"Are there any Bolt Action Vietnam rules?" Topic

I'm on a Facebook BA Vietnam page but I wondered if anyone has any BA rules out there which are tried and tested already and available to download? I've played BA for quite a while, found rules for Modern BA on a blog which are very useful, but wondered if there are any specific to Vietnam anywhere else? Otherwise it looks like I'll have to use either Force on force or BOHICA, not that there's anything wrong with either but once you get used to a certain system it's just simpler and easier to keep on using the same, especially when there's 5 in your group so 4 others would have to learn the rules as well if we want games to flow smoothly.

'VC on the Trail' is a BA variant, if you are in the same BA FB group as l am, you will find them in the group's Files section. You will also find a set called 'And the Earth was Coloured Red' which is another BA variant. There are numerous other files of interest, TOE's etc.

Wargames, Soldiers and Strategy issue 65 had a 3 page set of rules for converting Bolt Action to Vietnam, you might be able to get a back issue from ebay or download a pdf from the publishers.

I'm not too familiar with BA, but it seems to be the case that most 20th century infantry rules can be adapted to fit different eras of the same century. It would seem that more sophisticated air power for US forces would be a key element.

Thanks guys. Hmm I had issue 65 of WSS but forgot about those alterations.

Thanks for the pointers towards the files on the BA FB group, yes I'm a member too so I've downloaded both for a look later.

+1 rvandusen

The US ability to call in massive amounts (relatively) of artillery and air power in Vietnam will be a challenge for a game like BA.

I had a copy of BOHICA arrive yesterday. I've started reading, and whilst I like the look of most of the rules the most disappointing thing I've found so far is 4 typos in the first 3 pages I've read. It's a lovely glossy book and well produced by the look of it so I was expecting better really. Doesn't anyone proof read their own stuff these days?

I think it depends on what sort/level of game you want to play. We use a homebrew system that initially owed a lot to BA, but really we wanted a company level game (or mostly company in attack/platoon in defence) so now our game only has the BA bag for order chits and we use D12s. We looked long and hard at BOHICA and we've played force on force a few times, but were not convinced. That said, we are sad (pathetic) history geeks and defeat/victory is secondary to having a game that is going to give us a historically credible outcome – 'war is a drama, not a chess game'. Don't be afraid to invent your own rules if you've got a lot of Vietnam reading in your background, but I suggest you keep it really, really simple. make a simple structure…. then cut it back savagely….then trim it a bit more….then remove anything complicated or clumsy. If you're getting credible results then you're doing something right. There again, there's probably nobody anywhere who would really enjoy our game!

If it works for you Chris then don't knock it. Our trouble in our little group is we don't collectively have the time or inclination to start fiddling with rule sets to make our own up. I think there are some good ideas in BOHICA, but I wonder if some of it isn't a bit too intricate which is bound to make at least 2 of our group's eyes glaze over. We have one member who is all for introducing house rules for other sets of rules, Black Powder being the most common, but we never adopt his suggestions so I can't see a home grown set of rules ever appearing for Vietnam. We tend to just try various until we find a set that's near enough to give a good quick game.Someone having to spend ages pouring over tables in the rulebook kills it for everyone. Every time I see rules with pages of firing stats etc in them it reminds me of Rapid Fire 'shudder', or Snail Wars as I prefer to call it. Nothing rapid about it at all.

We felt the same as you about BOHICA. The various BA versions for Vietnam are pretty good IMO, but our game narratives are pretty much set at company level for everything. Snail Wars is very apt!