TET Solo: Playtest Games

[Whiterook]

Playtesting - Game 3

Ready for the next play of the game. There are actually six more units (3 NVA Combat Units, and 3 NVA Garrison Units) than were in play previously. I’d had them set aside, as they’d not made sense due to the graphics; turned out, the back had errant artwork… the three combat units should have had NVA flags and the three garrisons should have had garrison reduced strength artwork. The errant artwork made them impossible to place in the hidden selection process of Communist Deployment.

These were the units in question…



And here are the corrections, with new backs glued on… cut from the counter sheet print provided with the game as reference…



…the backs were glued on with an Elmer’s GlueStick, onto the actual erroneous counters…I showed one counter of each group with the reverse showing.

Here’s the starting map for this new play…



It was at this juncture, while refreshing myself with the rules as I play, that I noticed I did something drastically wrong in previous plays:  Turns out, Commuinist NVA and VC units can only move from a Communist base (the light red circles with the big Red Star, to adjacent Allied spaces via routes (the connecting lines, rolling 1d6 and seeing if it matches with the numbers on some lines); but they cannot move back into a Communist Base! …I assumed you could, and did so (…I’m pretty sure I did so). That was indeed in the rules, but I forgot and/or didn’t notice that fine fact. That probably skewed the game a bit. Anyway, this is where I left off, before dinner…



…the white X tile spacers are where there will be combat next, by the Communists. date night tonight so, play is on pause. 

[mikeh]

The delights and disasters of being a play tester right?! Actually just sounds like me starting a new game, usually by the end of the second turn I have to reset and restart from turn 1.

[Whiterook]

Feb 11, 2024 14:14:44 GMT -5 mikeh said:

The delights and disasters of being a play tester right?! Actually just sounds like me starting a new game, usually by the end of the second turn I have to reset and restart from turn 1.

I’m appreciating the fact that I am being nudged into being quicker to get in-play… this playtester gig is really pushing me to not be so meticulous in trying to near-memorize the rules and just get gaming.

I believe I mentioned before that I see so many gaming friends on facebook and at gaming events, where they launch themselves straight into games and learn as they go, sometimes with games straight out of shrink and plopped on the table… and how I have always marveled at how they can do that. This is giving me the push to just get gaming, damn the torpedos and full speed ahead. Don’t get me wrong though… I don’t see that I will be a convert to this style Jump-In Gaming, but it’s definitely making more sense to me now, on how people that do like to learn games this way, do it.

[Whiterook]

Made some AP Markers… used my old staple of heavy duty green file folder cardstock and “1 AP” stickers from my label machine and voila! 

[Whiterook]

Turn 1

Once again, the Comminits’, Dau Trahn offensive wreaked havoc… represents the initial surprise attack. Initial Communist attacks killed three lower end Allied units that equate to a Division, and Regrouped 10 units, which represented a loss of a little over five Divisions… that was just nasty. The good news is, the Allies didn’t loose control of any Cities, Bases, or Critical Objectives; and in fact, cleared IV Corps Zone through counter attacks on the Communist Combat Phase. However, during the Media Events Phase, I found out an Ammo Dump exploded in the Allied Base of Pleiku, reducing the Garrison from a 4 Combat Factor to a 2! …lost a Morale Point on that, too. Ouch. In the Allied Replacement segment of the Reinforcement Phase, I brought onboard all of those lost divisions except a lowly MP unit… it was costly in Morale Points lost, but I felt really needed to shore up hotspots, particularly around Hue in I Corps’ Zone… the Communists lost so few units compared to the sneak attacked Allies. In the AirPower Phase, I Reset my available marker, used one point for Interdiction and reduced the Communist Infiltration Index by one ((that resulted in once less NVA unit coming onboard later!); and I’d used a Special Forces unit to Recon the Communist Panhandle space of North Vietnam, which revealed a 4 Combat Factor Garrison; Arc Light brought in my B-52’s which rolled high and eliminated the Garrison! …I’ll move a Allied unit in at the upcoming Movement Phase to Control the area. Next came the Allied Movement Phase, in which I moved units for upcoming combat and shoring up hotspots. I purchased a Major Operations for Turn 2, that will shift the Combat Results Table one column to the right (better odds). Then in the Combat Phase, which went well for the Allies with good rolls. The 7th Fleet helped take back Hue; Huey’s helped, along with Ap spending to free up hotbeds of contention in I Corps along the coast, as well as the other Zones. 

