publisher

GMT Games

mechanics

Area Control ,Variable Phase Order ,Variable Player Powers

ages

12+

players

1 – 4

playtime

180 – 240 minutes

designers

Mark Herman, Volko Ruhnke

BoardGameGeeks URL

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/144189/fire-lake

Volume IV in GMT’s COIN Series dives headlong into the momentous and complex battle for South Vietnam. A unique multi-faction treatment of the Vietnam War, Fire in the Lake will take 1 to 4 players on US heliborne sweeps of the jungle and Communist infiltration of the South, and into inter-allied conferences, Saigon politics, interdiction of the Ho Chi Minh Trail, air defense of Northern infrastructure, graduated escalation, and media war.

Renowned designer and modern warfare expert Mark Herman joins COIN Series creator Volko Ruhnkefor a collaborative production not to be missed. Fire in the Lake features the same card-assisted counterinsurgency game system as GMT’s Andean Abyss, Cuba Libre, and A Distant Plain, with a pack of twists that take the Series to another level, including:

Pivotal events that trump initiative (Tet Offensive, Vietnamization, Easter Offensive, and Linebacker II)
Inter-coup campaign effects that vary by RVN leader
Counterinsurgent guerrillas (US-led Irregulars and ARVN Rangers)
Insurgent troops (NVA) for direct force-on-force engagements
Tunneled VC and NVA bases
Trail construction and degradation
A larger-than-ever event deck for even greater play variety
Short and medium-length scenarios with either random or period-event options