Iron Triangle - first impressions

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"Iron Triangle" is the second game in Decision Games "Vietname Battles" issue of Modern War. The other being Snoopy's Nose. These are fairly short games with around a dozen turns on 17 by 22 maps.

This game simulates Operation Cedar Falls, a massive effort by the US and ARVN to locate and remove VC from tunnel complexes near Cu Chi, roughly 45 miles north-northwest of Saigon.

Goal for this game is to get some familiarity with it before playing FtF. The main interest in this game is how the tunnel complexes are handled, as they negate ZOC.

VC chose the "run" victory condition.

Turn 1

Here's the situation at the end of Turn 1:

It's already apparent the the tunnels are going to be where the action is. the jungles on the north edge are slow movement for both, there is time to intercept.

Turn 2

US forces swing around to intercept VC moving west. Looks like a lot of VC going to exit this turn.

4 VC off the board, rolled a 1, game over VC victory.

hmph.

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What to play next?

Deciding what to play next is always a tough call when faced with a closet full of games, all of which were purchased with intent to play. Here's one I'm dealing with the decision.

  • Something New: this means both something new to me and a game which has been published recently, within the last two or three years.
  • Something Classic: I've acquired a number of games properly considered "classic" which haven't yet been played. The current example would be PanzerGruppe Guderian.
  • Something Again: mastery requires constant practice, which means playing games many, many times to allow nuance to appear.
  • Something Vietnam: as I'm on a Vietnam binge. I don't have all the Vietnam games ever published, but I can say that I have a lot of them, and probably more than most people.
  • Something Obscure: as it's fun to poke around in the dustier corners of game design.
  • Something Different: break away from the same old publishers and try a game from one of the new kids on the block. Or, conversely, dip into legacy with a classic tried and true.
  • Something Light: once in a while it's nice to actually finish a game all the way through in one sitting, in an hour or two.
  • Something Heavy: if possible, it's nice to set up something big and complicated which can be left out for days or weeks or even months, for a leisurely stroll through a very large or long game.

There are surely many more ways to choose, but the above method keeps me busy enough, helps me get both breadth and depth into my play, and provides me with a sense of progress.

The odd man out

When there is an odd man out:

  • Have a solo game ready to play.
  • Keep score or advise on a game in progress.
  • Referee a game in progress.