I’m a bit shocked at the number of Communist units KIAd and Regrouped… it could have a lot to do with Lady Luck in the dice, but I’ve discovered by this point that the combined use of Special Forces for gaining Tactical Edge in being able to fire first, along with using Huey squadrons, naval gunfire, and spending Airsrike Points (APs) wisely in the key battles, not worrying about bringing the count down to 0 (knowing it will be regenerated next turn) placed me overwhelming in the position (with good rolls) of cleaning out Charlie and securing the space. As I have come to better understand the use of these advantages to Allied Combat with each play, I am seeing that squirreling away these column shift makers in non-use in Communist Combat, but rather saved for Allied Combat is a key strategy… I’ll know better with a few more game plays.

NOTE: Bottom right corner box are Destroyed NVA and VC units; bigger box just above are Regroup units (about half or more were already there at game start, but the rest are just added. Second box down on left was Allied Regrouped, but bought back and returned to play; the second from bottom are the three Destroyed units. Those light red circle spaces with the Red Star are Communist Bases and need to be captured… depending where Communist units come aboard in random deployment in Turn 2, these would be primary targets.

[Whiterook]

Turn 2

A good start for the Communists, with two NVA and a VC unit randomly activating in the North Vietnam Panhandle… this make me as thre Allies, have to use my B-52s there, as none of my ground pounders can make it up there; but in the ensuing movement phase, an NVA and VC unit moved out to Quang Tri, with some shifting elsewhere, most notably from the Iron Triangle to Saigon (Critical Objective for the Allies). Communist combat in all spaces with the white X marker…



…units on the bottom -of the map (Hueys, etc.) are onboarding units this turn. NOTE: It was at this stage of testing it hit home that the APs I spent in Allied Combat the previous turn will NOT be available until the next turns’ Allied Replacements Phase; I may have been playing it this way, but I am not sure…it really didn’t gel until now. Also, it struck me the Sequence of Play and ensuing headers in the rules need tweaking, in my opinion…I’ll put that in my reports’ Rules concerns.

 The result of the Communist Combat Phase was taking back ground, with a couple being Communist KIAs…



 Allied Morale Index Phase, I control all Zones, so 4 MPs gathered; two Communist Bases controlled for 2 MPs… 6 MPs is great! Media Events increase CII by 1, so not so good (Communists to gained a VC unit). Arc Light was used to take out the Communist Garrison unit in A Shau, which has several routes to four Allied spaces, Including Hue. Allied Ground movement was done in a matter to take out Communist Bases.

Allies went into combat and I took the requisite 6 Communist Base spaces, and already controlling all Allied Base spaces (including Critical Objects) secured a Strategic Victory in Turn 2! I did take a few more Communist Bases, but they thwarted a complete dominance by me. Not sure how that happened, but good Allied rolls far outnumbers Communist combat rolls; and I maxed out air power both turns in the Communist Combat Phases to, along with using all resources available, including securing Tactical Edge in as many instances as I could in spaces to yield space control. I’d be curious to see over time if this is an exception to win, or if it’s a matter of being able to repeat it again.

[Whiterook]

Taking a short pause from playtesting …my cats have been really pissed the door has been closed to my old office for a few weeks now 
I’m finding them “exploring” the room every morning when I get up, hahaha. Anyways, I was starting to feel I needed to take a breath between the last and next game, though it will probably resume tomorrow and/or the weekend. I have a little under two weeks left to my commitment, finishing up with my last report due the 27th. I can already tell that I’ll be playing this game a lot well beyond… I’m going to see if I can get a copy of the new rules in the next round, that includes optional rules/counters! And yes, I’ll be purchasing this issue when it comes out.

[mikeh]

Excuse my ignorance but you don't even get a copy of the game when published for being a play tester?

[Whiterook]

Feb 16, 2024 10:30:30 GMT -5 mikeh said:

Excuse my ignorance but you don't even get a copy of the game when published for being a play tester?

Well, there’s two sides to this story 

Firstly, I get to keep the mock up playtest version, and they even put the counters together for us, along with providing an excellent print-quality game map, so even though it’s not exactly like what you will see in the magazine game edition (mainly artwork, like easier to see colors and some better font on counters), it’s still a perfectly playable game… for me, it’s good enough for a game I will keep in my collection, unless it is so unbelievably good (like TET Solo) that I will want the high quality finished version, as well.

