Category: Vietnam War

Volume IV in the Series: COIN (GMT) dives headlong into the momentous and complex battle for South Vietnam. A unique multi-faction treatment of the Vietnam War Fire in the Lake will take players on US heliborne sweeps of the jungle and Communist infiltration of the South and into inter-allied conferences Saigon politics interdiction of the Ho Chi Minh Trail air defense of Northern infrastructure graduated escalation and media war.Fire in the Lake features the same card-assisted counterinsurgency game system as GMT's Andean Abyss Cuba Libre and A Distant Plain with twists that take the Series to another level including:-- description from publisher

Phantom Leader – SolitaireWhat’s New in the Deluxe Edition? We have expanded and updated the original Phantom Leader game to the high standard set by our Hornet Leader game.Increase the cards from 165 to 330 - All pilots get all 6 experience levels - Add new aircraft: Air Force F-5 Air Force A-7 - Add more pilots for all aircraft types - Add more Target cards - Add more Special Event cards - Revise the 6 original Campaigns to include the new Targets and AircraftAdd Air Force and Navy Campaigns for the 1962 Cuban Missile CrisisUpgrade to a mounted 11x17 Tactical DisplayDescription: Phantom Leader places you in command of a US Air Force or US Navy Tactical Fighter squadron in Vietnam between 1964 and 1972. You must not only destroy the targets but you must also balance the delicate political repercussions of your attacks. If you strike too hard your air offensive might be put on hold strike to light and you’ll be blamed for losing the war.Welcome to the Vietnam Air War!Each of the campaigns can be played with either an Air Force or Navy squadron. The targets assigned to each service are different and change the complexion of the campaigns. Each campaign can be played with three different durations of: Skirmish Conflict or War.Each mission takes roughly 30 minutes to set-up plan and resolve.Each of your pilots has their own skills. Selecting the right pilots and weapons for a mission is vital to its success. As you fly missions your pilots will gain experience and fatigue. With experience their skills improve but as their fatigue increases their skills decrease and they might not be able to fly for several missions.For those of you familiar with our modern era Hornet Leader series of games you might be wondering what’s different about Phantom Leader…The freedom of being able to select the best mission based on military objectives is something that is commonplace for today’s military. Back in Vietnam the military was responsible for carrying out their orders while at the same time being extremely limited in the weapons and tactics they were allowed to use to complete those orders. In many cases the specific weapons approach paths and bombing altitudes were generated target-by-target at the White House. The mission specifics were then sent down the chain of command to the individual pilots flying the mission. As you can imagine this was not the best way to run an air campaign.Every target has a Political value. If you destroy it you move the Political counter to the right a number of spaces equal to its value. As the counter gets moved to the right your future target choices are reduced to those that are less politically sensitive. Which target you choose not to attack is also important. You get to move the Political counter to the left a number of spaces equal its Political value.This means that while you might like to flatten a big enemy target and rack up the victory points it might be better for you to choose a pointless target and move the Political counter in your favor instead.Another difference is in combat power. For the last couple decades the US Air Force and Navy have enjoyed air superiority due to training and technology. Such was not the case in the skies over Vietnam. The enemy had different but just as capable equipment. They also had the training and will to use it to its utmost.They soon became aware of the limitations placed on the US forces by the politicians and used those limitations to their advantage.For example at times US pilots were not permitted to fire on enemy aircraft until they were visually identified. This negated any range advantage conveyed by the radar-homing AIM-7 Sparrow missiles. It was also a common limitation that enemy aircraft could only be attacked in the air. US pilots were not allowed to attack enemy airbases. US aircraft were also limited to flying predictable flight paths at set times. This made setting up ambushes much easier for the enemy.So while you might be a Hornet Leader ace Vietnam is a whole different ballgame!

