Fixed movement
Knight moves 1, Horseman moves 2, Cannon moves 1. Movement is not dice-based, enabling planning and formations.
Board Game · Design Case Study
Fortress Conquest
A team-based tactical board game focused on positional strategy (fixed movement) with dice-driven combat, plus resource cards that only activate on a roll of six.
Note: Links above expect you to place the PDFs in assets/docs/ with the same filenames.
Overview
The win condition is simple: capture both enemy bases by reducing their HP to 0. The depth comes from coordinated team movement, dice-based damage output, and timing resource cards that only unlock on a six.
Market gap & positioning
Why this design exists.
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Bridges luck + strategy
Movement is fixed (planning-first), but combat still has suspense via dice-based damage.
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True team-play
Shared resource cards and role specialization create real coordination, not just “multiplayer”.
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Faster tactical sessions
One action per turn reduces downtime and keeps both teams engaged between turns.
Core pillars
The design rules I used to make decisions.
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Predictable positioning
Units have pre-determined movement so strategy relies on choices, not movement RNG.
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Unpredictable battles
Dice determines attack intensity, creating risk management without removing counterplay.
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Rewarded luck, not required luck
Resource cards are powerful but gated behind rolling a six, encouraging careful timing.
Core mechanics
How the game actually plays.
Action-based dice
Dice are rolled for attacks (damage output) and to unlock resource-card usage (only on a six).
Victory condition
Win by capturing both enemy bases—reduce base HP to 0 and take control.
Resource cards
Each team starts with a set of cards. If you roll a six, you gain one extra move and may activate a card that applies to the next move or attack.
- Revival: restore 6 HP to a base (1 use per base)
- Attack Boost: +3 damage to next attack
- Defense Shield: reduce incoming damage by 2 for one turn
- Movement Boost: +3 spaces to next movement action
Central Tower
A secondary objective with strong tactical advantages. The tower has 15 HP and automatically attacks enemy units within 2 spaces at the end of each turn. Hold it for two consecutive turns to draw a free resource card.
The tower is optional for victory, but it reshapes decisions by creating a strong mid-map incentive.
Iteration after playtests
What changed and why.
Map clarity improvements
- Removed multiple routes to the enemy base to reduce confusion and shorten sessions.
- Introduced health bars to track bases and units involved in combat.
- Tweaked the tower’s attack radius after it was over-empowering the controlling team.
- Removed the “special activation grid” for resource cards (it caused confusion).
Final map
User journey
A clear “how a player experiences the game” flow you can also export as a PDF.
1) Setup
Split into two teams. Place bases and units. Each team receives its starting resource card set.
2) First move
Teams coordinate early positioning—horseman pressures lanes, cannon supports, knight anchors defense.
3) Mid-game pressure
Players choose: race for base pressure or contest the Central Tower for tactical advantage and card gain.
4) Combat decisions
Attack rolls determine damage output. Teams weigh risk, probability, and unit matchup modifiers.
5) “Six” moments
Rolling a six creates swing turns: extra move + optional card activation. Teams decide whether to spend or save.
6) Endgame
Push to finish: focus fire on base HP, protect key units, and time resource cards to secure the second capture.
Journey outputs (optional)
If you want a downloadable version, create a PDF called Fortress-Conquest-User-Journey.pdf and place it in assets/docs/. Then replace the link below.