Crossbows & Catapults: Fortress War Review

boardgamequest.com:

We review Crossbows and Catapults: Fortress War from Restoration Games. This new version takes a decades old dexterity game and breathes some new life into it.

Picture it. The year is 1983. Return of the Jedi premiers in theaters and Every Breath You Take by the The Police is topping Billboards Music charts. Meanwhile, gamers are back home building little castles out of plastic blocks and knocking them over with rubber-banded siege weapons. That’s right’s, that year saw the debut of Crossbows and Catapults on our tabletops (or floors).

Now hop into your flying DeLorean, Tardis, or Time Masheen and zip forward to 2024 as this summer saw the release of Crossbows & Catapults: Fortress War. Publisher Restoration Games, well known for breathing life into old and out-of-print games, has given their touch to this decades-old dexterity game. But was it the Midas touch like they had with Thunder Road Vendetta or Return to Dark Tower? Let’s find out.

While a game like Crossbows and Catapults doesn’t really need any introduction, let’s bounce over the how-to’s briefly. Each player builds their castle on the opposite side of the table and positions their troops around and behind it. The goal is to knock over every unit your opponent has.

On a player’s turn, they first must play a tactics card from their hand. This will give them a special power for the turn, such as a free action or summoning a mercenary unit. Then, they can take 2 actions. Either move a unit anywhere on your side of the battlefield or fire a shot with either the crossbow or catapult. Knocking over a unit or castle piece will remove it from the game. Then the next player takes their turn.

If your general is removed from the battlefield, you are only allowed to have 1 card in your hand instead of two. Remove all of your opponents units and you are crowned lord/lady of all the realm.

Do you like building castles and then knocking things over with miniature siege weapons? Then this game is for you. If you don’t,