So far, so simple right? Well, not quite.
Fort stands out from other deck builders with two unique gameplay features. These features add complexity and make decision-making more engaging.
Firstly, a “follow” mechanic that provides players actions on every player’s turn. Each card in Fort has two actions, one private and one public. The player whose turn it is may take either or both of the actions. But, each other player may “follow” the public action by discarding a card of the same suit. This one aspect makes choosing a card to play each turn much more dramatic. Choosing a card that allows other players to increase their resources or construct their engine can be a critical misstep. Choosing a card that no one can follow can often throw other players' plans into disarray. It all ends up being a fantastic (and wonderfully thematic) game of chicken.
Secondly, a “use it or lose it” mechanic that forces players to make tough choices each turn. Players place unused cards in front of their player board after playing cards from their hand. On their turn, an opponent may recruit one of those cards into their discard pile, stealing a potentially critical card for your engine. This leads to some particularly tough decisions. Do you spend your turn collecting resources while allowing for the friend card that scores you points to be stolen? Or do you take a smaller amount of points now, protecting your asset to use on a future turn? Like the “follow” mechanic above, this is incredibly thematic for a deck building game. After all, who wants their friends to ignore them?
Both these twists build Fort into a brilliant little engine builder that makes every turn both agonizing and satisfying. At times, you can discard all your cards in a round to prevent others from stealing them and maximize efficiency. And there will be times where you have to play a weak action and expose valuable cards for someone to steal.
As for the actions themselves, there is nothing too complex here. Some actions allow you to collect or convert the previously mentioned Pizza and Toys. Some allow you to upgrade your Lookout or Pack, increasing resource management and providing more powerful actions on future turns. Victory points actions allow you to score based on certain conditions, such as number of cards in your Lookout, number of a specific suit, or your Fort level. Far and away the most critical action, the Upgrade Fort action is the most important way to build your engine and a primary victory condition. Aside from scoring a whopping 23 points if you manage to get the the top of the Fort track, increasing your Fort level also provides increased capacity in your Lookout and Pack (increasing the amount you score from victory point actions on cards) and allows players to unlock both a final scoring Bonus Card and a special ability Perk Card.
The game ends after a player has reached 25 points, or has reached the top of their Fort Track, or the Park Deck runs out of cards. The player with the highest score is the winner.
Components
Leder Games have a fantastic reputation when it comes to production, and Fort is no exception. The box insert holds everything neatly, the player boards are thick, dual layer cardboard, and the cards are glossy and durable. The artwork across the board is the exact type of charming you’ve come to expect from artist Kyle Ferrin.
While the symbology on the cards might be a little complex for newer or younger players, an excellent player aid provides a quick guide to every suit and symbol in the game.
If I have one complaint, it's the rulebook. For the most part, it's clear and concise, and provides picture examples, but the rulebook's "Follow" section does not meet expectations. When first playing the game, we needed to seek answers multiple times on the BGG forums. It's a minor issue, but one worth mentioning.
Cats and Dogs
One potential flaw players might find with Fort is that the base game is really focused on scoring your Fort Level. Because of the way the Fort Level awards points exponentially (jumping from 9 to 16 to a staggering 23 points at levels 3, 4, and 5 respectively), its’s almost impossible to win without climbing up that track. The game was designed with this in mind - it’s a feature, not a bug - but it’s something that might dissuade players from repeat plays.
Enter the Cats & Dogs expansion. This playing card box sized expansion contains two modules to add in separately or together.
Dogs just want your attention: The 18 dog cards push players to meet certain conditions in order to earn a reward. If you meet your condition on your turn, you add the dog permanently to your doghouse. If you don’t, the dog will move to the player to the left, giving them an opportunity to earn the dogs love. The player(s) with the most dogs in their doghouse at the end of the game will score 7 points.
Cats are fickle and demanding: Each game you’ll put out a number of cat cards equal to the number of players plus one. Each cat will be attracted to certain cards in players’ yard. For example, if you end the turn with two cards with the skateboard suit in your yard, then Bandit the Cat will move to your Fort, and provide a special action or ability to you until another player can lure them away. At the end of the game, players score points for cats in front of them, from a single point for one cat up to 10 points for having four or more cats.
The Cats and Dogs expansion doesn’t change the core thrust of the game. Players still need to level up their Fort’s throughout the game in order to achieve victory, but it does allow greater opportunity for players to win even if another player has a higher Fort Level than they do. I’ll likely never play Fort again without at least one (but probably both) of these expansions.
Fun Factor
Fort is a conundrum of a game. On one hand, its exceptionally charming playground theme and short play time should make it one of Leder Games most accessible games. On the other hand, the game is filled with cut throat decisions that belies the small, cute package the game comes in.
Fort can be immensely satisfying when you're comboing cards together, emptying your hand each turn cycle to efficiently gather resources and advance your engine. But just as often it can feel like you’re bogged down as opponents chain off each other’s actions while you wait with nothing to do. There will be turns where you have to discard critical combo cards to your yard, allowing your opponents to steal them away into their decks.
None of this stops Fort from being enjoyable, but I do find myself going back and forth, sometimes mid-game, deciding just how much fun I'm having. Like being a child in real life, you really do have to learn how to share.
Ultimately, unlike some of Leder's other games, Fort is going to stick around in my collection. Root, while charming and interesting, didn't have the staying power for my collection. On the other hand, Fort is short and simple enough to be considered a light, filler game in my collection. It’s a game that provides a unique, welcoming theme and allows for tense decisions every turn.
Final Verdict
✅ Excellent production at a reasonable cost
✅ Plays in under an hour
✅ Tense decisions
✅ Unique deckbuilding gimmicks
✅ Affordable expansion adds replay value.
❌ May be too complicated for newer/younger players attracted to the theme
❌ Minor rulebook Issues
Rating: 8/10
No review copy was provided.
