The following wargame rules are loosely based upon The Tunnels of Chu Chi by Tom Magnold & John Penycate (Pan Books 0-330-29191-2), which tells the story of the amazing mass of tunnel systems built by the Viet Cong during the Vietnam War. The men who fought these encounters on boths sides were generally small in stature but bravery has never been counted in inches. The Americans who went down these tunnels to explore and flush out the Viet Cong taking part in a series of claustrophobic skirmishes underground were proud to be known as 'Tunnel Rats'. For an idea of what it must have been like - the movie PLATOON, has a brief tunnel sequence with Willem Dafoe. This is a solo game, more meaningful if played as an episode in a larger Search & Destroy operation or an episode in a Tunnel Rat campaign. No reason why you can`t play 'Charlie' even. The 'Tunnel Rats' used their hands and ears to grope their way forward in the dark through the tunnel complexes. Torches were reserved for combat as they could give away an approaching 'rat' whilst providing a nice aiming mark for any VC. Most 'rats' carried a standard Army .45 automatic, though the .38 Smith & Wesson was popular too. One 'Rat' even took a Luger down the holes with him, whilst "cannons" in the shape of riot shotguns, M2 Carbines with folding stocks and AK47`s were carried by the second or third man in the 'rat' team and passed forward as required. All 'rats' carried a combat knife of some description and had been given instruction on hand-to-hand combat in confined spaces. On the table roll once for number of men in rat team and once for the weapon/s they are carrying. The tunnels are represented in two dimensions only. Cut-out and prepare card to form tunnel sections, and chambers of varying sizes as seen from above. They are divided into squares, tunnel lengths are at most one square wide and 3 squares long. Chambers are different sizes according to taste. You will also need T junctions, corridor bends and markers for trap-doors, stores and equipment. The lazy way is to map the tunnel rats progress and then re-use the tunnel sections and chambers which you`ve prepared. Action Points Each 'rat' rolls an AvD each turn to see how many "Action Points" he gets. Both movement and combat require action points to be 'spent'. You can give experienced 'rats' a +1 or +2 die modifier. The player must decide how many AP's to spend on movement and how many to keep in reserve each turn for combat. Movement All movement is on hands and knees, with little room to turn around in the tunnels themselves. 'Rats' may move a number of squares equal to their 1, 2, or 3 squares forward. and 1 or 2 squares backwards. Each rate of movement requires the corresponding no. of AP`s to be spent. However, the faster you move the less likely you will be able to find a trap-door or avoid a booby-trap. The 'rats' start at the bottom of a shaft leading from the surface. Roll 1xD6 1, Dead End (1-4 :Booby-trap) 2 Straight tunnel 3 Tunnel bend (1-3: to left, 4-6: to right) 4 Tunnel junction 5 Straight tunnel section with trap-door 6 Chamber On the other side of a trap-door: 1 Surface (1: shot at by own side ; 2: fleeing VC) 2 Booby trap 3-4 tunnel 5-6 Chamber Chamber : 1, Surface Spider hole (1: Encounter, 2-6 : empty) 2 Surface Fighting Post (1: 2 Encounter, 3-6 : empty) 3,4,5 Small Chamber 6 Large Chamber (1,2: Sleeping Chamber, 3: Forward Aid Station, 4: 'Dien Bien Phu' Kitchen, 5: Command Post, 6: Weapons / Supply Cache - only one each per tunnel complex) Chamber Contents : 1 Empty, maybe some debris showing use 2,3,4 Contents relevant to room (i.e. clothing, personal effects in Sleeping Chamber; medical supplies etc in Aid Station ; radio, important documents in Command Post) 5 Empty but encounter 6 Contents relevant to room and encounter Encounter 1 Civillian (1,2,3,4 flees ; 5,6 attacks hand to hand) 2 Single VC (1,2,3 flees (; 3,4 attacks hand to hand ; 5, fires once, 6 fires twice) 3 Two VC (first, as above) 4,-5 NVA Cadre (1,2, one NVA; 3,4 : 2 NVA; 5: 3 NVA; 6 : 1xD6 NVA- you`re in trouble ; Roll again 1,2 : Flee 3,4,5,6: fight and pursue) 6 Grenade from the darkness. Use these modifiers where appropriate : -1 Move full AP, +1 Large Chamber -1 Gunfire in tunnels, +2 Booby-trap + 1 Behind Trapdoor FIRING Shooting takes 1 AP and can be combined with movement at no penalty, though only the point man can fire ahead. A basic roll of 6 on a D6 is required to kill. A 5, wounds (consult table below). A second aimed shot is allowed requiring a 5, or 6 to kill, a 4, wounding. If a figure has 2 AP`s left at the end of a move, it can move 1 square to cover or make a simultaneous return shot on being surprised either by movement or rifle fire. Treat grenades as Firing - every figure in that length of tunnel or chamber is treated as a target AND the figure closest to grenade must roll twice for wounds. BOOBY TRAPS The Viet Cong laid many cunning booby-traps including poisonous snakes, biting insects, punji sticks and grenades / mines. Whichever was encountered it must have been a devastating experience to the unfortunate 'rat'. To keep the system simple - throw 1xD6 ; 1 killed outright, 2-3 as per grenade wounding, 4 as shooting wound, 5-6 spot and avoid/disarm ; +1 if moving less than 4 AP`s, +2 if moving only 1 AP. HAND TO HAND VC rolls 1xAvD and US player must score beneath this with a Please add further rules to suit the complexity you require. Use crouching or kneeling figures in boonie hats/sweatbands for the Tunnel Rats. Platoon20 have a 'Tunnel Rat' in their comprehensive Vietnam Range. Back to The Gauntlet No. 10 Table of Contents Back to The Gauntlet List of Issues Back to Master Magazine List © Copyright 1997 by Craig Martelle Publications This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com