Fire in the Lake - the Full Monty
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I just set up the Full scenario for Fire in the Lake. This is 72 cards with all 6 coup cards. I sorted the event cards using the period option. The game doesn't really have a "turn sequence" per se, it advances by Event Cards, which are punctuated by the appearance of Coup Cards. I've played the game 3 times up until now, but the first was just the play through from the playbook, the second was a 4 player game with 2 of the players who were really good, and the third was with AS, and we really didn't know what we were doing.
Playing this full scenario solitaire will get me up to speed on the rules. As usual, I plan on writing each Event Card in some detail, and will annotate the writeup with relevant sections in the rules.
Setting up
The first order of business is to verify the Victory Markers for each faction, to ensure I understand how each faction acheives victory. These are covered in Section 1.9 of the rules, very clearly.
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US: 21 (regular) + 2 (base) + 15 support = 38. Irregulars do not count as Troops for victory conditions.
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ARVN: COIN control is 20, Patronage is 15 for 35.
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NVA has 4 bases on the map for 4.
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VC has 7 bases on the map with 20 points of opposition.
The set up is under control, here's what the Full Campaign looks like:
It's time to start pulling cards.
Round 1
Briefly discuss the strategy each of the 4 factions will pursue this round.
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ARVN will work on getting as many troops on the ground to establish COIN control, while spending as few resources as possible.
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NVA establish COIN control in Laos and Cambodia.
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VC get as many insurgents on the map as possible.
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US increase support.
Mostly, this round (this game, really) is focused on learning the mechanics of the COIN system, that is, how the rules and cards work. Strategy and tactics will come after I have the rules mastered.
Events
Play each card as it comes, with text on card superceding rules.
1. Sihanouk (75)
ARVN eligible. This card allows free Sweep into Cambodia, but ARVN doesn't need to operate in Cambodia at the moment. ARVN chooses to do Train Operation + Govern Special Activity:
- 2 troops and 2 police in Saigon
- 2 troop and 2 police in Kien Phong, which switches that to COIN control.
Cost 6 resources.
Govern in Cam Ranh: AID + 3, from 15 to 18. Later the ARVN will extract Patronage from AID for victory points. Right now, it seems better to build AID.
Since ARVN played the Event, NVA is next eligible for either Event or Limited Operation. NVA choose the Event, which is a free Rally and March for the VC first, then for the NVA.
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VC add 1 to Kien Giang and Kien Phong, 2 into Bin Tuy, Quang Duc, Pleiku, 3 into Quang Tri and Quang Tin. This puts 28 VC on the board. This is important because the VC don't have many resources, and have to leverage anything they can. I can put 2 more in Bin Dinh. Actually, Tay Ninh is better than Quang Duc. March 2 from Quang Tri and 2 from Quang Tin into Quang Nam, which should remove the COIN marker.
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NVA place 2 guerillas in Parrot's Beak, Southern Laos, Central Laos and N. Vietnam, according to Trail 1 with NVA base in each of those regions. With Trail 1, the March redistributes NVA such that NE Cambodia and The Fishhook can be populated with 3 NVA guerillas each. Also, NVA spends 1 to advance Trail to 2.
And that's it for the first card. Only took several hours over the course of a couple of days to figure it out.
2 Medevac (15)
US eligible. Will play the Event, and hold the (MOMENTUM) card in the Casualties box with the Medevac "Casualties to Available" marker placed on it.
VC have:
- Terror Operation: Pleiku, shift 1 towards opposition, place Terror marker. Resources now 4.
- Subvert Special Activity: Remove 1 Troop and 1 Police from Kien Phong, which loses COIN control.
And on to Nam Dong.
3 Nam Dong (48)
The NVA are up first and will do an Op-only to deny ARVN the Event and restrict them to a Limited Operation. Operation is March from Parrot's Beak to Kien Phong with 5 guerillas, which become active, and remove COIN control. Resources to 8.
ARVN Trains in Kien Phong, brings in 2 Ranger.
Uncle Ho is up next.
4 Uncle Ho (50)
Since the following card is a Coup, this card is under Monsoon restrictions (2.3.9), hence no Sweep, March or Pivotal Events, and Air Lifts are restricted to 2 regions.
ARVN is first eligible, and will play the Event for +9 resources and 2 free Limited Operations. The Resource cylinder is advanced to 30.
- Limited Op: Train Op in Pleiku, resources to 27, COIN control, remove Terror for resources to 24, shift opposition +1 resources to 21, put down a base, resources to 18.
- Limited Op: Train in Kien Phong, place 3 Troops, 3 Police, resources to 15.
