Vietnam 1965-1975; 12 - Silver Bayonet

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My usual Vietnam opponent stopped by for more Vietnam 1965-1975, Silver Bayonet. We've played the eponymous GMT game, it's very, very good. In this game, a handful of regimental scale counters replace dozens of company scale counters.

I played the FWA against his NLF. Historically, the US "went first" so that's how this game starts.

For my first operation, I took one of the brigades deployed in second configuration all the way to where the NVA were set up, roughly corresponding to Chu Pong. A series of combat rounds eliminated an NVA regiment, but also seriously mauled me.

On the next operation, the VC decided to attack Pleiku head on, and got whupped, losing all replacements and two battalions.

Then a US/ARVN team went after the remaining VC battalion, eliminating it as well.

That concluded the turn.

On the second turn, the NVA decided to go head on into some massive firepower and lost a second regiment, giving the win to the US.

All in all, a pretty good game. We made a bunch of mistakes, but will address those in a future play.

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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.