Silver Bayonet recreates the pivotal November 1965 battle between a full North Vietnamese Army Division and the US 1st Air Cavalry Division in the Ia Drang Valley. NVA expertise in lure and ambush tactics resulted in significant US casualties. US mobility and the ability to bring massive amounts of firepower to bear quickly virtually destroyed the attacking NVA division and forced a change in NVA tactics.This re-issue of GMT Games' 1990 CSR Award winning title that started it all keeps the original operational system but streamlines to it to include innovative combat resolution integrating maneuver combat close assault artillery bombardment and support from gunships and air sorties.Increased accessibility to primary and secondary source material has made it possible to make changes to more accurately represent both sides' unique capabilities without significantly altering or breaking the base game system. The major changes involve patrols ambushes landing zones and the 1st Cav Brigade HQ while minor changes tweak movement combat and coordination game mechanics to showcase radically different strengths and weaknesses the FWA and NVA force brought to the battles in the Ia Drang Valley.—description from the publisher

Hearts and Minds: Vietnam 1965-1975 (Third Edition) is an uncomplicated approach to a very complicated conflict. Eight scenarios introduce players to U.S. involvement in Southeast Asia including a scenario after the US withdrew from Vietnam a full campaign scenario as well as high solitaire capability. Players appreciate the ability to start in any year of the war they wish and fight to the end of any other year of the war. The game provides a comprehensive historical approach using mechanics that include guerrilla warfare faction differentiation political turmoil and veteran advantages. This design has already been used as a successful teaching tool.This is a card-driven area-based design with low counter density and a much simplified combat system. Each scenario represents a year and players have the flexibility of starting in any year of the war and ending in any later year of the war. Players choose either the Allies (US ARVN Cambodian and Laotian) or Communist (NVA VC Cambodian and Laotian) Players engage in guerrilla warfare – VC units remain hidden until engaged. VC units may be simple units or reinforced units or simply false information. When determined to be false information players roll on the Bush Events Table which involve events from discovering Chinese troops to the arrival of USO shows featuring John Wayne and Bob Hope.This edition involves the use of three card decks A red deck (communist) a blue deck (Allied) and a black deck (interchangeable). Prior to every game half of the black deck is shuffled into each of the red and blue decks ensuring a different game every time. Cards indicate the amount of RPs (Resource Points) that may be spent or banked a historic situation and its game effects. Certain cards are year specific. Within each Red and Blue Deck are a number of Campaign cards that may be chosen by each player allowing increased abilities but only in a predetermined area.The game does not ignore political ramifications. Card events cover mass protests in the U.S. and more significantly the instability of the South Vietnamese government. The Allied player controls more firepower but must walk a tightrope between U.S. and ARVN (South Vietnamese) casualties. Too many U.S. casualties leads to a rapid rise in Communist morale. Too many ARVN casualties will result in a coup which has major strategic advantages for the Communist Player. While in Cambodia and Laos the destruction of all government forces means the fall of those governments. Throughout the game both sides jockey for the “Hearts and Minds” in each province. Political Control determines the availability and expansion of VC influence.Hearts and Minds Third Edition offers players an easier to follow rulebook with simpler victory conditions. Also included: tested solitaire rules and a separate solitaire player aide; a premium mounted map that includes all of the charts necessary to play the game; full-sized poker quality card deck; standard playing dice and a new artistic approach to factional units.Product InformationComplexity: Low to Medium (4 out of 10) Solitaire suitability: Medium to high (7 out of 10) Time Scale: Each scenario represents one year. The campaign game covers 8-10 years. Map Scale: The Map is divided into provincial areas indicating major cities and US major bases Unit Scale: Units are abstract and represent US ARVN NVA VC Cambodian and Laotian Players: Two Player game (Solitaire friendly) Playing Time: 45 minutes or less per scenario Designer: John Poniske Original Developer: Stan Hilinski Solitaire Developer: David WessmanComponents: 24 page rule/scenario book Solitaire Player Aid Three Counter sheets (3/4” Counters) 22” x 33” Mounted Map 80 Standard Playing Cards (27 Red/27 Blue/ 28 black) Two 6-sided dice (1 Red/1Blue) One box and lid set-from the publisher's website