US is next eligible:
- Train Operation in Da Nang, place 2 ARVN Police pacify +1, ARVN Resources at 9.
- Airstrike Special Activity, remove 5 Active NVA guerillas from Kien Phong, Opposition is already at x2, degrade Trail to 1.
Now to do the Coup operations.
5 Coup! Nguyen Van Thieu (128)
This first Coup card came up a little faster than I expected.
- Victory Levels:
- US: 23 Available + 15 Support = 38 < 50.
- NVA: 4 Bases + 0 Control = 4 < 18.
- ARVN: 20 Control + 15 Patronage = 35 < 50.
- VC: 7 Bases + 20 Opposition = 27 < 35.
So no winner yet.
- Resources:
- Sabotage: From the Playbook, p. 10, describing the Coup Round Resources segment: "No Insurgents occupy any Locs, and there is COIN control in all Cities on the map, so there will be no Sabotage (6.2.1) this round."
- No Trail degradation as there are no Laos or Cambodia spaces under COIN control.
- ARVN Earnings: Add +18 Aid to ARVN Resources for 27. Add Econ value for 42.
- Insurgent Earnings: +7 for VC Bases to 11, NVA gets 3 for Bases in Cambodia and Laos, and 2 for twice the value of the Trail (which is 1), making 13 NVA Resources.
- No Casualties, so nothing to do there.
- Support Phase: US, ARVN and VC may spend resources to influence
Support and Opposition (1.6).
- Pacification: This is going to be a US-centric move, really doesn't seem
to benefit ARVN that much as it spends ARVN resources without netting
any direct benefit to ARVN that I can see.
- Da Nang +1
- Saigon +1
- ARVN Kien Phong +2 bringing it to Neutral.
This totals 12 ARVN Resources spent.
- Agitation: VC spend Resources, 1 per Terror marker or Level of Opposition, in spaces without COIN control, with VC insurgents, up to 4 spaces. These will be 1 level of Opposition each in Quang Tri, Quang Nam, Binh Dinh, Khanh Hoa, reducing VC Resources from 11 to 7.
- Pacification: This is going to be a US-centric move, really doesn't seem
to benefit ARVN that much as it spends ARVN resources without netting
any direct benefit to ARVN that I can see.
- Redeploy Phase:
- No US or ARVN in Cambodia.
- 4 ARVN Troops from Kien Phong to Saigon.
- Various ARVN Police to Provinces and LoCs.
- No NVA Troops on the map yet.
- No COIN control adjustments needed.
- Commitment Phase: Nothing in Casualties.
- Add 4 US to Binh Dinh, COIN control.
- Add 3 US to Quang Tri, COIN control.
Support + Available now 32, COIN + Patronage now 39.
- Reset Phase
That's it for the the first round.
Round 2
Briefly discuss the strategy each of the 4 factions will pursue this round.
As in Round 1, I'm still learning the mechanics of the game, overall strategies are still pretty murky. Here's a stab:
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ARVN: Figure out how LoCs work, and master the mechanics for those.
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NVA: Get the Trail bumped to 4, and see about getting more Bases on the map.
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US: Increase Support and remove some Troops.
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VC: Get the remaining bases on the map.
On with Round 2.
Events
Play each card as it comes, with text on card superceding rules.
6 Fact Finding (63)
ARVN is up first, chooses the Event, and moves 2 US from Out-of-Play to Khanh Hoa which established COIN control. Aid at 24.
US:
- Sweep Operation: See Playbook p. 5, col. 1, last paragraph for Sweep example. US will Sweep Quang Tri to uncover 3 VC, Pleiku uncovering 2 VC, Binh Dinh uncovering 4 VC, and Kanh Hoa uncovering 2 VC.
- Air Strike Special Activity: Khanh Hoa, opposition now 1, and Quang Tri moving to opposition 2.
We're done with this card.
7 Korean War Arms (118)
VC is first eligible, will play the Event and place Insurgents in Quang Nam, Binh Dinh and Tay Ninh. This protects the VC base in Binh Dinh as the emplaced VC will need to be Active before the base can be destroyed.
NVA is second eligible, needs to get loads of Troops on the board:
- Rally Operation:
- 1 guerilla into Parrot's Beak
- 1 into Tay Ninh
- Replace 2 with Base in Fishhook
- Replace 2 with Base in NE Cambodia
- Increase Trail by 1
NVA resources now 7.
- Infiltrate Special Activity:
- The Fishhook: 3 Troops for Base + Trail, replace 1 guerilla.
- Parrot's Beak: 3 Troops for Base + Trail, replace 1 guerilla.
