Masher/White Wing from VG's Vietnam

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Played through the 2-turn scenario of Masher/White Wing from Victory Game's Vietnam 1965-1975. This was an eye opener. I have a much better notion of how to play, with respect to rules, tactics and strategy.

I played against JS, but we really played both sides together so that we could get a better handle on the rules. It had been 20 years since he had last played it, and that was when he was first starting in wargames.

For this scenario, we figured out that out strategy of taking the fight to the VC in Turn 1 didn't work. It would have been better to let the VC come to us on Turn 1, so that they exposed themselves.

A few more lessons:

  • Don't extend the playing area into Quang Ngai! We did this accidentally and it cost us use of some ARVN, which would have been really helpful as losing ARVN doesn't gain VP for NLF.

  • Do not leave towns ungarrisoned. These are easy VPs for NLF.

  • Ensure there is at least some artillery on all attacks against VC. This reduces US casualties, hence VC victory points.

  • Go after the heavy NVA regiments instead of chasing VC. The NVA regiments are worth 4 VP to the US player, and they're exposed on the map.

I'm sure there's more, this is enough for now.

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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.