I agree totally that the smaller fort is easier to defend, but I have had good success with the star fort as well. I dont know why a previous poster was unable to get to the outer 'star' portions of the fort as I was able to get my men across the bridge to the outer area. I tend to spread out my lines thin going around the edge. As long as my men are there before the enemy comes and I keep them from moving they will man all cannons that they are near and will get a couple rounds off on the enemy with their initial advance and my men seem to go to the edge like they should and shoot down. Id say the enemy is losing about 25 to 50 percent of their army from me shooting over the wall with guns and cannon and loose the rest routing after they climb the walls. If you set your troops up correct they should be pretty effective in any fort no matter the size.