NVA is finally getting on the map. Game is ~10% done, probably a bit more as the final coup card probably won't be at the very end.
8 Colonel Chau (112)
VC is first eligible:
- Rally Operation: Place bases in Pleiku, Tay Ninh and Quang Nam, resources to 4.
- Special Activity: Replace 1 ARVN with Insurgent in Quang Nam and Kien Phong. This reduces Patronage to 14.
ARVN is second eligible, will take the Limited Op, partly because there are no more Police units available. Hence, Sweep from Saigon into Tay Ninh, activate all 5 guerillas with 5 ARVN Troops.
ARVN resources 27.
On to Lurp.
9 LRRP (26)
US is first eligible, assault in Binh Dinh, remove 2 VC for 4 US Troop cubes (Highlands).
NVA second eligible, Limited Op, 3 guerrillas to Parrot's Beak, upgrade Trail to 3.
10 Tribemen (29)
US is first eligible, plays the event and removes 2 VC each from Pleiku and Binh Dinh.
VC is second eligible:
- Terror Operation in Quang Nam and Kien Phong.
- Subvert in Kien Phong, replace 1 Police which removes COIN control, not sure the effect on Patronage with only 1 ARVN removed. It says "round down," which I think is -0 to Patronage, would be nice to know for sure.
11 Senator Fulbright (93)
NVA is first eligible, plays the Event to remove 1 Available US Base to Out-of-Play, Aid -9.
ARVN is second eligible:
- ARVN Assaults in Tay Ninh, 6 Troops remove 3 guerrillas. Resources 24.
- Raid into Tay Ninh with Ranger from Kien Phong, last 2 VC removed, 2 VC bases and 1 tunnel still in Tay Ninh.
12 Ambassador Taylor (66)
ARVN first eligible, play event to move 2 US bases from Out-of-Play to Quang Tri and Binh Dinh. Aid to 24, Resources to 33.
US is second eligible:
- Assault in Binh Dinh, removing VC and base; Assault in Pleiku remove last VC Base.
- Airlift 2 Troops and 1 Irregular into Khanh Hoa.
13 No Contact (110)
VC first eligible:
- Rally: 3 into Quang Tin, 4 into Tay Ninh, Base into Kien Phong.
- Tax: Kien Gong for 2, Quang Tin for 2.
NVA take Limited Op, place guerrillas into The Fishhook.
This is the end of the 1964 deck, 1965 is next up. Also, the risk of Coup card increases every card pulled now.
14 Honolulu Conference (64)
ARVN is first eligible, plays the event, +10 Aid to 34, +3 Patronage to 17. ARVN feels no need to spend resources on Support.
US is second eligible:
- Train Operation in Qunag Tri place 2 Police, in Binh Dinh place 2 Police, in Pleiku place 1 Police. ARVN resource -9 to 24. Pacify in Binh Dinh to Passive Support.
- Advise in Kien Phong, activate Ranger to remove 2 VC guerrillas.
15 Aces (6)
NVA plays the event, moving the Trail to 4 and putting 2 US from Quang Tri into Casualties.
VC is second up:
- Rally Operation, 4 guerrilla into Tay Ninh, remove COIN control. Base into Quang Tin, 2 into Quang Duc, 2 into Bin Tuy. Resources back to 2.
- Subvert in Tay Ninh, Patronage -1 to 16.
VC and NVA to Ineligible.
16 Tam Chau (89)
ARVN is first up, will do Operation only, to restrict US to Limited Op. Operation is Train in Kien Phong, which renders that COIN control.
US Limited Op: no ARVN placement, spend 6 to pacify in Quang Tri.
US and ARVN to ineligible, VC and NVA to eligible.
17 Masher/White Wing (99)
VC is up first, will play Event:
- 2 march Tay Ninh to Kien Phong, activate 1 remove Ranger.
- 1 march Quang Tin to Quang Nam, remove Ranger.
- 2 march Bin Tuy to Route 20, remove Police.
NVA should be able to make a big move now:
- Rally: place 1 guerilla into Tay Ninh, 3 into Parrot's Beak.
- Infiltrate: The Fishhook and Parrot's Beak.
A lot of NVA on the map now, in Cambodia and Laos. They need resources to march.
18 Ia Drang (44)
US up first:
- Training Operation: Place two Rangers in Quang Tri, pacify 2 levels, spend 9 resources for ARVN which are now 12.
- Advise: Ranger removes two VC from Tay Ninh. Aid to 40.
ARVN gets a Limited Operation: Sweep to activate VC in Tay Ninh and Quang Tin.
19 Long Tan (98)
VC pass, Resources to 3.
