I’ve been toying with the idea of creating a variant of Crossfire for the Vietnam War—still at company level, just like standard Crossfire. I’m tentatively calling it Wombat Gun.
Then the other day, Adam came over and we played Charlie Don’t Surf by the Two Fat Lardies — another company-level game. That session really got me thinking: what are the key elements worth simulating in a Vietnam War company-level wargame?
Here’s where I’ve landed so far. These are the key features of the conflict that I think any ruleset should simulate. Please share if you have other ideas.
1. Asymmetrical Warfare
- Different Force Capabilities: One side often had superior firepower (artillery, air, mobility), the other relied on stealth and ambush.
- Force Composition Variety: VC Local Forces, Main Force, and PAVN regulars had very different morale and equipment levels.
Simulate with:
- Asymmetric unit stats, rally values, or command range.
- Stealth or hidden deployment mechanics.
- Limited or faction-specific artillery and air support access.
2. Close-Quarters Combat (“Hugging the Belt”)
- Communist troops often closed in tight to neutralise American firepower.
Simulate with:
- “Danger Close” or friendly fire rules near enemy stands.
- Bonuses or incentives for close-assault tactics.
- Restrictions on fire support near friendlies.
3. Mines, Booby Traps & Snipers
- Extensive use of hidden threats to delay, harass, and inflict casualties.
Simulate with:
- Random or hidden trap markers revealed by movement.
- Sniper events that cause suppression or initiative loss.
- Harassment zones that pin or delay Free World movement.
4. Terrain-Dominated Combat
- Dense jungle, villages, rice paddies, and rubber plantations defined LOS and movement.
Simulate with:
- Shortened line of sight.
- Multiple terrain types with varied cover effects.
- Ambush bonuses from cover or flanking positions.
5. Helicopter Mobility & Fire Support
- U.S. and allied forces used helicopters for rapid movement and devastating firepower.
Simulate with:
- Rules for helicopter insertions and extractions.
- Off-board artillery and air strikes called via leaders or FOs.
- Limited-use fire missions tied to initiative or scenario conditions.
6. Command & Control Tension
- Communist forces had weak radios and political control; Free World had better C2 but complex chains.
Simulate with:
- VC/NVA units requiring proximity to cadre or leaders to act.
- Cadre stands that boost morale but can’t issue orders.
- “Local initiative” for VC/NVA to act independently within limits.
7. Night Operations & Limited Visibility
- Much of the war took place in poor light or visibility, limiting long-range action.
Simulate with:
- Reduced LOS and firing range in low-light conditions.
- Flare or flashlight mechanics to expose units.
- Movement or fire penalties due to confusion or darkness.
8. Civilian Presence / Rules of Engagement (ROE) Constraints
- Free World forces operated under tight rules of engagement and could not fire freely.
Simulate with:
- Scenario-based restrictions on opening fire.
- “Unknown contact” markers that may or may not be enemy.
- Victory Point penalties for harming civilians or property.
9. Firepower vs. Manoeuvre
- U.S. forces relied on firepower; VC/NVA relied on speed, deception, and movement.
Simulate with:
- High suppression firepower for Free World units.
- Better movement options for VC/NVA in cover.
- Limited ammo or reduced dice to encourage deliberate fire.
10. Morale, Fatigue, and Hit-and-Run Tactics
- VC/NVA often disengaged before taking full losses, focusing on attrition and delay.
Simulate with:
- Morale checks for voluntary withdrawal or fade-out.
- Victory rewards for disruption or delay, not destruction.
- Objectives that don’t require total elimination to win.
11. Obsession with Body Count
- Unlike in WWII, where casualties were often left for support units to handle, both sides in Vietnam were highly sensitive to body count—for tactical, political, and morale reasons.
Simulate with:
- Communist forces attempt to evacuate or conceal casualties to deny body count victories to the enemy.
- Free World forces required to retrieve wounded or killed-in-action stands, affecting movement or initiative.
- Scenario or VP rules that penalise leaving friendly casualties behind—or reward successful recovery or concealment.
Point 8 is debatable:
On 16–18 March, TF Barker planned to engage and destroy the remnants of the 48th Battalion, allegedly hiding in the Sơn Mỹ village area. Before the engagement, Colonel Oran K. Henderson, the 11th Brigade commander, urged his officers to “go in there aggressively, close with the enemy and wipe them out for good”.[14] In turn, LTC Barker reportedly ordered the 1st Battalion commanders to burn the houses, kill the livestock, destroy food supplies, and destroy or poison the wells.[15]
On the eve of the attack, at the Charlie Company briefing, Captain Ernest Medina told his men that nearly all the civilian residents of the hamlets in Sơn Mỹ village would have left for the market by 07:00, and that any who remained would most likely be VC or VC sympathizers.[16] He was asked whether the order included the killing of women and children. Those present later gave differing accounts of Medina’s response. Some, including platoon leaders, testified that the orders, as they understood them, were to kill all VC and North Vietnamese combatants and “suspects” (including women and children, as well as all animals), to burn the village, and pollute the wells.[17] He was quoted as saying, “They’re all VC, now go and get them”, and was heard to reply to the question “Who is my enemy?”, by saying, “Anybody that was running from us, hiding from us, or appeared to be the enemy. If a man was running, shoot him, sometimes even if a woman with a rifle was running, shoot her.”[18]
At Calley’s trial, one defense witness testified that he remembered Medina instructing to destroy everything in the village that was “walking, crawling or growling”.[19]
{19] Calley’s Trial Puts Emphasis on CO. Bangor Daily News, 21 December 1970.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Lai_massacre
Absolutely right. This is a clear example of an area designated as a “Free Fire Zone.” It wasn’t right, and it wasn’t moral — but it was historical.
It is dangerous to generalise, when operations in different parts of the country, and at different times were so markedly different. Even if we just restrict our consideration to I Corps, the experience of a marine under siege at Khe Sanh was completely different to that of one in a combined action platoon in e.g. Quang Ngai.
Fair point, but the same is true of any war. This is just an attempt distinguish Vietnam from, say WW2.
And, as with all wargaming rules, many local differences can be handled by orders of battle and scenarios.
I think Charlie Don’t Surf! covers all those points, right? In fact, I think it’s adaptable to any Cold War era counter-insurgency. Also, it has already been adapted for 1960s/1970s ‘conventional’ Arab-Israeli Wars.
I am in the same boat. Looking at rule sets for this size of deployment. The Vietnam War was a very dynamic conflict with differing terrain, forces and political challenges across the board.
Trying to make a rule set that plays in a suitable time frame and without bogging down over details but yet not overlooking important aspects is very tricky.
Also one things I note is many “players” are well read up on the conflict. But there are also a lot of often younger players who are not and they are often more informed by the likes of Hollywood Movies than actual facts and so its hard to target a rule set for historical accuracy without isolating them.. No one wants to wargame a 1 week company sweep where the only thing they engaged was a water buffalo tripping a flare in the dark.. but on occasion that was the nature of the war.
So i think its wise to think on the nature of what you want to give way to or accept or include or exclude in favor of making the game actually fun to play and not an attempt at a historical re-enactment/simulation.
In case you were not aware, there are some pretty good discussions on rules etc on the Fields of Fire Reloaded Forum – https://fieldsoffire.forumotion.com/