Fire in the Lake: Fall of Saigon
The Great Spring Offensive
Vietnam, 1975. The Provisional Revolutionary Government was ready. After internal debate, the Communists had issued Resolution 21—the war to unify the country would continue. The Paris Peace would serve as merely one more tool in the armed struggle. In Saigon, President Thieu had known from the beginning that the ceasefire was an empty promise, but he had to accept his US ally’s hollow accords with the North. Nonetheless, he now fielded one of the world’s best equipped armies, and the victories of 1972 proved to him that it could withstand even an all-out assault from the North. While President Nixon had pledged peace with honor, his determination to enforce South Vietnam’s independence had floundered amidst the worst US presidential scandal in history. What now from Ford? From Hanoi, Le Duc Tho—the negotiator who had squared off against Kissinger in Paris—was to trek south to oversee the final push to Saigon on behalf of the Politburo. His orders: “Do not come home until victory is won.”
Mark Herman and Volko Ruhnke’s award-winning Fire in the Lake revealed the factional clashes of the US insurgency in Vietnam, from the first entry of US combat troops under Westmoreland to the ’72 Christmas bombings that teed up their negotiated withdrawal. Now, Fall of Saigon expands Fire in the Lake to finish the story. Three Fall of Saigon scenarios enable 1-4 players to extend play beyond Paris, beginning before 1968’s Tet, on the eve of the 1972 Easter Offensive, or from 1964 all the way to the end of the war. A standalone 2‑player Black April scenario focuses tightly on the post-Paris sparring between NVA and ARVN, including the final massive battles, advances, and retreats.
To show the transition from insurgency and counterinsurgency to mobile mechanized warfare, Fall of Saigon introduces an array of new features, including:
Fall of Saigon will include 79 Event, Pivotal Event, and Coup cards; about 30 Non-player cards; one sheet of counters and track tiles; about 20 added wooden pieces; new and updated player aid charts; and expansion rule and play booklets. Fire in the Lake veterans will find the war beyond Paris easy to rev up but a whole new experience. Fight on and find the end of the tunnel. A copy of Fire in the Lake will be necessary to play the Fall of Saigon expansion.
COMPONENTS
Deck of 79 playing cards (Fall of Saigon Events, Coups, Pivotals).
Deck of 36 playing cards (FoS solitaire system).
29 wooden pieces
4 double-sided color 11x17” foldout PACs (Fall of Saigon Faction sheets).
2 double-sided color 8½x11” PACs (Fall of Saigon Coup Round and Paris Peace sheets).
2 double-sided color 11x17” foldout PACs (FoS solitaire system).
2 double-sided color 8½x11” PACs (FoS solitaire system).
1 Countersheet (US Policy and Initiative track tiles, Fall of Saigon counters).
Expansion Rules booklet
Expansion Background booklet
Solitaire Rules booklet
Game Box
Note: Fall of Saigon is compatible with the First and Second Edition of Fire in the Lake, as well as the Second Edition Upgrade Kit. The Solitaire System included in Fall of Saigon is for the Fall of Saigon only, and cannot be used to play the Scenarios included in Fire in the Lake.
Game Design: Mark Herman and Volko Ruhnke
Development: Jason Carr
Solitaire System: Bruce Mansfield