NVA March 10 Troops and 2 guerrillas into Tay Ninh, which flips it to NVA control, Resources to 1. Then Infiltrate Tay Ninh, Opposition moves to Passive, replace 1 VC with Guerrilla, add 5 Troops to Parrot's Beak.
20 Chu Luc (47)
ARVN plays the event, which allows up to doubling the number of Troops in a space with a free assault on NVA. Since there are none available, they get pulled in from other parts. Tay Ninh is critical as it borders Saigon. The assault lets me remove 5 NVA Troops, which isn't enough to reestablish COIN control.
VC get Operation and Special Activity:
- Operation Rally 3 VC into Kien Phong, Resources now 2.
- Special Activity: Ambush Kien Phong, 1 ARVN Troop removed.
21 Sappers (53)
NVA plays the event, moving the US base in Pleiku to casualties, and the ARVN base in Pleiku back to Available. That's a bad blow for the Allies.
US:
- Operation: Patrol Route 20, clear the VC there.
- Special Activity: Airlift Troops back to Pleiku.
That's the end of Round 2.
22 Coup! Young Turks (126)
- Victory Levels:
- US: 14 Troops + 1 Base + 24 Support = 39.
- NVA: 6 Bases + 2 NVA control = 8.
- ARVN: 16 Patronage + 24 COIN = 40.
- VC: 8 Bases + 15 Opposition = 23.
- Resources:
- Sabotage: From the Playbook, p. 10, describing the Coup Round Resources segment: "No Insurgents occupy any Locs, and there is COIN control in all Cities on the map, so there will be no Sabotage (6.2.1) this round."
- No Trail degradation as there are no Laos or Cambodia spaces under COIN control.
- ARVN Earnings: Add 40 (Aid) + 15 (Econ) ARVN Resources for 61.
- Insurgent Earnings: +8 for VC Bases to 10, NVA gets 6 for Bases in Cambodia and Laos, and 2 for twice the value of the Trail (which is 4), making 15 NVA Resources.
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3 Casualties, Aid decreases to 31.
- Support Phase:
US, ARVN and VC may spend resources to influence Support and Opposition (1.6).
- Pacification: This is going to be a US-centric move, really doesn't seem
to benefit ARVN that much as it spends ARVN resources without netting
any direct benefit to ARVN that I can see.
- Binh Dinh +1
- Khanh Hoa +2
- An Loc +1
- Kien Hoa +1
This totals 15 ARVN Resources spent.
- Agitation: VC spend Resources, 1 per Terror marker or Level of
Opposition, in spaces without COIN control, with VC insurgents, up to
4 spaces.
- Tay Ninh +1
- Kien Giang +1
VC resources now 8.
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Redeploy Phase:
ARVN and NVA redeployed. This leaves Tay Ninh in the hands of the NVA and VC.
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Commitment Phase:
US base goes to casualties, 2 US Troops going to Saigon.
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- Reset Phase
Round 3
23 ADSID (7)
US is first up, will play the event, which will cost the NVA huge for improving the Trail. This is a MOMENTUM card, and really sucks for the NVA.
NVA will:
- Rally in Central Laos, paying 1 to replace 2 guerrillas with a base, and Rally in N. Vietnam placing a guerrilla. Then infiltrate in both, placing 6 Troops in Central Laos (removing guerrilla) and 5 Troops in N. Vietnam (replacing 1 guerilla).
24 General Lansdale (78)
The counter-event on this card means ARVN needs to either 1. play it or 2. Choose Operations only. The Event is kind of sharp stick in the eye for the VC, so ARVN will take +1 Patronage to 17 and shift Tay Ninh to Active Support w/Terror.
VC:
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Operation: Place a base into Kien Phong.
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Special Activity: Tax in Kien Giang for +2, Binh Tuy for +1 and Quang Duc for +1, 4 total, resources now 11.
25 Nguyen Huu Tho (109)
NVA:
- March into Quang Tri from Central Laos and N. Vietnam with 10 Troops and 2 guerrillas. Goes to COIN control.
- Bombard in Quang Tri, 1 US to casualties; bombard in Saigon from Tay Ninh, 1 ARVN Troop removed.
US passes to be first up to acquire Arc Light Capability card. ARVN +3 resources to 49.
26 Arc Light (8)
US is first eligible since passed on the last card.
VC:
- Operation: Rally into Quang Tin with 4 and Kien Phong with 4, resources now 9.
- Don't want to Tax this time, and nothing to Subvert.
27 CIDG (81)
ARVN needs to limit NVA's next move, which would be really bad if ARVN played the Event allowing NVA full operations and special activities:
- Operation: Train in Kien Giang, place 2 Troops and 1 Police for COIN control. Pacify to Passive Support to prevent VC Rally.