And secondly, we get a voucher, which has a value of $50… which can be spent on any Decision Games product, or saved to combine with other vouchers. I plan on using mine for this game most likely, unless I see something beforehand (a year is a long time to wait!).

For the first playtest, I used the voucher for this one…

“Rangers: Lead The Way" is a solitaire simulation of the US Army Ranger assault on the Pointe du Hoc on D-Day. The game challenges the player to do better than the actual Ranger attack up the cliffs that historic morning and additionally allows the player to fight the battle using the planned, rather than the actual, forces and landing beaches. The scenarios cover action through 0300 June 7, a span of almost 24 hours. The area movement map uses one inch representing one-quarter of a mile. Scale: Ranger units are groupings of 3 to 12 men, with the Germans shown at squad level and counters representing heavy artillery and machinegun emplacements.

Components: One 22" x 34" map & 280 counters.

I’d wanted this game for a long time and the voucher covered it except for shipping, which cost me about $7. It’s a pretty fair deal, really… the S&T mag games are generally around the price of the voucher… “Rangers: Lead The Way” is $49.99

[mikeh]

Very, very nice!

[Whiterook]

Feb 17, 2024 16:18:33 GMT -5 mikeh said:

Very, very nice!

Thanks… I think so, too   You know, not that I’d do this but, I have seen people sell playtesting mockup versions of games for more than the final products’ price; for instance, a guy once offered me the mock up version of Flying Pig Games’, “65”. I guess it can be considered a collectors item for those that adore a certain game…and since only a dozen or so were made, hat makes them extremely rare.

[Whiterook]

On another note… I just setup the game for the fourth play   …that’s my Taylor Swift emoji, hahaha



…this is the most complete setup version of the game to date, lol! There were a few counters that I may or may not have used in previous playings…form instance, the first game or two, I used the two naval Gunfire support counters through the whole game, whereas one is supposed to be held until Game Turn 9 as a reinforcement…and in fact, since this is only 7 turns long, I am taking the liberty to allow it for use in Turn 7, as I think it’s good intel to see how it would impact play. Another example is, I had those incorrect NVA Garrison counters that were printed wrong so, now things are corrected with the new counters I made.

Taking a few days off was a good idea… I was kinda getting saturated with the intricacies of the sequence, and started to self doubt myself in checking the rules only to see what I’d initially thought, was correct. I was feeling a little too under-the-gun in playing so, a breather was perfect timing. I’ve a week and a lag (two Tuesdays from now) to finish up my testing; I needed to get a preferred 4 full games played, and this will make technically, 4-1/2 (counting the initial reset). I’ll most likely get another game in after this following one, at a minimum.

I’ve a Stadium Series hockey game on starting right now so, I’ll look to start playing game four tomorrow.

[Whiterook]

Playtesting - Game 4

• Turn 1 finally started with Communists’ random Dau Trahn “2” surprise attack and that negative column shift to the right was even more brutal than the 1; two more levels up on the CII, along with more NVA Infiltration counters is going to make things harder, especially with the new addition of a unit on each of the CII of v4 Rules. I like that element of the Communist deployment being random draw and it indeed serves as a good solo bot mechanic. After Communist movement, 10 spaces went under attack, mostly VC attacks: Three of the spaces contained Shock Troops; two spaces were against ARVN only, so an extra CRT column shift right; the 2-column shift for Dau Trahn; and Allies only having one AP for Tactical Support (except for Khe Sanh) …that was anticipated to be a pretty aggressive surprise attack! One good move for the Allies was my placing an MP unit in Saigon, which at least negated a one column shift for the VC against a space that would have been all ARVN…bless that MP unit!!! Communist surprise attack sent about five Divisional equivalents off the battlefield and into the Regrouped box, and three ARVN Divisions destroyed; Allies sent less than a Division of Communists units to Regroup and independent unit Destroyed… a hard hit to the Allies for sure. Allied Morale Index Phase was kinda disastrous on the Index for the Allies, with the new Collateral Damage (CD) results on the CRT, pulling me down to 4 MPs by the end of the Game Turn; besides Regroups and a few Destroyed units, I was also scoring CDs for pretty much every roll result, in essence doubling loss of MPs. I see where you’re going with the Collateral Damage in this new rules version, but my first impression is that this is way too aggressive an alteration…at this stage on the first turn, I am worried this is too aggressive an alteration to the CRT…it’s just so shocking to be down to 4MP at the end of GT1
  
