"N" Country A Celebrated Vietnam Game Scenario

This year's Recruits convention in Lee's Summit was the 10th anniversary and twentieth show put on by the high school gaming club.  To celebrate this milestone a lot of the original show game masters were contacted and asked if they would reprise their first contribution to this amazing show and venue.  This convention is a showcase of talent in the mid-west and draws a diverse crowd from the region.  The games are really well conceived and well executed.  I participated in the first year event and our club ran two games.  We put on our Vietnam N scale scenario and also the 54mm large Stalingrad game.  Jon Haworth and myself decided to honor the request of the convention staffers and bring back for the crowd a "command performance" game.  The fist game we will look at in this post is the Vietnam game called, "N" country.  This game is a programmed scenario that puts all the players on the American side as part of an air mobile infantry battalion.  The commands played by each player interact in a battalion level sweep of a valley in the central highlands of Vietnam.  The players are all assumed to be located in a rear echelon airbase and will be transported by helicopter into the area of operation.  Once placed on the gaming table all contact back to the battalion headquarters is conducted with radio protocol and call sign acknowledgement. 

In this image we see the opening strategy session with the battalion commander, Brad, looking over the AOO maps.  Planning his search and destroy mission.  There is a radio antennae broadcasting from this valley and his battalion has been tasked to search several of the villages in the area and take out the enemy broadcast capability.  Ryan, Kaelan, and Bill await their company orders for the sweep.  Each of them will command a company of infantry that will be air lifted into the valley.

 Screened from the players at the battalion headquarters is the Bangh Tiem valley in the central highlands.  This aerial view shows the peaceful villages and tranquil rice paddies amid the jungle canopy in the mountains.

 This view shows the mountain player game screen.  When your platoon is at battalion base you as a player are required to remain at the game table.  When you deploy, you are obviously allowed to be at the wargame table

Here we see D deploying Bravo company under the command of Kaelan, into the valley.  Bravo company would encounter several VC patrols running a screen or picket for a main force NVA company.

Bravo company is being supported by gunships.  Bravo company had to use marker smoke to keep from getting hit with friendly fire.

Gunships swirl above the jungle canopy. Artillery called in by Bravo is marked on the map with the golf tee.  NVA in the treeline. Bravo moving into the foreground.  The valley is alive in the background with more action.

Click pictures for a close up view.

Napalm strike takes out a NVA/VC position.

As the mission ends, enemy troops are seen moving into position along the rice paddies watching as the last of the US troops are airlifted back to the battalion HQ.