NVA has to do Limited Operation, March on Hue to acquire COIN control.
28 Draft Dodgers (108)
VC is first eligible.
- March Operation, on to the LoCs for 0 resources! VC to Route 1, 13-14, 20, 14 (N) and 4. This removes 5 Police from these LoCs total.
- Ambush Police in Kien Hoa which loses COIN control, in Quang Nam to remove a Ranger, and Tay Ninh to remove another Ranger..
US is second eligible and plays the Draft Dodgers Event card, moving 3 US Troops from Out-of-play to Available.
29 MACV (69)
ARVN is first eligible, will play the MACV Event card for executing any 1 free Special Activity.
- ARVN moves troops into Kien Hoa, resume COIN control.
- US Arc Light into Tay Ninh remove 5 NVA and flip to passive support, remove NVA control and degrade Trail to 2. Arc Light Bin Duc, remove one VC flip to active opposition.
ARVN remains eligible.
NVA:
- March operations:
- 4 Troop 2 guerrillas from Parrot's Beak into Kien Giang, NVA control and flip guerillas to Active.
- 2 Troops from Parrot's Beak to Tay Ninh, back to NVA control.
- 5 Troops The Fishhook to An Loc, NVA control.
- 4 Troops from The Fishhook to Quang Duc, NVA control.
NVA resources to 8.
30 Operation Starlite (24)
US plays Operation Starlite, removes all VC from Quang Tin, which, coincidentally, is what happened.
VC:
Rally operations: * Binh Tuy, place a base. * Place 4 into Tay Ninh, remove NVA control.
Resources 7.
Special Activity, Subvert: * Kien Giang, remove 2 ARVN
NVA becomes eligible, US and VC ineligible.
31 Search and Destroy (28)
This is a US capability card, with ARVN first NVA second eligible. I don't think the ARVN can play this for the US, but the reverse of the card affects ARVN badly.
According to the rules, it looks like any Faction is allowed to execute the either the shaded or unshaded Event on any card, provided the Faction is eligible to execute an Event. This means COIN can execute the shaded events, and the Communists can execute the unshaded events, if they so choose to do. At issue here is ARVN playing the Search and Destroy US Capability, which seems to be allowed. This is too useful to both COIN factions to allow it to either slip away or have it reversed by the upcoming NVA eligibility.
NVA:
- Rally Operation:
- Kien Giang, place a base.
- Quang Tri, place a base.
- 4 guerillas into Central Laos.
- 3 guerrillas into the Fishhook.
Resources 4.
- Special Activity:
- 3 Troops to Parrot's Beak.
- 3 Troops to Fishhook and replace 3 guerrillas for 6 Troops total.
32 Oriskany (39)
US is first eligible. The event is tempting as it would put the NVA out of play for the rest of this round. However, there is too much NVA control on the map, and they're in a position to win it if something isn't done about that. The risk of a Coup card is growing rapidly.
- Train Operation:
- Quang Tri, 3 police, COIN control.
- Da Nang, 1 Troop 1 Police. Shift Da Nang +1 Support.
- Khanh Hoa, 1 Troop, 2 Police. Shift Khanh Hoa +1 Support.
- Pleiku, 2 Rangers. Shift Pleiku +2 Support.
This cost ARVN 24 Resource points, down to 16. US can't spend more than 1 more before dropping below Econ at 15.
- Special Activity:
- Airstrike using Arc Light remove all guerillas and both bases from Central Laos. Degrade Trail by 1.
VC plays the counter event, removing 1 US Troop from Available to Out of play, and no more Trail degradation.
33 McNamara Line (38)
NVA first eligible, must play Op Only to keep the Event out of ARVN's grasp. This is fine as NVA is running low on resources and the Trail is seriously degraded.
Operation Only: replace 2 guerrillas in Southern Laos with base.
ARVN is second eligible, allowed a Limited Operation, Patrol on Routes 1, 4 and 20 with Police units. VC on Route 20 removed.
34 Da Nang (22)
US is first eligible, and will play the Event to remove 3 US Troops from out of play to place in Da Nang.
VC:
- Terror Operations in Quang Duc, Kien Phong and Kien Giang. VC resources now 4.
- Special Activity: Subvert in Kien Giang, replace ARVN for VC.
We're getting close to the Coup card, and 1968 cards will follow that.
35 Operation Attleboro (23)
NVA is first eligible, plays the event from Tay Ninh, roll 4, and 4 US Troops from Saigon head to the casualty box. Bummer for US, one of these will end up in Out of Play.
