r/hexandcounter

I've been doing a little research on hex-and-counter game development and I've come to understand that Vietnam hasn't been a big setting for this style of game largely due to a some big changes in weapons technology since Korea -- namely, the outfitting of individual soldiers with fully automatic rifles which basically doesn't mesh with the current mechanics of your average Infantry Fire Table.

With that said, which game do you think does squad-level Vietnam scenarios the best?

Looking for cheap war games from any era. Ancient-WWII-Modern, preferably under 30 USD.

Greetings fellow reddit grogs! It's a new month, so lets hear what you're getting to the table. Please post one top level comment reply with the games that you're playing. Feel free to edit and comment elsewhere as you see fit!

To help people navigate the thread, please put game names in bold. Happy Gaming!

Just a quick note to say that I am putting together a series of videos to document every single game available on Rally The Troops! What are they, how do they rate, what do they look like? If you enjoy this type of wargaming content in your Youtube feeds, please consider having a look.

War is, as we all know, hell, but our chosen hobby is for the most part pretty good at distancing us from the actual horrors of war. We don't see the human suffering, the innocent civilians getting killed, the soldiers returning home with life-long traumas. A few games though chose to include themes that are pretty dark, even by the standards of war.

So has anyone ever encountered a game that has rules that makes you uncomfortable to even play the game? Even though the game might be fantastic, those specific rules just makes it hard for you to even suggest playing the game.

For me "Bosnian War" hit this point, it has rules for ethnic cleansing. The conflict would have been nigh impossible to accurately depict, on a more strategic level at least, without this element, but it does not make it any less uncomfortable, and I do respect the authors of the game for daring to include it (as a player action), but I would probably not be able to play this game.

https://preview.redd.it/gh57kxga5gah1.png?width=4096&format=png&auto=webp&s=4d381735449d2d5c3b47fcce2e9acddced622416

It probably does not help that I know people who lived through that conflict.

I have been looking for recommendations, since the pinned post largely has games that are difficult to find nowadays.

I have experience with Twilight Struggle (if it can be considered a wargame) and overall found it fairly simple to understand. I have also played Panzer General 2 and its various derivatives/clones on PC, so the space is not entirely unfamiliar to me.

I have been eyeing Combat Commander, but I am worried about the card-driven engine making it too luck-based. I have also considered Simonitch 4x games, but the typical newbie recommendations (Salerno and France 40) are not in print.

I would prefer something closer to operational-level, though tactical is fine by me.

Of course you all saw my earlier post. Well, I just finished playing until Autumn 1941. Here are some thoughts:

1. The rules are good. I know that this game is well over 60 years old, but the rules are clear. I was able to figure out what to do and when. And the mechanics are not that complex.
2. This plays fast. I know I was doing this solo, but even then, I got through about 6 months or so relatively fast.

The Game is afoot

Now for the game play: My first roll should have been enough to tell Rommel to go back to Germany: the supplies are at the bottom of the Med. But that's ok, time to move on to Bengasi (sic).

First battle? First victory!

With the coast-road bonus, and the Rommel bonus, I was able to get up to and take Bengasi on the first turn.

The Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force are sinking all the German supplies

Because the German supplies kept getting sunk, Rommel could only maneuver to get into positions for when the supplies actually show up!

Setting up for the advance into Egypt

Because I could not attack, the Brits were able to set up for a better defense. And the Axis simply got whatever defendable terrain they could to wait for the trucks!

Brit Attack!

The British are not facing any supply problems. As such, they launch a 1:2 attack. Is the risk worth it?

Post Battle Result

The Brits ended up with an A Back 2 result. This was the situation afterwards. The Germans have reached Tmimi, but cannot attack due to the logistics situation.

SUPPLIES!

A convoy made it! Supplies have arrived and are making their way up the coast road!

2nd UK Attack!

The Brits are pressing! Here is another 1:2 attack, but the Brits need to cause some fatal damage to the DAK!

Exchange!

Thanks to the defending terrain, the Germans edge the Brits in Defender Points, so the Brits take the worst of the battle damage. That said, the Germans are left with very little!

Siege!

After laying a siege on Tobruch (sic) for a turn, the Axis supplies make it and the attack goes in! Tobruch falls to the Axis!

I decided to stop here. I wanted to get a feel for game play, and I think I have it. I also made some game-play errors, and in retrospect, I would not attack as the Allies until I get much better advantages.

Oh, and I missed the deployment of some reinforcements. I will reset and go again!

After nearly needing to repurchase the game Splendor because we wore out the cards, I decided a couple years ago to sleeve all my games. So for the past couple years I've sleeved all the games that I purchased that have cards (50+ currentboxed games, 2-3% magazine games and older games).

I have since realized that, unlike Splendor that I play with friends and family and hence play on a regular basis, most of my war games, except for my favorites (Castle Itter, by stealth and Sea, Pavlov's house, la Der das Ders, Operation fall blau , Ottoman sunset , and a couple of others) get played generally 10 times (give or take 10 times). Unlike the game Splendor, there doesn't appear to be much worry of wearing out the cards.

What do others think? For the lesser played games, does it make sense to sleeve cards just for consistency and protection? Or is this a waste of time and effort and money?

I am looking for a game that can be either played true solo or has elements that facilitate me to play both sides (eg: gameplay does not rely on opposing sides to hide information from one another/the turns are straightforward enough so that I have enough mental capacity to track both sides, etc.)

As for the scale, I do enjoy the tactical aspect more because I hate the idea of managing supply lines. The smallest unit in game should preferably be an infantry squad/individual vehicles.

For time period, late cold war is preferred because the equipment is recognizable and dealing with 21st century information warfare complexities don't seem particularly fun. (Am open to recommendations to 21st century stuff if the rules are good though)

Am almost a complete beginner to hex and counter so recommendations are welcome!

I'd appreciate any recommendations for PC or Mac Hex & Counter-style war games with good tutorial or learning modes. I'd prefer WW2 era, but am open to different kinds. I've been a bit overwhelmed with trying to learn certain turn-based strategy games using YouTube and other resources and probably am a little old school with learning war games with printed rules. Thanks!

I like the idea of units degrading and losing cohesion. Does it work in actual gameplay tho ?

Thanks.