  
• Turn 2 had no Dau Trahn in effect. 11 Communist units came onboard and combat mostly resulted in Regrouped Allied units; however, Collateral Damage was in effect almost every combat, hovering the Allied Morale near critical. I held SF and Huey’s to use of half allotment in order to not be decimated by strong Communist combatants, and reserved the other half for use in Allied Combat coming up. Allied Morale rebounded to 4 in the Morale Index Phase. Pre Allied Combat, there are about four Divisional equivalents in the Destroyed box, so the Comminists are rolling good this game; though they suffered about seven Disional equivalents to this point, so the Allies are taking names and kicking some butt… yet that low morale has me concerned. On Media Events table, I rolled a 2, for a Big News Story on the Low Morale column, which erased 4 MPs and resulted in a reduction to 0… Communist immediate Strategic Victory.
  

Recap: The game ended on GT2 with a Communist Strategic Victory for Allied loss of total morale. Communist Control all Red Bases except Do Xa; Control 1 Allied city and Contest 1 Allied Base. Allies Control both Critical Objectives; Control 8 of the 9 Bases; Control all but 3 cities. 0 Allied Morale (Low). CII Reduced to 8. All AP used

[Whiterook]

Playtesting - Game 5

This game is starting with the revised v4 rules right from the start, so I'll be curious to see if the game plays further this playing, than the last game.

Turn 1. Started with Communists’ random Dau Trahn “1” surprise attack. Minor movement for the Communists, except for Saigon, which got inundated with VC. Communist Combat Phase featured 12 battle spaces all across South Vietnam, including both Allied Critical Objectives.



…that’s a lot of white x’s!!! Communist Combat Phase with the Dau Trahn eliminated 2 Allied units (under a Division) and Regrouped 12 units (almost 7 Divisional equivalents); brought Allied Morale down from 34 to 28, which is a hefty hit in MPs… this is telling me I need to be sparing on my repurchase of Replacements. Holding Saigon and Hue by the skin of my teeth; pushed Communists out of a few bases/cities; lost Ban Me Thuot.



NOTE: I made a mistake in the pic above, where there is actually a reduced Marine Division unit, which should have been reduced from 7 to 4 combat factor, and the counter returned to play; Morale Index updated.

Allied Morale Phase saw -4 MPs due to Communist Contesting of Saigon and Hue, so 4 more MPs lost; Allies did not gain Control of a whole Zone, not capture any Communist Bases, so no MP gains. Allied Media Events Phase at Medium Morale rolled a MACV Logistics, and I chose to bring the Reduced Marine Division in Da Nang back to full strength. 2 Allied Replacements brought into Long Binh and one in Da Nang (2 combat factor each) for 3 MPs spent. • During the Allied Airpower Phase: Air Power was reset; an Interdiction attempt was made and reduced the Communist Interdiction Index by one, down to Level 7; and B-52s scrambled against Saigon taking out both VC units to Regroup and Saigon is again in Allied Control (CE). Allied Movement Phase: 2 units (7 Combat Factor(CF)) moved from Da Nang to Hue, supported by Naval and Hueys; 3 units from Quang Tri (CF 12) and 2 units from Khe Sanh (5 CF) moved into Communist Base Tchepone, supported by SF and Hueys (A Shau is just too fortified with four mystery units and a Garrison); 6 units from Chu Lai (16 CF) moved to Communist Base Do Xa, supported by SF and Hueys; 2 units from Qui Nhon (8 CF), and 1 unit from Cam Ranh Bay (5 CF), and 2 units from Nha Trang (4 CF), moved to Communist Base Central Coast, with SF support; 2 units from Tay Ninh (13 CF), 1 unit from Vung Tau (3 CF), with SF support; 3 units from Long Binh (7 CF) moved to Saigon to fortify CE position. Combat Phase: Tchepone, 1 additional AP spent, eliminates Regiment and Garrison, capture base, gain 3 MPs but lost one to CD; Hue, Communist unit Regrouped; Do Xa, eliminate VC unit and NVA Garrison, 3 MPs gained; Central Coast, 1 addition AP spent, VC unit and NVA Garrison eliminated, 3 MPs gained; Iron Triangle, 1 additional AP spent, Garrison eliminated, 2 extra MPs gained. End of Turn – Sudden Death Victory check, Allies fell short by two Communist Bases from SDV.