ARVN:
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Patrol Operations on various routes, will take the Assault on Route 4 which is Econ 2.
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Govern Special Activity, this could be close to a game winner for ARVN:
- Quang Tri 2 Aid to Patronage, Support -1.
- Saigon 6 Aid to Patronage, Support -1.
- +2 Patronage for Young Turks in play.
Aid at 23, Patronage at 24.
Now, on to the Coup card and let's see who's closest to victory.
36 Coup! Failed Attempt
1 in 3 ARVN removed from the board. This sucks for Saigon, as the NVA demolished the US there a couple of cards ago. Saigon is highly vulnerable.
Victory Phase
- US: 17 Available + 26 Support = 43. ARVN really hurt the US on this one, the US would have had victory conditions this round.
- ARVN: Patronage 24 + 19 COIN = 43. Tied with US.
- NVA: 8 Bases + 6 NVA control = 14.
- VC: 8 Bases + 12 Opposition = 20. VC has a long way to go, needs 36.
Resources Phase
- Sabotage: Route 1 north and south of Hue.
- Degrade Trail: nothing, no COIN control in Laos or Cambodia.
- ARVN Resources: 10 left over + 23 Aid + 13 Econ = 46.
- VC Resources: 4 existing + 8 Base = 12.
- NVA Resources: 4 existing + 5 bases in Laos and Cambodia + 2 for Trail = 11.
- Subtract 15 from Aid due to casualties.
Support Phase
- US pacifies in Quang Tri, Active Support. ARVN doesn't see the need to spend the resources.
- VC sees no need to agitate, too expensive to remove Terror marker which is going to come off automatically.
Redeploy Phase
- ARVN redeploys a bunch of Troops back into Saigon, gets out of An Loc (to Saigon) and evacuates Hue to the US base in Quang Tri.
- NVA redeploy to get NVA control in Quang Tri and Tay Ninh.
Commitment Phase
US will bring in 5 Troops (Saigon 3, Quang Tri 2) and another base (Da Nang) for this round. VP still 43.
Reset Phase
Round 4
We're most likely about half done with the game, being 36 of 78 cards into play. The final coup card has ~50% chance of being in the last 6 cards, so we'll for sure be half done at Event 39.
37 Plei Mei (59)
NVA is first eligible.
The event on this card doesn't have any benefit for NVA, nor does it really hurt NVA if it gets played against it. NVA chooses:
- Operation: Pay 2 to Rally for increasing Trail, no placement this turn.
- Special Activity: Infiltrate Tay Ninh replacing 1 VC, then 2 Troops to Kien Giang.
Not that impressed with NVA this turn, they need some Trail to really get going. Next turn need to get some guerrillas into Central Laos to be able to place a base.
VC is second eligible.
-
Rally into Quang Duc and Binh Tuy, which gets all the VC on the map, minus 1 base. Quang Duc loses COIN control.
-
Tax in Tay Ninh, which moves that to Active Support from Passive Support. And the VC now have a new weapon: tax the crap out of areas which are already Active Support, doesn't cost anything.
Next up is…
38 559th Transport Grp (46)
ARVN plays the Event, which reduces Trail to 0, which effectively knocks the NVA out of this round.
US makes a big play with ARVN resources, doing a Train operation and placing:
- 3 ARVN Police into Cam Ranh, pacify 1 step to Active Support.
- 2 Irregulars into Binh Dinh.
- 1 Irregular, 2 Troops, 2 Police into Khanh Hoa.
Airstrike into Quang Tri for Special Activity. 6 NVA troops removed.
39 TF-116 Riverine (25)
VC is first eligible, will play the VC river fortifications. That's a pain in ARVN's butt.
NVA don't have a lot of resources, and no Trail, so their sort of screwed this round. Given they can only infiltrate in 1 space until next Coup, need to think about what that space should be.
Rally:
- Guerrilla in Central Laos.
- Two geurrillas in Southern Laos.
Special Activity Infiltrate Tay Ninh, replace VC.
40 Tunnel Rats (94)
We're now into 1968, so we could see a coup card now.
US is first eligible:
- Sweep:
- 4 Troops 1 Irregular into Bin Tuy.
- 2 Troops 1 Irregular into Quang Tin.
This puts both these Provinces under COIN control.
- Airstrike into Bin Tuy, remove 5 VC including 2 bases, Arclight into Central Laos removing guerrilla. Degrade Trail to 0, again.
ARVN needs to worry about Econ now, hence will take the Patrol Limited Operation as the Event is useless. VC Activated on Route 20, Assault with 2 ARVN to eliminate.
