Fantasy Flight Games' Line-up for March 2012

Fantasy Flight Games' Line-up for March 2012
Board Game: Fortress America
U.S. publisher Fantasy Flight Games has announced its "sell sheets for March 2012", presumably meaning that these titles will be released in March 2012. We'll see. In any case, let's kick off with the biggest title on the list, a re-issue of a Michael Gray design from the mid-1980s: Fortress America. Here's a game description from FFG:

Quote:
Fortress America, a board game of strategy and survival for two to four players, imagines a not-too-distant future in which war has once again encircled the globe. This updated version of the 1986 classic features beautifully crafted components (including over 300 detailed plastic figures), thrusting players into a frightening geopolitical scenario.

In Fortress America, the United States must defend itself from three deadly invading armies: the Asian People's Alliance from the West, the Central American Federation from the South, and the Euro-Socialist Pact from the East. Players take on either the role of the United States,
struggling to protect itself from foreign threats, or the role of one or more of the invading armies, fighting battle after battle to acquire important territories.
And for those who missed all the excitement when FFG announced this game on its website on Friday, Dec. 16, 2011, the original introductory text on that announcement was:

Quote:
It is the early 21st century. Having suffered a series of devastating terrorist attacks, the U.S. wields a newly developed and horrifyingly destructive weapon technology with desperate fury, lashing out mercilessly at any government suspected of harboring its hidden enemies. Entire nations are erased from the map. The world is stunned by the brutal display. The United Nations attempts to impose punitive economic sanctions on the U.S., but America's leaders are convinced that they are untouchable, warning that any nation that partakes in such a sanction risks its very existence. Facing few options, an unlikely coalition of nations joins forces to attempt one final plan: the invasion of America.
And here's what is currently on the page:

Quote:
In the 21st century, the United States unveiled a military defense system that completely changed global politics. Through a series of satellites and powerful lasers, the U.S. gained a flawless defense against intercontinental missile attacks. The rest of the world feared that this defensive network might be used to launch an attack, and they united to demand that the U.S. dismantle it. A lengthy diplomatic stalemate gripped the globe. With the world at a crossroads, coalitions of nations were formed unlike any that had ever existed before. A plan was devised to destroy this perceived technological threat through military action. It involved attacking from three directions at once, for the nations of the world knew that every army dreads fighting a war on two fronts... and America was about to face three.
Why the switch? On the announcement page, FFG CEO Christian Petersen explained, "FFG is simply reproducing the classic (and IMO awesome) game from the 80's. Upon announcement, someone at FFG took a stab at dramatically updating the flavor without asking anyone else and without thinking it through. That person has learned something about unintended consequences and remains a valued team member." In any case, the game is the same as noted on the sell sheet: "Features aesthetic and thematic updates as well as an optional variant, but leaves the classic game experience unchanged". So there.

Board Game: Rockband Manager
Board Game: Descent: Journeys in the Dark (Second Edition)
Board Game Accessory: Descent: Journeys in the Dark (Second Edition) – Conversion Kit
Board Game: Cosmic Encounter: Cosmic Alliance

Antoine Bauza's Rockband Manager was first released in French and Spanish by Edge Entertainment in 2010, but one of his other games that year – a little title now completely forgotten called 7 Wonders – got all the attention. Since that game has now vanished from the public's eye, FFG is bringing the game out in English to give a chance to shine on U.S. shores.

Fantasy Flight Games announced Descent: Journeys in the Dark (Second Edition) and the Descent: Journeys in the Dark - Second Edition Conversion Kit in August 2011, but now the publisher has given a release date for those items beyond "early 2012", that date being March 2012.

Cosmic Encounter: Cosmic Alliance introduces twenty alien races (some new, some new only to the FFG edition of Cosmic Encounter) along with components for another player (allowing for games with up to eight players if you have all three expansions) and team rules for when you don't dare dive into an eight-player free-for-all.

Other items in the FFG line-up for March 2012 are new packs for its Living Card Games:
A Game of Thrones: The Card Game - A Poisoned Spear
Call of Cthulhu: The Card Game - Words of Power
The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game - The Watcher in the Water
Warhammer: Invasion - Rising Dawn

All of these titles are now listed on Gone Cardboard, a game release calendar showing titles recently released and titles due out over the next year or thereabouts. In addition to seeing which publishers are releasing which games, or what's hitting the shelves in a certain month, you can also thumb games that you're eager to see, giving other BGG users a head's up as to something they might want to check out.

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