The blue tile spacers (X’s) are the battle spaces just fought and won. It was a complete opposite of last game where the Allies rolled great tonight….well, on Turn 1 anyway. Move on to next turn.

[Whiterook]

Turn 2. Started with no Communists’ Dau Trahn operation so, straight into Communist Infiltration with reinforcements brought on, being 4 NVA/4 VC; reinforcing Tchepone, Do Xa, Central Highlands, La Drang, War Zone C, and the Iron Triangle. No Dau Trahn. Communist Movement Phase saw: a VC Panhandle to Quang Tri; an NVA Tchepone to Khe Sanh; an NVA A Shau to Khe Sanh and three NVA to Hue; an NVA Do Xa to Da Nang; an NVA Central Highlands to Kontum; an NVA Ban Me Thuot to La Drang (NOTE: that’s the first revealed unit moving in any of my played games… I assumed it stays hidden, per 12.2, even if the units it moved into are hidden); a VC from Iron Triangle to Tay Ninh; a VC from War Zone C to Tay Ninh. Communist Combat Phase: Keh Sann and Hue revealed heavy Communist presence, but stayed even both sides… who fires first is critical in these two areas and I have no SF available, so that might be bad for the Allies. Tchepone, 1 VC KIA, Communist Base captured; Keh Sanh, 1 NVA KIA, 1 NVA Regrouped, 1 AP spent, Allied Base taken back; Hue, 1 Allied Regroup and 1 Reduced, 2 AP spent and 2 NVA KIA, Hue recaptured; Da Nang, 1 AP spent, 1 NVA KIA; Kotum 1 Allied Regrouped, 1 NVA Regrouped; Tay Ninh, 1 Allied Regroup, 1 VC Regrouped; Iron Triangle, 1 VC Regrouped. From 30 MPs up to 32 (I had gained 5MPs but lost 3).



Allied Morale Index Phase, no Corps Zones cleared; +4 MPS for Communist Base Control; no Communists in Allied Bases or Critical Objectives; total 4 MPs gained to 36. Allied Media Events Phase at High Morale results in a negative event of increasing the CII up 1 to Level 8. Allied Reinforcements Phase, 1 AP gained; Marine Combat Factor (CF) 2 to My Tho, Airborne CF2 unit to to Pleiku, ARVN Ranger CF6 to Hue; Huey’s and SF regained. Allied Replacement Phase, Marine unit in Hue refitted to CF7; three CF2 units Replaced in Da Nang, one 2CF unit to Nha Trang, and one 2CF Thai unit back to Vung Tau, for a 5 MP expenditure. Allied Air Operations Phase: Reset Air Available marker to 11; 1AP spent for Interdiction, reducing CII to Level 7; Arc Light targets La Drang with SF Recon revealing NVA, two Regroup result bounces 6CF of NVA and leaves just Garrison. Allied Ground Movement Phase: 1 unit (CF2) from Nha Trang to Ban Me Thuot to control empty city space; 1 unit (6CF) from Pleiku and 3 units (10CF) from Central Coast to La Frang; 1 unit (7CF) from Hue and 3 units (10CF) From Do Xa, to A Shau; 2 units (5CF) from Rach Gia and 2 units (7CF) from Can Tho, to U Minh; 1 unit (CF7) from Iron Triangle to Tay Ninh; Allied Major Ops Phase: IV brought. Allied Combat Phase: A Shau with SF Support, NVA Garrison KIA, Allied takes control; La Drang with SF Support, NVA Garrison KIA, Allied takes control; U Minh with SF and Naval Support, 1 VC unit and 1 NVA Garrison eliminated, Allied CD -1.

End of Turn Phase: Allied Sudden Death Victory with Control of all Allied Bases and 7 Communist Bases.

White X markers were the last three Allied battles won in the game; Allies controlled all their bases and the seven dark blue being the Communist Bases under Allied Control (…they needed at least six for the win).



Thanks for following along!