41 SEALORDS (92)
Not a good event for the VC, having much reduced forces in Tay Ninh. The calculus now is whether it's a good event for the VC to pass on to the NVA, and I think it is. Hence the VC will take Operation + Activity.
Rally in:
- Kien Giang, place a base.
- Tay Ninh place 4.
- Qunag Duc place 2.
Special Activity is Tax in Tay Ninh.
NVA play event, place 3 from Tay Ninh into Cambodia, now NVA control.
42 Bob Hope (91)
ARVN is first eligible, will do Operation and Activity.
Patrol: Move Police along several routes, clear VC from Route 1 out of Saigon. Then raid into Quang Duc from Pleiku to remove to VC, and raid into Quang Nam from Quang Tri.
US is second eligible, and will pass to acquire the upcoming event as first eligible. 3 resources to ARVN.
43 Psychedelic Cookie (9)
US plays the Psychedelic Cookie event, takes 3 from Out of play to use Saigon.
NVA is second eligible, passes to acquire resources and play the event coming up on Peace Talks.
44 Peace Talks (3)
NVA is eligible and will play Peace Talks to acquire 9 resources and bump trail to 3.
ARVN Trains:
- Base into Cam Ranh.
- 3 Troops into Kien Hoa.
Govern in Kien Hoa for +2 Patronage +2 more for Young Turks. ARVN looks to win this coup round.
45 Coup! Failed Attempt (129)
Dang. This was fast. NVA was going to make a big operation next eligibility, but at least the 559th Momentum card goes away.
Victory
- ARVN 49.
- US 41.
- NVA 17.
- VC 17.
Resources
- ARVN 44.
- NVA 23.
- VC 17.
Pacification and Agitation
US cannot Pacify as there are no ARVN Police in the relevant spaces.
The VC Agitate in Tay Ninh and Kien Giang.
Redeploy
ARVN moves the Troops, leaves Police where they are.
NVA moves two Troops to The Fishhook.
Commitment
US moves two back to Available.
Round 5
Not quite 2/3 done as that last Coup card appeared a bit early.
46 Long Range Guns (32)
NVA plays the Event to get 3 free Bombards on US Troops:
- Quang Duc to Binh Tuy
- Tay Ninh to Saigon
- The Fishhook to Pleiku
US Train:
From 1.4.1, Bullet 2, Players while executing an Operation, Special Activity or Event to place their own forces may take them from elsewhere on the map (including a Tunneled Base, losing the Tunnel marker, 1.4.4) if and only if the desired force type is not Available. EXCEPTION: The US player may do so only with US-le Irregulars and any ARVN forces, not with US Troops nor with US Bases.
Moving ARVN police units accordingly…
- Binh Tuy, pacify 2 levels to Neutral.
- Quang Tin, pacify 1 level to Active Support.
- Saigon, pacify 1 level to Active Support.
ARVN resources to 32.
This puts US in a winning position, so the other factions need to get busy.
Advise Special Activity:
- Activate Rangers in Quang Nam and Quang Duc to remove 4 VC total.
- +6 to Aid.
Not a bad turn at all for US, despite losing 3 to casualties.
47 Ruff Puff (113)
VC is first eligible and will take the Event to place 5 VC for Police outside cities.
- 3 guerrillas in Quang Tri.
- 1 guerrilla in Ba Xuyen.
- 1 base in Quang Tin.
ARVN is second eligible Sweeps:
- Quang Nam move 1 Troop from Hue to get COIN control.
- Kien Hoa move 1 Troop from Saigon to get COIN control.
Govern in Kien Hoa, +2 Population, +2 Young Turks to Patronage, Support to Neutral.
48 Russian Arms (49)
NVA is first eligible and will play the Russian Arms event, from the Event description in the Playbook, the number Placed must be exactly doubled. With 6 NVA Available, it may not be possible to place them all.
- Quang Tri place 3 and Bombard in place for 1 US to Casualties.
- Ba Xuyen place 2 and Bombard Can Tho sending 1 ARVN Troop to Available.
US passes to acquire the CORDS capability next turn.
49 CORDS (19)
US acquires CORD capability.
ARVN is up next, and this would actually be a pretty good time to play the Vietnamization Pivotal Event. I'm going to play this as having the ARVN player not paying attention, hence losing the ability to play the Pivotal Event as the US player just played the Event.
ARVN Trains in Saigon, bringing in 6 Police and 1 Troop. This is to free up Troops for the Transport Special Activity, which moves Troops along routes to set up for assaulting in a future turn.
We're past half-done, getting close to the 2/3s mark, still 2 more Coup cards lurking.
50 International Unrest (57)
NVA plays the event, 2 US casualties to out of play.
