"What kind of Vietnam War game would you play?" Topic

Howdy all, working on an update of the FNG rules, and am looking to better understand what those who play the Vietnam War are looking for. Your comment appreciated!

1. Gimme me the Gump! I want a Boonierat's-eye of Vietnam, squad to platoon size at most, and I want some options other than battles. I'd like to clear a tunnel, interact with the locals like in Good Morning Vietnam, Full Metal Jacket or Gump, go on R&R and advance in rank and skills, I want to experience my whole Tour.

2. Gimme the Green Berets! I want a Grunt's-eye experience of Vietnam, squad to platoon, but none of the Gump. No fluffy stuff and "experience," just show me the enemy and let the bullets fly.

3. Gimme The Apocalypse! I want a company-sized action with infantry, choppers, APCs, arty and fast movers blasting up stuff! None of that walk through the jungle experience, I want a whole command on the table.

4. Gimme They Were Soldiers! A Company-sized game is for amateurs, I need at least a battalion on the table with the whole works. Combined arms, air support, supply drops, lots of maneuver and big decisions to make.

If you have particular rules you like, please include them. Thanks!!

Gimme LRRP's out in indian country. Seven to eight man team doing hit and run.

Two and Three.

The rules we keep returning to for Vietnam are Peter's Pig's "Men of Company B" (the newest edition), and Osprey/Ambush Alley "Force on Force". Quite different sets of rules, but manage to handle asymmetrical warfare in quite different ways.

We also tried Nordic Weasel's "No End in Sight" recently and rather liked it. Absolutely would play it again. link

2 & 3, with maybe some cards or random events to add some of the spice found in 1.

Charlie Company is lots of fun. D&D in the 'Nam.

2, and 3, plus 5 and 6.

5 being the Vietnam air war with tactical fighter-bombers protected by fighters, and the North Vietnamese trying to stop that.

6 being Rolling Thunder, B-52 strikes vs. the opposition.

LRRP or MACV SOG recon teams all the way!

Those are all good for me. Also, don't forget to add some Cthulhu!

Many years ago, I played a few games of Giac My with 1/72 plastic miniatures (I think they were Atlantic, but they could have been Esci or Ertl). Those were fun little skirmishes, as I recall.

I love the fact that the rules for this squad to platoon level game have different statistics for a Model 1911, a Makarov, and a S&W .38.

3 & 4

So 5ar, with multiple choices, we have:

1. 2
2. 4
3. 5
4 +. 2

So about 50/50 between skirmish and company+ scale games. Most of the Skirmish votes seem for straight combat rather than having a liteRPG element.

Love to see more comments!

1, 2, and 3.

I'd also play strategic level games, but would go over to a boardgame for those, like Fire in the Lake or VG's Vietnam.

2, 3, and Thresher's 5.

Tried 3 a couple of times with 15mm, prefer 2 in 28mm.

I've played it on all levels up to Div./strategic. But only using now OOP SPI, Conflict & GDW, etc., board games.
E.g. Sniper, Grunt, Op Pegasus, An Loc, Dien Bien Phu, Hue, etc. From individual trooper to Div and above …

3 & 4.

1 & 2.

3 & 4

2 with Modified FNG:2nd Tour.

Any Vietnam era game stands or falls by its depiction of asymmetric warfare. US power should be overwhelming, but essentially blind and wasted in small tactical engagements with little or no visible metrics to determine success while the VC must attempt to inflict as much damage both physical and morale to the Americans to disrupt them in the long run.

The problem is that every time the North tried to engage the Americans in an actual battle they suffered massive casualties, but the North had a long term strategy, fight beyond all logic and reason until the US had spent too much money and wasted too many men to continue.

I've never seen a system that balances the inconsequential individual battles with a sense of getting nowhere and the VC doing little more than skirmishing until they can do a morale strike which is not always easy to translate into a miniature game.

The only way in my opinion is to have a skirmish, RPG-style narrative campaign where each soldier has his own story and either makes it through their tour or dies with consequences for the rest of the men.

another vote for charlie company ( rafm ). which is the RPG style narrative game

Charlie Company, wherever that fits on the gumpy scale.

I've played quite a few games of Charlie Don't Surf which is pitched at the supported company level for the Free World forces. It also does a really good job of modelling the asymmetrical nature of the conflict and political considerations.

Is Charlie Company the game in which the VC/NVA are controlled by the game/referee, with all the players on the US side? I know some Vietnam game did that, and it always intrigued me.

1 & 2

Gone Fishing,

Charlie Company has the VC and NVA run by the GM. FNG2T
has them controlled by the game itself. Both are good.

my choice is 1 and 2.

Still breaking 50/50!

*x21 votes for Skirmish
*x21 votes for Company+

So far:
1. Skirmish with LiteRPG- 19%
2. Skirmish – 31%
3. Company- 36%
4+. Battalion+ – 14%

Thank you, Bismarck! I've always liked cooperative play, so may have to check those out one of these days.

2, 3 and maybe some 4.

Thanks.

Either way down with a LRRP team and lots of RP elements (as in, playing RECON), or the Apocalypse (Flames of War).

I own enough helicopters to replay the Village Assault from Apocalypse Now, and I also play Ride of the Valkyries at the start of any game where I field the Air Cav.

I also have a full battalion of US Army infantry, so I can do We Were Soldiers.

We always play 4. Those of us in our group have enough for a Battalion of US NVA/VC ARVN an Aussies. Battlefront rules are used. Last game Regt NVA an Comp VC vs Air Cav Comp. Always 4 or more player games

#1 was the style we played some years ago-- "Vietnamunda", a heavily modified Necromunda. New skill advancements with experience, civilians and civilian alignment, infiltrators, booby traps, interrogation, recovered items as objectives, jungle hazards were all added by various players.

4

khanscom, I would be VERY interested in those rules changes man. Have you put them online anywhere?

I'll second Mkultra99 – those do sound quite interesting. I'd love a copy, or link as well. Probably not terribly historically accurate, but probably a helluva lotta fun!

Mkultra99/ Tony S:

Let me see what I can do; I have printouts of the originally developed rules only. Given some time I can probably redo this in a Word document. Email me at farenmil at centurylink dot net if that might work for you.

Actually, FNG2T can have the VC/NVA controlled either by players or by the game itself.

It also has a campaign system as Patrick R describes in his last paragraph.

Tom

None.

Year of the Rat

Skirmish with vehicles and helicopters

3&4, I use FOW for my Vietnam fighting.

4

1. I have the Savage edition of Tour of Darkness (a Weird 'Nam RPG)

5. I do have a ruleset around here somewhere for Vietnam era air combat.

I also have Low Level Hell, an entirely airborne vs. VC ground troops game adapted from Silent Death, whichever answer that fits into.

Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Service rescue of downed airmen in Laos.