Vietnam ‘65

"Search and Destroy!" Who doesn't know this command slogan from the Vietnam War? That's exactly what this English-language game from Slitherine is all about. The aim is to reach a minimum score at the end of around 45 rounds, scout out the majority of the map and destroy your opponent's troops in the process. The opponent should either be the “Vietcong” or the “North Vietnamese Army”, you know, the “Charlies”. To accomplish this task, the player has infantry, armored vehicles, transport helicopters, artillery and air support in the form of armed helicopters or turn-dependent F4 air strikes at his disposal. The “Search” is implemented by flying to individual villages with infantry, starting from a main base. The infantry should now regularly secure these villages and, of course, track down suspected enemies. As the troops and helicopters naturally consume material, the corresponding supplies must also be brought in by helicopter. The player is now faced with the challenge of setting up appropriate intermediate landing points with a view to the maximum flight ranges so that the helicopters can refuel themselves and the troops can be supplied with supplies. The enemy is randomly on the move to lay mine traps or shoot down the odd helicopter from ambush with a bazooka. The whole thing is also garnished with the dreaded rain, which literally causes the required air strikes to fall into the water. Depending on your success in combat and reconnaissance, you earn victory points and money to buy additional troops. Your own infantry is divided into normal infantry and “Green Berets”. Although the latter have weaker combat values, they have a greater reconnaissance range and can train South Vietnamese infantry in upstream bases. These can then be deployed immediately after training. When exploring, you shouldn't take too much time, otherwise the enemies will come more and more frequently, especially from the left side of the map, and even then with armored vehicles. The latest version of the game not only allows you to play on “Normal” and ‘Veteran’ difficulty (lower starting capital), you can also select a “Custom” setting, which allows you to play with a higher number of rounds and a higher starting capital. At the end, there are awards in the form of promotion points and medals depending on the number of successful games. Interesting for tactics freaks and those interested in war. Lt. Lockhart: [reading] "[i]...we have a new directive from M.A.F. on this. In the future, in place of "search and destroy," substitute the phrase "sweep and clear." Got it?[/i]" Private Joker: "[i]Got it. Very catchy.[/i]"