Ambush Valley: Vietnam 1965-1975 (Force on Force) Paperback – October 18, 2011

Other people have mentioned the contents on this book. I will give my thoughts and impression of the work overall. The book had loads of ToEs and historical unit information. The rule of thumb here is that each platoon was rarely at full strength in men and equipment. You can write scenarios using your best judgment as to what the contents of the squads are. Some of the tables of equipment are very basic. I felt they were unnecessary. There were loads of ToEs that it was almost redundant. I wish there were listings for the French. Based on what I said they probably follow the other units in this book (10 man squad, 2 fire teams, one LmG, several SmGs and rifles). I am mystified as to why this theater book did this when other books have basic ToEs and 20+ scenarios. That leads me to my big complaint. There are only a handful of scenarios. I wish there were more. This book is almost as big as the core rule book. I wonder what creative decision was that made that happen? The good points are there are lots of illustrations, special rules and historical background. I am glad I bought the book.

Vietnam presents a unique setting for wargaming. Compared to WWII, Vietnam holds more in common with modern conflicts: insurgency movements, unconventional warfare and guerrilla tactics, limited rules of engagement, air mobile operations, special forces, even urban combat.Trying to cover all of that in the context of a game is a tall order. Ambush Valley Vietnam 1965-75 does an admirable job, providing the background and detail to go about as deep into the Vietnam War as you want. It's extensively researched, clearly organized and well-written. As such, it's an essential source book and supplement for adapting Force on Force to Vietnam.The majority of Ambush Valley focuses on rules and unit organizations. The section on new or modified rules runs more than 20 pages. If you need it, it's here. The rules allow you to incorporate paddy fields, VC tunnels, body armor, night fighting (including starlight scopes and trip flares), off-board artillery, booby traps, river patrol boats and more. Everything fits seamlessly into the Force on Force core ruleset. All rules are explained as simply as possible and accompanied by extensive design notes.At more than 110 pages, the section on unit organizations forms the heart of the book. Comprehensive is an understatement; I can't recall any game supplement devoting so much attention to TOEs. Special forces alone account for some 23 pages. All together, you'll find information on virtually every military force involved in the theater between 1965 and 1975: US Army and Marines, AVRN (South Vietnam), ANZAC (Australia and New Zealand), Republic of Korea, Thailand, Philippines, PAVN (North Vietnam), PLAF (Viet Cong), Laos, Cambodia and more.Forces are detailed at the fireteam, squad and platoon level, along with information on organization and assets at the company level and above. In addition to traditional infantry, Ambush Valley also presents organizations for airborne and mechanized infantry, armor and anti-tank units.The end result is you shouldn't run out of ideas for a new game anytime soon.In contrast to such exhaustive source material, the six scenarios that follow only hint at the full scope of the Vietnam War. Scenarios range from a desperate fight at Camp Nam Dong in 1964 to the battle for An Loc in 1972. I'd like to have seen more, but what's here is top-notch.Ultimately, that's how I judge Ambush Alley as a whole. It offers a great foundation for gaming Vietnam in Force on Force. The content is well worth the price and easily earns a 5-star rating in my view. In the meantime, I'll be looking for Ambush Alley Games and Osprey Publishing to follow up with more in-depth scenario books (hopefully focusing on specific operations or battles such as the hill fights around Khe Sanh).

Ambush Games' third scenario/period supplement, Ambush Valley, is big on information but limited in scope. The book stands as being better than Road to Baghdad for providing a great deal of new information, while not having the balance of Operation: Enduring Freedom.Ambush Valley's biggest draw is that it gives extensive (And I mean EXTENSIVE) Tables of Organization and Equipment (TO&Es) for armies involved in the Vietnam Conflict. If it's not obvious that this means there is are a lot of lists, than allow me to point out that the book has about 50 more pages than any other Ambush Games supplement. This was apparently a business decision: either include both Free World and Communist Forces in one book by increasing the page count, cutting a few things, and fit as much as you can into a single book or simply put out a book for each one. So if you are looking for bang-for-your-buck in terms of pages, you have it. The lists themselves give force disposition at the start of the conflict, with further modifications being explained in background paragraphs.There are also a few rules additions given at the start of the book regarding things like units equipped with Bolt-Action Rifles, additional flavor-rules to wounds and medics, and rules to reflect the differences in how the NVA and VC deal with casualties. Some of the rules have more traction in other periods, but they all work to make Vietnam feel suitably different from other conflicts. I personally use the extra medic/wound rules for all my games. At the back of the book there are pages which show the Booby Trap and Vietnam-Specific Fog of War cards. If you want to look at these, they are downloadable as a PDF.Where the book comes off as light is in the scenarios department. The book offers 6 scenarios, all of which are definitely interesting and different. The problem is that this comes off as really sparse; I know they are supposed to be releasing more for free down the line online, but I think part of the appeal of these books are getting those scenarios so that you get a feel for the engagements of the war. So while it has some, it just doesn't have enough. Along with this, they were apparently forced to cut out the French-Indochina stuff from the book, making this a purely 1960s-1970s book. So if you were looking to use your French with this book, you'll be out of luck.Overall, this is still a good book with tremendous value. If you are all about scenarios, you can lower the star-rating by one. If you are all about TO&Es, you can raise it up a star.

Have read this book and all shoud read this book about Ambush Valley. One of the best books by far.

Nice rule set. Great service.

I bought this on a whim and was rather pleased with what I received.The book is crammed with detail about the Vietnam war and even if you are not using Force on Force to game the conflict, there is still plenty of detail in the book to make it an essential purchase.I do have other FoF books but this is the stand out book of the series.

Excellent addition to Force on Force rules. Clear well presented information on the Vietnam war. Lots of information that is interesting especially on Orbats. We'll worth the money.

A very good source book - needs FoF to play, the best Vietnam skirmish game I have played.

another great book from ambush alley, give a great simple game on a 2 x 2 ft table or larger