In Part 1 of this series of articles, we looked at the components of this GMT Edition of a game often referred to as “brilliant” in terms of its ability to capture the essence of the Vietnam War. In Part 2 of this series, we took a deep dive into the underlying structure of the mechanics of the game. To finish up, we’ll cover some of the aspects of the Campaign game which contribute to making this game experience so rich and fulfilling. Then you can decide if this is the Vietnam game you’re looking for.

As we alluded to a few times, there are really two parts to this game, non-Campaign and Campaign scenarios. The previous article pertained to both and highlighted the mechanics which comprise the vast majority of activities the players will undertake during the course of play. That’s all well and good, and the non-Campaign scenarios are a hoot to play in and of themselves, but the game really shines and comes into its own in the Campaign scenarios.

GLOSSARIAL INTERLUDE (I’ll just define these up front to save time)

Allied – includes: United States (US), Free World Allies (FWA, e.g. Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Philippines, South Korea), South Vietnam (SVN)

National Liberation Front (NLF) – includes: North Vietnam (NVN) and Army (NVA), Viet Cong (VC)

As described before, game play follows a cycle of four seasons, Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter, each of which contains two turns (so, eight turns per full year of play). In between those two turns, are the Seasonal Interphases, and it is in this part of the game that the course of the war is set. In a general sense, this is when each side sets war policy aims for the next season, and, in the long run, tries to set the tone for the conduct of the war.

Side Note:  Remember when we said it was a long game? Let’s do the math – 8 turns a year times 10 years = 80 turns PLUS there four Seasonal Interphases per year for another 40 of those – give or take. Settle in; it’s worth it.

SEASONAL INTERPHASE SEQUENCE OF PLAY

For the record, although we won’t be going through it line by line, this is the Sequence of Play for the Seasonal Interphase:

1. Recordkeeping Phase
2. Pacification Phase
3. Strategic War Phase
4. Politics Phase
5. Recruitment Phase
6. Unit Status Phase
7. Final Recordkeeping Phase

As in many other games, the Seasonal Interphase is an interlude in the operational on map gameplay during which both  sides conduct administrative activities.

HEARTS & MINDS

Technically, the “pacification” program was a South Vietnamese government led project. In reality, it was a jumbled set of disjointed US-led, -enabled, -funded, -[fill in the blank] effort covered under a SVN umbrella. The phrase most people are familiar with is to win the “hearts and minds” of the people. In the game, the effects of these efforts are tied to two things: SVN morale (we’ll talk more about that later) and the presence of NLF units in key hexes like capitals or farmland (cultivated hexes). Oh, and a third thing I suppose – the ability of the Allied player to successfully roll high with two six-sided dice for each of the 35 regions on the map.

Those 35 regions (some of which are SVN provinces while others are an amalgamation of two or more such provinces) are each tracked with a population value ranging from 4 to 15. Each point roughly equates to 50,000 people. The amount of that population which is controlled (and presumably friendly and pacified) by SVN is tracked (either using the on map Population Control representation with counters or with pencil (NOT pen) on a photocopy of the provided Population Control Sheet – DON’T USE THE ORIGINAL!). Dice are rolled, DRMs are applied (all negative by the way), and a chart is consulted. The results indicate which way the population is swaying (up or down). Although it sounds tedious, it’s actually pretty tense as the amount of population controlled affects both sides in terms of the ability to draft recruits into either the ARVN or the VC. For the ARVN, it’s a hard limit – no more personnel can be used than the amount of population controlled. For the VC, that’s technically also true, but the North can use its commitment (more on that later) to increase that by sending its own people south to bolster the VC.

COMMITMENT & MORALE

Since we’ve mentioned the terms a couple of times, let’s skip ahead and talk about Commitment and Morale. The latter is tracked for all three of the US, SVN, and NVN. For South Vietnam, it’s important to keep the morale high for better rolls in Pacification as well as keeping its leader loyal (yet another more on that later). For the US and NVN, it’s a bit different as both track Commitment, i.e., their willingness to get involved, against their morale. Neither side can exceed their current level of Morale with their Commitment. This, by the way, is how new units are introduced during the Recruitment Phase.

