Lam SonMilitary Simulation of the War in South East Asia
Introduction
Lam Son is a two-player simulation of the 10 year U.S. involvement in the Indo-China War on the division-regimental level.
Players 2
Playing time forever (264 turns)
Era Vietnam, 1965-1975
Scale Strategic
Time 2 turns = 1 month
Space 1 hex = 10 Km.
Unit Division
Credits
Designer: Edward G. Tilton, Sr.Publisher: Dave Casciano Co., 1977
Attack International Wargaming Assoc.
Components
2 four-color hexgrid unmounted maps, each 22"x27", covering North & South Vietnam and neighbouring countries1 8½"x16½" sheet trifolded into six pages of rules
1 16-page 5½"x8½" illustrated historical booklet
1 8½"x11" Game Turn Record 2 24 semi-diecut mounted non-backprinted monocolor counters
1 brick red 10½"x14½" cover sheet on cardstock with tables on the back
1 large clear ziploc container
Counter Manifest
ARVN (white on black)11 4-4 Infantry Divisions
3 4-4 Airborne Brigades
3 5-4 Marine Regiments
7 5-6 Mechanized Regiments
7 Ranger Regiments (4x4-5; 3x3-5)
2 6-6 Armored Regiments
10 Air Points
2 Gunboats
1 Helicopter Gunship
USA (white on green)
16 Infantry Brigades (1x6-5; 2x5-5; 3x6-4; 6x5-6; 3x4-4; 1x2-3)
9 6-4 Infantry Regiments
1 8-5 Marine Brigade
4 6-4 Marine Regiments
3 4-4 Airborne Brigades
3 4-4 Air Cavalry Brigades
1 6-6 Reconnaissance Brigade
NVA/NLF (white on red)
18 8-4 Infantry Divisions
4 3-5 Infantry Regiments
2 6-6 Armored Brigades
3 5-4 Artillery Brigades
14 0-1-0 Intrinsic Defense Markers
16 (1)-8 Supply Units
Khymer Rouge (red on white)
7 Infantry Divisions (5x6-4; 2x5-4)
1 3-6 Infantry Regiment
1 2-6 Armored Division
1 3-3 Artillery Brigade
4 0-1-0 Intrinsic Defense Markers
Pathet Lao (black on red)
4 5-4 Infantry Divisions
3 1-5 Infantry Regiments Cambodia (blue on white)
3 5-4 Infantry Brigades
2 5-6 Mechanized Brigades
1 3-3 Airborne Regiment Thailand (black on blue)
6 Infantry Regiments (3x6-4; 2x3-4; 2-4)
Laos (black on white)
4 Infantry Divisions (5-4; 2x4-4; 3-4)
1 Kings Guards Division
1 Civil Action Group
41 blanks
What the company said:
“Lam Son is the finest wargame made anywhere in the world ... This simulation has been 5 years in design, development and playtesting. No other company can afford to give you so thoroughly polished a piece of work at any price.”What the reviewers said:
“In the strictest sense, Lam Son’s rules really aren’t rules, rather they’re a loose collection of vague and contra-dictory sentences, amounting to nothing more than a fleshed-out outline of a game system. By no interpretation, no matter how lenient, can they be said to provide definitive or clear guides for all the activities that go on in a game turn -- you have to ad lib a lot. Several friends have urged me not to be as critical with LS here as I would be with other games on more conventional wars with such awful rules. They point out, while stifling smirks or wily grins, that since the real Vietnamese war was also fought in somewhat of a fog (on our side at least) that the rules should produce the same effects in game play is only appropriate. Ha ha. ... There, however, is the final nail in Lam Son’s coffin, as far as this reviewer is concerned - the play. It doesn’t. At least not like the war it’s supposed to be simulating. The absurd rigid-zone of control system allows the same unrealistic thing to happen over again in every game I’ve participated in or watched: the creation of a frontline!” Ty Bomba, Campaign 94.“Generally speaking, the rules are clear, familiar, and easy to understand. ... As a campaign Lam Son falls short of its true potential. Lacking rules governing the complex psycho-logical and political aspects of the war, it cannot be considered a simulation of history.” Rodger MacGowan in F&M 18.
“Despite advertising claims so exaggerated as to be termed misleading, backed up by equally vain commentary in the ‘Historical Notes’, Lam Son reflects a very primitive attempt to portray the Vietnam conflict of 1965-1975 in a simple, compact simulation. It is flawed by an absence of any serious historical or geographical research, amateurish graphics, and a play-system so marred by poor rules that it barely ranks on the level of a ‘beer and pretzels’ game.” Shelby Stanton in Grenadier 11.
Player’s Value
If the above reviews weren’t enough to turn you off, consider the following: the two campaign scenarios each take 264 turns, per player, with several actions to be undertaken each turn. If each player were allowed, say, 15 minutes per turn, the time required to play one of these scenarios would be conservatively estimated at 132 hours, or 5½ full days.For the finest wargame made anywhere in the world with unparalleled design, development and playtesting over the space of five years, it’s interesting to note that the south map was ©1977 and the north map ©1978. It’s a small point, to be sure, but not a harbinger of comfort. However, to be told that if you wish to simulate Chinese intervention or NVA raids into Thailand, you should use Chinese Peoples Volunteers counters from Wellington Wargames’ 38th Parallel, or some other Korean game, especially when there are numerous blank counters in Lam Son, suggests a considerable lack of planning and foresight, or colossal cheek. Or both.
Collector’s Value
Boone lists low, high and average prices of 9/21/14.83 at auction and 20/ 60/40.00 for sale. Why would such an apparent turkey of a game command so much? The thought that the advertising copy actually sank home to many board wargamers is pushing things a bit. The answer, quite likely, is the limited production run and distribution.Let me give the last word to Mr. Bomba: “If you have the inclination and budget to consider yourself a game collector, as well as player, Lam Son will make a nice addition to your shelves (original emphasis).”
Other games by this designer
Mercifully, none.The De Facto Vietnam War
Critics of the President’s sending troops to Vietnam say he has usurped congressional authority to declare war. Article 1, section 8 of the Constitution says that Congress shall have the power to declare war. The President has not infringed on that power; Congress may declare wars when the situations arise, but in cases of conflicts of a lesser magnitude than a large scale war, the President has traditionally taken action without a formal declaration of war. In an article, The War in Vietnam: Unconstitutional, Justiciable, and, Jurisdictionally, Attackable, the war in Vietnam is bitterly criticized; none-the-less, the article points out that the President has, on some one hundred twenty-five occasions, without congressional declaration of war, ordered the armed forces to take some action or to maintain some position abroad. It also points out that ‘the one use of force upon which the current war might be supported is the Korean war, which was a long sustained and large-scale foreign military operation fought without a congressional declaration of war.’Back to Simulacrum Vol. 4 No. 2 Table of Contents
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