Vietnam Solitaire 15

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Another "turn per day" game.

The last game was an almost sure win, lost by an overly risky play for a big payoff. It would have been at least a draw had I let it play out.

For this next game, I don't anticipate getting nearly as lucky with the rolls. Let's see if I can get a better score regardless.

Turn 1

A. Roll for Trail Counters:

  • Roll 1, no placement!
  • Roll 2, No placement!

Amazing!

B. Attack Trail areas:

  • B52 Hanoi, roll 5, miss.
  • B52 Haiphong, roll 2 hit.

C. Raise/Move US/ARVN Forces:

  • Air Cav in Cu Chi 3-4.
  • Air Cav in Mekong 5.
  • ARVN in Mekong 5.
  • ARVN in Hue 3-4.
  • ARVN in Highlands 6.
  • ARVN x2 in Saigon 6.

D. US/ARVN Combat:

  • None, too risky to use napalm at 13 PP.

E. Place NVA/VC Units:

  • VC roll 6, no placement.
  • NVA Hanoi, roll 1, Hue 1.

F. Insurgency Combat:

  • None.

G. NVA/VC Offensive:

  • Roll 5, VC and ARVN fight in Mekong 3-4, result ARVN prevails and Meekong is clear.

H. AirCav Redeployment:

  • None.

I. Scoring, Victory Check and Events Roll:

PP: 11. Event, roll 5, no US ground units next turn.

Turn 2

A. Roll for Trail Counters:

  • Laos 3
  • Cambodia 6

B. Attack Trail areas:

  • B52 Laos 3, roll 3 success.
  • B52 Cambodia 6, roll 3 success (different die fyi)

C. Raise/Move US/ARVN Forces:

  • Move ARVN to Saigon 1-2.

D. US/ARVN Combat:

  • Napalm Hue 1-2, roll 3 remove VC.
  • Napalm Highlands 1-2, roll 3 again, dang. Success and PP 8.
  • Saigon 1-2, ARVN previal.

E. Place NVA/VC Units:

  • VC: region 4 Saigon, area 1-2.
  • NVA: Hue 5.

F. Insurgency Combat:

  • Saigon 1-2, VC eliminated.

G. NVA/VC Offensive:

  • Roll 5, Mekong, no forces there.

H. AirCav Redeployment:

  • None.

I. Scoring, Victory Check and Events Roll:

  • PP: 5.
  • Event: roll 4 - 2 no B52 next turn.

Turn 3

A. Roll for Trail Counters:

  • Laos 3
  • Cambodia 5

B. Attack Trail areas:

  • GB Laos roll 5 bust.

C. Raise/Move US/ARVN Forces:

  • US Highlands 6
  • US Hue 3-4
  • US Highlands 6

D. US/ARVN Combat:

  • Napalm Hue 1-2, roll 5, 6 both fail, bummer!

E. Place NVA/VC Units:

  • VC, roll Cu Chi ares 1-2.
  • NVA Hue 6
  • NVA Highlands 6
  • NVA Saigon 3-4

F. Insurgency Combat:

  • Highlands 6, lose 1 ARVN, 1 NVA.

G. NVA/VC Offensive:

  • Cu Chi, VC attack in area 3-4, lose 2 VC, lose 1 ARVN.

H. AirCav Redeployment:

None.

I. Scoring, Victory Check and Events Roll:

PP: 11. Event: 6 + 1 Remove 1 US unit, take it from Highlands 6.

Still in the game.

Turn 4

A. Roll for Trail Counters:

  • Haiphong 1.
  • Laos 3, which is a duplicate.

B. Attack Trail areas:

  • B52 Haiphong, roll 1 success.
  • B52 Hanoi, roll 4, success.

C. Raise/Move US/ARVN Forces:

  • ARVN in Cu Chi 3.
  • ARVN in Saigon 5.

D. US/ARVN Combat:

  • Naplam Hue 1-2, roll 4, success.
  • Napalm Hue 1-2, roll 4, success.

E. Place NVA/VC Units:

  • VC: roll Mekong 5, area 1.
  • NVA Highlands area 1-2.
  • NVA Saigon 1-2.

F. Insurgency Combat:

None.

G. NVA/VC Offensive:

Roll 5, Mekong, VC advance to Mekong 3-4, result ARVN eliminated.

