Take The Flake

We had a test-game of Charlie Don't Surf. It's a Vietnam game by Too Fat Lardies


Overview of the gaming table. The hill was to be taken and cleared of NVA activity.

Before the game started the players (all on the US side, game master doing NVA) were sat down to discuss their tactics. Each player had command of a platoon + officer. One player had command of the captain and all artillery observers though.

The first part of the game was centered around the insertion. All squads had to arrive by helo and the landing zone only allowed 3 helos to enter at a time. This obviously strained the delivery of 70 men.

NVA mortar shells soon started raining down on the field too and when a RPG was fired one helo was struck and fled.

When all squads were on table they advanced to the beginning of the long grass and waited for artillery. A classic US tactic some have said.

The captains orders and directions for artillery support were questioned quite thoroughly and the road for a least one court martial was paved.

The advance was foregone by smokescreens fired with M-79

Smoke smoke smoke


Finally the artillery arrives and the hill is holed with 105mm shells
What the players don't know at this point is that their barrage by a stroke of pure luck has erradicated the entire NVA garrison, who had just retreated to a bunker, which was struck by a shell.
The advance continues. The enemy is long gone, but the US is not aware. The players are expecting heavy resistance to be around the corner...
Finally the find the NVA bunkers. I call the bluff and let them in on the whole story.

It was a funny game. A bit of a tease as there were virtually no troops defending and even more so when the little resistance that was blew up. The players had a good time and were all in agreement that CDS really portrayed the almost paranoid feeling of jungle warfare - the uncertain and empty battlefield where 3 guys with automatics can hold up an entire company of modern troops.