The US Morale starts high (520) and Commitment starts low (25). Everything the US does to support SVN costs Commitment from bringing in new units to providing economic aid programs. For instance, to bring in the 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) in one fell swoop, would cost 9 Commitment (one for each battalion, all the HQs and directly subordinate units are “free” in this instance). That seems cheap, but it’s not just about combat battalions. There are airmobile points (3 points per commitment), riverine points (1 for 1), artillery (105, 155, 175 with varying costs), and Replacement Points (3 for 1). The USS New Jersey (the only battleship in the game) is 3 Commitment points (the same as a brigade, really? – could be worth it, those big guns have long reach). In the meantime, as the US is committing units into theater, the US morale is constantly dropping due to the amount of controlled SVN population (low is bad), the quality of the SVN leadership, bombing the north (which, “coincidentally”, increases SVN morale…), and, wait for it, bringing in new commitment. Yes, bringing in new troops, etc. not only costs Commitment it also lowers Morale – so, double whammy.

Well, why not just bring in the whole army and clear the country out? Good question. NVN Morale goes up based on the amount of current US Commitment + a percentage of any new Commitment + a general increase based on the current NVN Morale. So, the more the US brings in, the higher NVN morale goes, and the more Commitment the North can spend to bring in more VC or NVA.

REINFORCEMENTS & SUPPLIES

Commitment turns into the ability to “build” units directly for the US and NVN. For SVN, the US/NVN spends Commitment to provide Supplies for the ARVN/VC respectively. The ARVN and SVN, then “spend” personnel (subject to the limits of controlled population) and supplies to create new units. For the US/ARVN, it’s straightforward: 1 Commitment produces 7 supplies. Spend away. It’s a little different for the VC.

The NLF player commits points for the next Seasonal Interphase to either Trail or Sea Supply in this Seasonal Interphase. When the time comes, those previously committed points are turned into supplies. However, the Allied player gets to interdict those points by Strategically Bombing (assuming they have Air Points – they start with 21) the Ho Chi Minh Trail and intercepting them via the Naval Blockade (assuming they have Naval Points – they start with 1). Various charts are consulted, and the end result is the amount of supplies which make it through to the VC who can then spend them to create new units within certain restrictions.

POLITICS & COUPS (& ARVN EFFECTIVENESS)

No game of Vietnam would be complete without a nod towards covering the intricate politics of South Vietnam and its Army. This game is no exception. Each division and corps commander is tracked by a Loyalty Rating (on the Leader Display) and has Leader Effectiveness Rating (on the counter). If the leader gets low enough on the Leader Display, the Allied player MUST attempt to replace him. If it’s middling, the Allied player MAY attempt to replace him. Why would you want to do that? Easy! The effectiveness of all ARVN units on the map is checked each season to see if they can be used in the next two turns or will sit idle. That effectiveness check is based on a single die roll that is then compared to the divisional and corps leaders’ ratings.

The downside to attempting to remove leaders is that they may turn pro-coup. If there are more pro-coup leaders than wavering or loyal leaders, there’s a coup. A new SVN President is randomly drawn (and could even be the same counter representing “winning” the power struggle) and US and SVN morale drops. Otherwise, the government could merely be unstable (wavering + pro-coup = loyal) which results in a more modest morale drop (and all leaders loyalty drops by one). Or, there is no coup (more loyal leaders), and pro-coup leaders (only) increase their loyalty.

It sounds far more confusing than it is, but it’s a fun, integral part of the game. And, to top it off, the US can attempt to induce a coup at the cost of increasing the SVN morale loss (or, should I say, decreasing it even more).

RECORDKEEPING

You may have noticed in the SOP above, that there are two Recordkeeping Phases. Yes, this game will require paper and pencil (or spreadsheets) to play. Photocopy the ones that come in the box.

FINAL WITHDRAWAL

Although Final Withdrawal is a mechanism in the game, I’m just using it as the title to end this article. Well, maybe a few words on it…

The US can announce Final Withdrawal which will freeze the introduction of new Commitment (more or less). This usually occurs when US Commitment catches up to US Morale, and the US must make hard decisions about withdrawing units to make room for more Commitment. (As an aside, normal (not Final) withdrawal, allows the US to reduce Commitment so as to make space between Commitment and Morale.) If you get far enough into the Campaign to need Final Withdrawal, congratulations, you’re almost done! On the down side, it probably also means the US is having a hard go of it.

At any rate, while this is wholly inadequate in covering every nuance of the Campaign game play, we hope it gives some indication of the grand nature and scope of it. This game, above all others, and the Campaign game in particular, evokes the feeling that you’re neck deep involved in the conflict. On the Allied side, you’re constantly howling (at yourself) that you need more divisions, and, on the NLF side, you’re constantly balancing the need to be a force in being (to contest Pacification) and attack the Yankee Imperialists.

We hope you enjoyed this series of articles, and, moreover, we hope you enjoy the game itself!

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Previous Articles: 

This is the Vietnam Game You’re Looking For, Part 1

This is the Vietnam Game You’re Looking For, Part 2