Dien Bien Phu - The Final Gamble is a two-player wargame about the decisive battle of Dien Bien Phu in 1954 that not only ended the French Indochina War but also had political repercussions far outside the region itself. One player represents France and her colonial troops. The other player represents the armed force of Viet Minh the communist/nationalist independence movement of Vietnam. This is a cage fight. There are no victory points there is no marginal victory and there is no draw. Viet Minh wins by forcing the French troops to surrender. France wins by not surrendering.Map and scale: The map covers the former village of Dien Bien Phu and surrounding areas. There is a small submap of the French strongpoint Isabelle further south in the valley. There are several groups of French strongpoints scattered around the map each one with a female name (all named after the commander - de Castries' - mistresses according to lore). The map is divided into three divisional sectors (plus a fourth one facing the submap Isabelle). Each sector has several zones that represent Viet Minh trenches winding from the map edge towards the center of the map. Each hex represents 150 meters and each game turn covers three days. There are 21 turns in the game but historically it ended after 19 game turns with a Viet Minh victory. The scale allows stacking of three French units (usually infantry companies) in a hex but there are no stacking limits for Viet Minh battalions which creates a chess feel.Three Viet Minh battalions form a regiment and three regiments become a division and there were almost four full divisions in the valley as well as a full artillery division off map. There was also an equivalent of another three divisions in a replacement pool outside the valley. The French troops were a colorful array of colonial paras Vietnamese troops units from French Algeria and Morocco and of course the French Foreign Legion. Some units are of average quality some are outright terrible but some are the very best that could be mustered ... anywhere. A French battalion consisted of four companies and there were 12 battalions together with 11 auxiliary light companies at the start of the siege as well as 16 artillery and mortar batteries and three tank platoons. Waiting in Hanoi were another five para battalions together with an expected replacement pool of about 14 companies. In neighboring Laos there were four battalions ready to march and perhaps save the day at the very end.French supply: This battle took place far out in the wilderness of Vietnam and both sides had to adjust to the limited flow of supplies that could be brought forward though the air to the French and through vast forests to the Viet Minh. Supplies as historically was the case tend to be a lot less than wished for. There are several supply tracks on the map showing how much ammo food & bullets fuel & spares medicine as well as the amount of truck transport available for the French. Each game turn air transports will bring in a mix of supplies together with replacements and reinforcements. This is done on a chart with a grid where a mix of supply markers are placed together with eventual reinforcements and replacements. Weather will then decide what will arrive and what will abort back to Hanoi. The French player will never know for sure what and how much will arrive and has to take that into account.Viet Minh supply and morale: Viet Minh will receive a more steady flow of ammunition but not enough to barrage whenever wished. There is a large pool of replacements to use but although it is large it is not infinite. If Viet Minh losses are too heavy then the fact that you can only replace one step per regiment per game turn will be a painful experience. If loses are too heavy for too long then the pool will dry out. Viet Minh's main concern is troop morale. The battle force starts with excellent morale but each division's morale will decrease when taking replacements thus diluting the experienced veterans with newly drafted peasants with no combat experience. Morale will rise slightly when resting (not assaulting). But then again time flies and there is a battle to win. Morale is a very important part of the game and if it falls too low the troops will be rendered useless.Artillery: Artillery is another important aspect of the battle. There is bombardment from both sides before assaults commence. You wish to achieve two things with barrage: Losses and to make the target shaken. Targets that are shaken lose abilities to react and support combat and they become easier to assault. Defending units bring in barrage to make it harder for the attacker to succeed. Viet Minh artillery is off-board and safe from French artillery fire (mainly that they were dug deep into the mountainsides). French artillery and mortar units on the other hand exist as units on the board and may fall prey to Viet Minh bombardment. French artillery units that are reduced and/or shaken are not as efficient and those that are eliminated are obviously out of play. Both sides have a limited amount of ammunition and therefore have to spend it wisely.Combat: The main effort in the game is of course the assaults. Each player will conduct two die-rolls during the course of an assault to determine the outcome. The defender first conducts defensive fire in the hopes of inflicting losses but also to possibly force the attacker abort the assault. The defender’s first die roll is compared to their strength and will show how well they defend. The defender’s second die-roll (modified from the result of the first die roll) is compared to the assaulting unit's morale and will determine the result of the defensive fire. Providing the assaulting units do not abort the attacker (who has suffered the effects of the defensive fire) conducts two die rolls. The first one to see how well the assault is conducted and the second one to see the outcome of the assault. Modifications such as trenches terrain support from other units etc. adjust the strength of a unit to make it stronger or weaker.You will never know for sure what that result will be due to the two die-rolls on each side. Dien Bien Phu – The Final Gamble will be as tense and brutal a simulation as was the historical battle that determined the fate of this war as well as shaping the events of things to come.Kim Kanger