H. AirCav Redeployment:

None.

I. Scoring, Victory Check and Events Roll:

PP: 12. Event: roll 6 + 2, remove US from Highlands 6.

Turn 5

A. Roll for Trail Counters:

Roll 3 & 5 which already have Trail counters, lucky.

B. Attack Trail areas:

  • B52 Laos 3, roll 5 miss.
  • B52 Cambodia 5 roll 2 hit.

C. Raise/Move US/ARVN Forces:

  • Highland 6, 1 US, 1 ARVN.

D. US/ARVN Combat:

  • Napalm Highlands 2, roll 1 success. PP is at 13, this is risky!

E. Place NVA/VC Units:

  • VC Hue 1, area 1-2.
  • NVA Highlands Highlands 3-4.

F. Insurgency Combat:

None.

G. NVA/VC Offensive:

  • Roll 4, Saigon, lose 1 ARVN and both NVA.

H. AirCav Redeployment:

None.

I. Scoring, Victory Check and Events Roll:

  • PP: 13 - 2 - 11, +1 DRM.
  • Event roll 6 + 1 = 7 remove one US, take from Hue.

Turn 6

A. Roll for Trail Counters:

  • Cambodia 5
  • Cambodia 6.

B. Attack Trail areas:

  • B52 Laos 3, roll 6 fail.

C. Raise/Move US/ARVN Forces:

  • ARVN to Mekong 3.

D. US/ARVN Combat:

  • Napalm Highlands 3-4, roll 5, fail.
  • ARVN and US attack in Mekong 3-4, VC loss.

E. Place NVA/VC Units:

  • VC roll 4, roll 3 area 3-4.
  • NVA Mekong 6 = NVA Saigon 5
  • NVA Highlands 1-2.

F. Insurgency Combat:

  • Saigon, ARVN prevails.

G. NVA/VC Offensive:

  • Roll 5, Mekong 3-4, FWA prevails.

H. AirCav Redeployment:

None.

I. Scoring, Victory Check and Events Roll:

  • PP: 8.
  • Event: roll 5, no US/Allied ground units.

Turn 7

A. Roll for Trail Counters:

  • Laos 4.
  • Cambodia 6, duplicate.

B. Attack Trail areas:

  • B52 in Laos 3, roll 1 success.

C. Raise/Move US/ARVN Forces:

  • No US placement.
  • ARVN to Saigon 3-4.

D. US/ARVN Combat:

  • Napalm Hue 3-4, roll 4, success.
  • Napalm Hue 1-2, roll 5, fail.
  • Saigon 3-4, ARVN prevail.

E. Place NVA/VC Units:

  • VC roll 4, Saigon 1-2.
  • NVA Laos 4, roll Cu Chi 1-2.
  • NVA Cambodia 5, Saigon roll 1-2.
  • NVA Cambodia 6, Mekong 3-4.

F. Insurgency Combat:

  • Mekong 3-4, FWA prevails.

G. NVA/VC Offensive:

  • Roll 2, Highlands, advance to area 6, FWA prevails.

H. AirCav Redeployment:

None.

I. Scoring, Victory Check and Events Roll:

  • PP: 11 - 2 for 9, no DRM.
  • Event: No Green Beret attacks.

Turn 8

A. Roll for Trail Counters:

  • Laos 4, duplicate.
  • Cambodia 5, duplicate.

B. Attack Trail areas:

  • B52 Laos 4, roll 1 success.

C. Raise/Move US/ARVN Forces:

  • No new placements, too risky.

D. US/ARVN Combat:

  • Napalm Cu Chi 1-2, roll 4 success.

E. Place NVA/VC Units:

  • VC roll 5, Mekong area 3-4.
  • NVA Cambodia 5 roll Saigon 5.
  • NVA Cambodia 6, Mekong roll 1 area 1-2.

F. Insurgency Combat:

  • Mekong 3-4, Lose 1 ARVN, 1 VC.

G. NVA/VC Offensive:

  • Roll 3 no effect.

H. AirCav Redeployment:

None.

I. Scoring, Victory Check and Events Roll:

  • PP: 11 - 2 for 9, no DRM effect.
  • Event: roll 6, remove US unit from Highlands 6. Bummer.

Turn 9

A. Roll for Trail Counters:

  • Roll Laos 3.
  • Roll Cambodia 6, dpulicate.

