SAIGON 75
FROM
NUTS!PUBLISHING
Back in 2019, I had the opportunity to preview Nuts!Publishing's proto-type of Saigon 75, just before its launch on Kickstarter. Now I can provide you with a deeper delve into the recently published edition and its highly professional quality. Though even the proto-type had largely wooden pieces with sticky labels on with some cardboard counters, the final product has gone the full mile with its embossed wooden pieces and a distinctly COIN style appearance. Even this peek inside the box shows what I mean.
Getting everything lined up for set-up makes it even clearer. As promised the dice are customised and very attractive too and finally the cards remain identical in their layout and each individualised picture on them, but with that expected touch of refining in their rounded corners and subtle smooth finish. And, of course, let's not forget the mounted map board which has the factor I prize - it folds out perfectly flat first and every time; no ridges, no back-folding. Perfect from the minute it's laid out on your table.
With the preliminary rules that I received being a simple, very basic black and white printout, turning to the finished professional product is a stunning revelation. The well-nigh obligatory division these days into a Rulebook and Playbook maintains such high standards that it's a pleasure just to pick them up and feel the quality. The smooth gloss is combined with a bold text size in the rule book that makes reading it so simple, even if you hold the book at arms length.
Illustrations abound whether they be historical photographs or sumptuous large full-colour examples of the rules and not only does the Playbook have a full play through of the first turn and a half, but the Rule Book itself provides an example from a solo turn. No complaints here then, I hope, from the those who absolutely must have a solo mode. An additional feature of the Playbook is that not only does it have a four-page historical narrative, but that is followed by a section in which every single one of the 20 Event cards is pictured with an accompanying explanatory historical background. Fantastic attention to detail here.
The game takes us from Summer of 1973 to Spring 1975 in eight seasonal turns. Both the relatively short time span and seasonal turns highlight the broad sweep of the game. They also indicate the first reason why the game is quick-playing; the second reason is that each player rolls for how many activations they get per turn. The South Vietnamese units are largely divisions of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam [ARVN] with a diverse range of small unit American troops, including Ranger battalions, Marine and Paratroop brigades, two River patrol units and several mechanised regiments. Grouped under the abbreviation SV, it is the American troops that tend to give flavour to the game. Opposing them are 14 North Vietnamese divisions and 8 Viet Cong battalions, abbreviated to NV. Only the divisions of both sides have the equivalent of two steps. Being octagonal wooden pieces, when one of these is reduced in combat it is replaced by an identical piece half the size. All the other units are half-sized ones and so one hit and they're gone! Adding further visual appeal to the game are the star-shaped Quyet Thang markers [essentially NV control markers] and NV infiltration markers, while the variety of coloured pieces that represent American units are supplemented by black air support/air transport markers.
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To emphasise and help pick out the units, I've placed everything with its embossed star uppermost. In playing the game, these begin face-down and a unit is only turned star-end up to show that it is activated. You'll notice too the compact footprint of the whole game. Everything fits perfectly onto my 24"x24" board.
Viet Cong Battalions
Quyet Thang markers
Game play itself is very smooth and the rules are a brief 8 pages long. Each turn is divided into an NV Phase followed by an SV Phase. Before starting both players need to agree on how the Event cards will be handled. The standard process is for each player to draw eight Event cards and hold them secretly. One must be chosen and used each turn. An alternative is offered for those just learning the game where you only start with three cards and draw a new one each turn. Obviously the idea is not to overburden a new player with too many decisions as to how you might be going to plan out the the course of all eight turns. Personally, I like the easier approach, not because it's easier, but because it combines an element of control with having to react to what turns up! - a combo I've always liked in a game.
Both player's Phase begins with an Activation roll to determine how many units can be activated. For the NV player it is the number of infantry divisions[whether at full strength or reduced strength] + an optional 2 Viet Cong units. It is slightly different for the SV player as their activation points can also be used to bring airstrike/transport units on, but once the latter are in play, their use is free each turn, while they survive.
Low unit density reduced even more by the activation process and all units having 1MP [movement point], except for the few mechanised units that have 2 MP create a swift playing game. This is helped even more by maximum stacking of five units per side and a quick and easy combat system that allows a maximum of 5 dice to be rolled in any one attack.
Combat is not mandatory and not all units in an area need attack, though all defending units in an area must be attacked. Add to all this are customised dice that show either a blank or one of two symbols [the cross hairs symbol indicates a casualty and a running man indicates a retreat.] One player deducts the number of retreats from the other player and the excess have to retreat. So, as the rule book's example shows: if the NV scores 2 retreats and the SV scores 3, then the NV player has to retreat one unit. Each side has some potential minor combat bonuses; for the SV it's air support and for the NV it's infiltration markers and the Quyet Thang markers. But, always bear in mind that 5 dice is the maximum rolled by either side. Both sides have a number of small differences that create each side's individuality. For the SV it's mainly the variety of units and greater movement flexibility and for the NV it's mainly the range of combat bonuses. Nothing too overwhelming, but this type of asymmetry is an aspect of a game system that I relish and so I was pleased that Saigon 75 has been announced as the first in an intended new series labelled UP! [Under Pressure].
The solo mode briefly mentioned earlier is designed purely for the SV player with the NV player controlled by a random card draw from the Solo Deck which in turn prioritises the draw made from the NV Event Deck. The Solo card also gives an order of preference for NV targets, details of its activation and how combats and retreats are handled. I was surprised and welcomed the amount of detail that can be included in just two and a half pages of rules. As always I'm personally happy to use the methods of my gaming origins [and I confess age!] that demanded simply that you played both sides to the best of your ability, but here is a solo system, both easy to follow and quick to execute.
A final point made in the opening sentence of the rulebook is that the games in this series are aimed to be played back-to-back. Sometimes, I've found in the past that if games were designed that way, it often turned out to mean that one side is distinctly less interesting to play than the other. That's not at all my view of Saigon 75. I will willingly sit down to play either side with just as much expectation of enjoyment and anticipation of a tense match.
Once again, Nuts!Publishing have come up with a streamlined winner and one that I must thank them for, especially in letting me have to bites of the cherry by reviewing both the prototype and the polished published copy.
LINK to review of the prototype
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