From publisher's website:In Fields of Fire Vol. II: With the Old Breed you pin on your captain's bars and take command of a rifle company in the 5th Marines the most decorated regiment in the US Marine Corps. Test your mettle in three campaigns spanning World War II Korea and Vietnam. Battle ashore in the blazing heat of Peleliu in September 1944 to discover the Japanese have changed their strategy and you are forced to dig them out of the coral ridges. Flares reveal waves of Chinese pouring over the rugged mountains of the Chosin Reservoir Korea in sub zero weather in November 1950. Fight house to house in Hue City Vietnam in February 1968. These three campaigns live on in the legends and history of the United States Marine Corps.Fields of Fire is a solitaire game system that gives players the challenge of commanding a rifle company between World War II and Present Day. The game is different from many tactical games in that it is diceless and card based. There are two decks used to play. The Terrain Deck is based on a specific region and is used to build a map for the various missions your company must perform. The Action deck serves many purposes in controlling combat command and control various activity attempts. The units of the company are counters representing headquarters elements squads weapons teams forward observers individual vehicles or helicopters. A single playing is a mission and several missions from an historical campaign are strung together for the player to manage experience and replacements. A mission can be played in about 1 – 2 hours.This volume of Fields of Fire is based on three actual campaigns experienced by units of the 5th Marines of the 1st Marine Division Blue Diamond in World War II Korea and Vietnam and is the second volume of the Fields of Fire series.

Storm Over Dien Bien Phu is a 2-player wargame simulating the Battle of Dien Bien Phu from March to May 1954 focusing on the French central strongpoints of Gabrielle Anne–Marie Beatrice Eliane Claudine Huguette and Dominique. One player controls the French forces and the other player controls the Viet Minh forces.In the spring of 1954 General Giap shocked the world by doing what had previously been considered impossible—defeating a Western occupying force. Storm Over Dien Bien Phu simulates the climactic moment when the isolated French forces (composed of French legionnaires and elite paratrooper units) and crumbled under the unrelenting pressure of the Chinese–backed Viet Minh forces.Using the Area Move system redefined in Storm Over Stalingrad the game features the use of cards to augment game play adding to the tension experienced by both sides. The rules are similar in length to those seen in Storm Over Stalingrad and are of the same level of complexity with additions made for the situations encountered in this battle.Additional rules added to the game include sapping assaulting and the French supply situation. In addition to these new rules new cards have been created in order to represent events encountered during the battle. These include “Detonate Mine Shaft” “Rats of the Nam Yum” “Giap Demands Success” “Propaganda” “Débouchez à Zéro!” and “B-26 Bombers”.Game Scale: Turn: 1 week Map: Area Unit: Infantry Platoons/CompaniesGame Inventory: One 22 X 34 mapsheet One and a half countersheets (264 5/8 counters) One 12 page Game Rulebook Card deck with 55 full-color cards Four six-sided diceComplexity - Low Solitaire suitability - Low Playing time - Up to 3 hoursDesigner: Nick Richardson Developer: Brian Youse Game Artwork: Nicolas Eskubi