B. Attack Trail areas:

  • B52 in Laos 3, roll 6, bust.

C. Raise/Move US/ARVN Forces:

  • ARVN in Saigon.

D. US/ARVN Combat:

  • Napalm Saigon 5, roll 1 success.

E. Place NVA/VC Units:

  • VC Mekong 1-2.
  • NVA Highlands 1-2
  • NVA Saigon 1-2.
  • NVA Mekong 1-2.

F. Insurgency Combat:

None.

G. NVA/VC Offensive:

  • Roll 6! This is probably the game.
  • Hue: FWA prevails!
  • Highlands: FWA prevails!
  • Saigon: Lose 1 ARVN, FWA prevails!
  • Mekong: Lose 1 ARVN, FWA prevails!

This turned out really well!

H. AirCav Redeployment:

None.

I. Scoring, Victory Check and Events Roll:

PP: 14 - 5 = 9, no DRM effect. Event: roll 2, no B52 attacks, which is probably fine, politically really expensive.

This is officially a draw. If I can get through turns 10 and 11, it will be a win.

Turn 10

A. Roll for Trail Counters:

  • Hanoi 2.
  • Laos 4.

B. Attack Trail areas:

  • GB Laos 4, roll 3 fail.

C. Raise/Move US/ARVN Forces:

  • ARVN in Mekong 6.

D. US/ARVN Combat:

  • None.

E. Place NVA/VC Units:

  • VC Saigon 6.
  • NVA Hue 3.
  • NVA Highlands 4.
  • NVA Cu Chi 2.
  • NVA Saigon 2.
  • NVA Mekong 4.

F. Insurgency Combat:

  • Hue 3-4, Lose 1 ARVN, 1 NVA. FWA prevails.

G. NVA/VC Offensive:

  • Saigon, Lose 1 ARVN, 1 VC, 1 NVA, FWA prevails.

H. AirCav Redeployment:

None.

I. Scoring, Victory Check and Events Roll:

PP: 12 - 2 = 10, DRM +1. Event: no B52 or BG, which is no big deal.

I get a minor win if I can get through the next turn.

Turn 11

I don't think I'll survive this round, but let's see what happens.

A. Roll for Trail Counters:

  • Roll 3, 5, no new Trail markers.

B. Attack Trail areas:

  • None, event roll from last round.

C. Raise/Move US/ARVN Forces:

  • 1 ARVN in Hue 3-4.

D. US/ARVN Combat:

  • None.

E. Place NVA/VC Units:

  • VC: Mekong 6.
  • NVA Hue 5.
  • NVA Highlands 2.
  • NVA Cu Chi 5.
  • NVA Saigon 6.
  • NVA Mekong 2.

F. Insurgency Combat:

= Mekong, lose 1 ARVN, 1 VC.

G. NVA/VC Offensive:

  • Saigon, lose 1 ARVN, 1 NVA.

H. AirCav Redeployment:

  • None.

I. Scoring, Victory Check and Events Roll:

  • PP: 14 - 1 = 13 for +2 DRM.
  • Event: 2 + 2 = 4, no B52 or GB.

This is a legitimate victory.

Turn 12

A. Roll for Trail Counters:

  • Roll, 1, 3 Trail marker in Haiphong. This looks the end to me!

B. Attack Trail areas:

  • None.

C. Raise/Move US/ARVN Forces:

  • 1 ARVN in Mekong 6.

D. US/ARVN Combat:

  • None, can't afford the points.

E. Place NVA/VC Units:

  • VC: Cu Chi 6.
  • NVA Hue 3-4, 5.
  • NVA Highlands 4.
  • NVA Cu Chi 3.
  • NVA Saigon 5.
  • NVA Mekong 2.

F. Insurgency Combat:

  • Hue: ARVN prevails.
  • Cu Chi: lose 1 ARVN, 1 NVA.

G. NVA/VC Offensive:

  • Hue: lose 2 NVA and 1 ARVN for PP 15 and that's the game. There is no way I can get back under 14 Policitcal Points this round.

AAR

It feels like I both played fairly well, and got a little bit lucky at the same time. I could have gotten more US on the ground, and I never used Air Cav affectively. However, those are risky units to be eliminated.

Here's the situation at the end of the game:

Game 15 end

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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.