VC Rally, Place 4:
- Quang Duc for 2.
- Bin Tuy for 1.
- Kien Hoa for 1.
- Kien Giang for 2
VC now all on the map, Resources 11.
Subvert in Kien Hoa, replace ARVN Troop with VC from Mekong LoC; replace Ranger in Quang Duc with VC drawn from Tay Ninh. ARVN Patronage -1 to 31.
51 Kent State (103)
US is first eligible, will play the event as the NVA event coming up is really bad for US.
Except that ARVN decides to play the Vietnamization Pivatol Event, since there are only 18 US Troops on the map. This would have been better if ARVN could cancel an NVA or VC eligibility, but needs must. This could be trumped by Tet, but my mindset isn't there yet.
4 ARVN Troops placed in Kien Hoa.
52 MiGs (33)
NVA will Rally this turn, spend some of those resources:
- 4 guerrillas into NVN.
- 5 Guerrillas into Southern Laos.
Bombard Quang Tri and Binh Dinh, 2 US to casualties.
VC is second available and chooses Terror in 4 spaces. Resources down to 7.
53 Top Gun (4)
US is first eligible, needs to do whatever it can to build support, thus Train:
- Quang Tri, place 6 ARVN Troops.
- Binh Dinh, has an irregular in place, will pacify 2 levels to Active Support.
Air strike Quang Tri and The Fishhook. This was necessary, even though the US desperately needs to Airlift some pieces around the board to Train and Pacify.
ARVN takes the LimOp, Train into Kien Hoa.
54 Kissinger (2)
NVA is first eligible, takes the event, US moves two Troops from Da Nang to Out of play.
VC Rallies in Quang Duc, puts in a base, 2 Guerrillas into Kien Giang.
Subvert in Kien Hoa and Quang Tri.
55 Light at the End of the Tunnel (80)
ARVN Trains in Saigon, puts down 4 Troops, 2 Rangers.
Govern in Kien Hoa and Quang Tri, Patronage to 33 + 2 for Young Turks is 35, which is ARVN's game if we get a Coup card pretty soon.
US has to deal with this, LimOp in Quang Tri to Train, spend 9 to remove Terror Marker and move to Active Support.
56 Phoenix Program (27)
And a Coup card just appeared…
VC plays the Event, Terror markers to Kien Hoa and Tay Ninh, both are now Active Opposition.
NVA needs to make a big move, but can't march. Rally for Base into Northeast Cambodia, then place 2 guerrillas into The Fishhook. Infiltrate into Tay Ninh and Kien Giang.
57 Coup! Nguyen Khanh (125)
Victory
ARVN 55. NVA 17. VC 27. US 50.
And as predicted, the game goes to ARVN.
Here's the situation at the end:
The NVA, sadly, took too many of the events and should have spent more of those resources marching. It would have happened early in the last round.
AAR
There is a lot to think about here.
I looked through the remaining cards, and the 6th Coup card was just three cards away! That could have been ugly, as it would have left 17 cards in the deck!
Blunders
I think I've been playing the Eligibility wrong, by moving all the pieces back to Eligible after the last Faction on the card has played. This results in Factions sometimes going twice in a row. That might ok if that's how the rules are written, but I need to check and make sure. I'm right, I've been playing it wrong. Fortunately, it looks like only one place where it mattered: ARVN got to go twice on two cards.
I haven't been playing the leader cards correctly up until Event 44. The Duong Van Minh card has a lasting effect, which I didn't play, and the Failed Attempt cards get placed under the current leader, such that any current lasting effect remains in play. Hence, ARVN should still be accumulating Patronage through Round 4.
US Pacify during Coup Events requires 1. COIN control, 2. US Troops, and 3. ARVN Police. This last point, the ARVN Police, I did not know realize before, so I have several spaces, include Saigon, where the US has Troops but there are no Police. Hence, no pacification, ARVN retains way too many resources, and the US doesn't get the Support it needs.
US Pacify during Train Operations can only be done 1 Space per Operation, but up until Event 49, which introduced the CORDS US Capability, I've been playing that the US can pacifiy as much as they want during an Operation.
Questions
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US Sweep Operations. Is there any limit to how many Sweep Operations the US Faction may conduct during an eligibility? The rules seem to imply there is none (3.2.3), with the ARVN being able to sweep as many Provinces or Cities as they have Resources to pay for the operations.
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For VC Subvert Special Activity, I t says "round down," which I think is -0 to Patronage, would be nice to know for sure.
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Can ARVN put the Search and Destroy US capability into effect? I don't think so, but the reverse of the card affects ARVN as well as US, which induces some doubt in my mind.