Vietnam: 1965-1975 re-creates the longest most complex and least understood conflict in US history in all of its military and political aspects. The rules include detailed treatment of movement terrain search and destroy operations special operations firepower airmobility riverines brigade-level formations limited intelligence and auxiliary units in each scenario. That's the blurb from the back of the original Victory Games edition of the game.There are several small scenarios and a couple of campaign games. Each year is divided into four seasons (Spring Summer Fall and Winter) and each season has two turns (so roughly 6 weeks per turn). The map scale is roughly 6 miles per hex and units are generally battalions or regiments. During the operational phase players take turns (who gets to operate is determined by the NLF player) conducting operations with their units to destroy the enemy clear the roads take towns and cities or just reposition units. In the Campaign Game during Seasonal Interphases each player decides whether and how many additional units and/or resources to bring in to the fight. The game features hidden VC units airmobility riverines national morale pacification ARVN effectiveness and many other nuances that allow the player to grasp the some of the experience of what it might have been like to conduct the war in Vietnam.An updated reimplementation of the Victory Games' classic. This edition changes some of the rules as well as clarifications. Components are also upgraded from the original printing. See developers' word.(description from publisher's website and BGG user's comment)

A squad-level tactical game ’65 recounts the early battles of the Vietnam War from Ia Drang to Operation Starlight and most everything between. The large and beautiful counters (1 to 1.375 square) represent squads Leaders Heroes Snipers M-48 and Pt-76 tanks and more.As these units’ commander you will move and fight over three geomorphic game boards as you try to best your opponent in one of eight nail-biting historical scenarios. The game is card-driven using a system similar to Flying Pig’s Night of Man which adds a sense of delicious uncertainty to the play. “Can I advance my sappers or does the enemy have a fire card he's just waiting to play? Furthermore the cards simplify the game containing much of the data needed to play. You won’t spend the afternoon with your head in a rule book when you play ’65. This is a game created by gamers for gamers to play.(from the publisher's website)

You look at the wrecked Huey thankful you survived the crash. It got hit somewhere over the jungle. You lost the pilot. The gunner just fell out. Gone. On your way down you saw a glimpse of the other Huey. You think it got hit too but you can't be sure. You look around at your squad — wild-eyed Marines fresh out of boot camp — and sigh heavily. You gotta move fast. VC will be coming...Purple Haze is an immersive story-creation Tactical level Campaign wargame for 1 to 4 players that drops you into the heart of darkness: Vietnam 1967. You lead a squad of U.S. Marines through the dense jungles flooded rice paddies and straw-thatched villages of a war-torn country. Gut-wrenching choices will determine the fate of you and your mission showing if you have what it takes to survive.It is in part a story-creation game in part a Tactical level wargame and in part a Campaign game. Your decisions determine the story. Your tactics decide the outcome of life and death firefights. Your men will suffer. Some won't make it home. Those that do will get wiser get tougher. The goal: Complete the mission and get out alive.

It’s time for another tour of duty. The award-winning Lock ’n Load Tactical Series. Heroes of the Nam. This squad-level game with its fast-paced intense impulse system drops you right into the middle of furious jungle firefights and all-out building-to-building assaults.In Heroes of the Nam forces from the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) the United States Army and Marines as well as their valiant Anzac allies from Australia and New Zealand take on determined enemies from the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) and the unpredictable Viet Cong (VC). Powerfully armed Squads are at the vanguard of all actions spurred on by daring Leaders and other unique individuals such as Snipers Medics Corpsmen Chaplains Advisors and of course Heroes whose unique skills and sudden appearance can alter the tide of any battle. Helicopters tanks and armored-personnel carriers (APCs) also join the fight. Test your mettle in over 25 action-packed scenarios. Only the heroic will be victorious.- - - - - -Heroes of Nam is essentially a component and rules update of Forgotten Heroes and ANZAC Attack (both previously published by Shrapnel Games and later Lock n Load Games).UPDATE: All of our manuals and guides can be Downloaded Viewed and even printed right from our LnLP Online Library: We now have an Online Library of all well almost all of our manuals. We add some every few weeks. You can find all the LnLT manuals at the link below.LnLP Online Library: http://library.lnlpublishing.com/