FP 16-1

FLYING PIG GAMES TRAINING AID

‘65
TACTICAL GAME

HEADQUARTERS - FLYING PIG GAMES

AUGUST 2016
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‘65: Squad Level Combat in Vietnam

©2016 Mark H. Walker
Published by: Flying Pig Games
flyingpiggames.com
facebook.com/flyingpiggames

Game design: Mark H. Walker

Artwork: Mark H. Walker, Marc von Martial and
Kwanchai Moriya
Layout & editing: Greg Porter
Playtesting: Mark H. Walker, Greg Porter, Denver Walker,
Bill Wood, Patrick Nix

All rights reserved. Protected by the International Copyright

Convention.
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‘65:
Squad Level Combat in Vietnam
Vietnam was an iconic war in American history. Never before had the United States lost an armed
conflict. Never before had the American public so turned against their military. Never before had the
opinions of a significantly misinformed citizenry dictated the strategy of not only the American govern-
ment, but also the military that served it.
Despite the lack of popular support, despite a grand strategy that handcuffed its men and women, the
American military fought valiantly, and with great tactical success, against both the North Vietnamese
Army and the Viet Cong. By the same token the dedicated soldiers of the communist revolution fought
with great skill again a technologically superior foe, frequently giving as good as they got in firefights
throughout Vietnam.
It is those firefights that ’65 depicts. It is a game that replicates the America’s awesome firepower, the
Viet Cong’s cunning, and the North Vietnamese army’s tenacity. A vehicle from which players can learn
a bit about the combatants that fought in the Mekong Delta, the streets of Hue, and the fields of Ia Drang.
Yet first and foremost it is a game, meant to played, meant to tell its own tales, generate its own stories.
Enjoy it.
1. Purpose and Scope d. Player Aid Card (PAC). Provides various
‘65: Squad Level Combat in Vietnam (‘65 for information used when playing the game.
short) is a card-driven game that recreates squad e. Rulebook. It’s in your hands right now.
battles in the Vietnam War. Players control squads,
tanks, and Heroes, directing them through the play f. Eight scenarios. (Part of the rulebook).
of Action cards to defeat their enemy in one of the 3. Terms
numerous scenarios provided with the game. The following terms are used throughout the
2. Components rules.
d f
‘65 includes the following components: a. Unit. Units are the fighters
a. Three maps. These regulate movement and in ‘65. For our examples, the
Note:
half- give you and your friends something to fight over. American M-48 tank, the Viet
hexes Cong Sappers, and Chu. In
are b. Five counter sheets. Counters representing the e
playa
short, any counter placed on the
ble.
North Vietnamese Army (NVA), Viet Cong, and board and used to fight against b i h
the Americans fighting them. Also included are the enemy.
administrative markers used for signifying actions
taken, combat results, and other functions. The The numbers and icons on a
g
American counters are green, the Viet Cong blue, unit represent the following.
and the NVA cream. For each nationality, the side Note that for all these numbers,
with the orange stripe represents the unit at reduced larger values represent a greater c
strength. proficiency or intensity.
j
c. 54 Playing Cards. These cards activate the See p20 for unit errata and
additional information. i
NVA, Viet Cong, and American units in the game.

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b. Hard target. Any unit with an Armor Factor • Powers: These are circular icons located in the
(AF), even if it is a negative AF. These are always bottom center of the counter. May be activated
vehicles. Hard Targets normally have one step. The when a card which reads ‘Power’ is played by
flip side of the counter displays a vehicle wreck. the unit’s owner. Whenever a unit uses a power,
c. Soft target. Any unit with an asterisk for an AF. it is marked Ops Complete (3p).
Note that although trucks are vehicles, they are • Abilities: These are square icons located along
also soft targets. Infantry are the predominant form the left side of a unit. Most Abilities are always
of Soft targets. The term Infantry is frequently used on, but a handful, such as Spraying Fire, may
in the rules and scenarios. The terms Infantry and be used at the owner’s discretion. Consult the
Leg (8a) units are used interchangeably through section on Abilities (19).
the rules. They are: j. Heroes. Heroes are units, but they are much
• Units that depict a side view of soldiers or more. They represent special individuals or leaders
civilians (including the NVA, Viet Cong, and who can turn the tide of battle. A Hero has a
Americans). portrait on the counter and a name rather than a
• A Hero. A unit whose portrait is on the counter. unit type. For example, Riggs or Chu.

• A Leg(L) movement class. k. Cover Factor(CF). Most terrain has a Cover

Factor that represents the amount of protection that
Infantry normally have two steps. The side of the the terrain offers. This CF is found on the Terrain
counter with a orange band is the reduced unit. Effects Chart (TEC).
d. Targeting Modifier. Top left. The unit’s ability l. Phasing Player. The player whose impulse it is.
to target other vehicles with armor-piercing (AP)
ammunition. m. Impulse. The Phasing Player’s play of card(s)
to activate unit(s). The Impulse also includes the
e. Armor Factor(AF). Bottom left. The unit’s non-phasing player’s play of Reaction cards (18)
ability to survive a hit by AP ammunition. An and/or Opportunity Fire (16j). Players alternate
asterisk indicates that the unit is a Soft Target and impulses until the turn ends. In each impulse the
may not be targeted by AP ammunition. Phasing Player usually plays one Action, which
f. Armor Piercing Factor(APF). Top right. The permits a single action by the units occupying one
unit’s ability to destroy enemy vehicles with AP hex. There are cards such as ‘Reinforcements’,
ammunition. ‘Command Ops’, and support cards that alter this.
g. High Explosive Factor(HEF). Middle right. n. Turn. A turn consists of numerous impulses
The unit’s ability to damage enemy units that do and ends when the scenario-designated number of
not have an Armor Factor (3e). These are referred ‘End Turn’ cards are drawn or both players
to as Soft Targets (3c). sequentially pass.
h. Movement Factor(MF). Bottom right. The o. Pass. A player passes when they do not draw
number of movement points the unit is allocated or discard or take any actions during their turn.
per impulse and a letter that indicates the type of p. Admin markers. These are
movement (8a). counters that assist in tracking
i. Powers or Abilities. Center left and center game functions and signifying
bottom. In addition to the above factors, many the status of units. Examples are
units have Powers or Abilities. a Fired marker, Moved marker,
Ops Complete. A unit that is Ops Complete may not Ops Complete marker, etc.
Move, Fire, Rally, or initiate an assault. It may 2
defend in assault, retreat from assault, and use Eligible unit. See 7c (page 5)
support cards such as Light Wounds, Unexpected
Cover, Glancing Shot, Ambush or Bullet Storm--if
Unshaken and Defending in assault combat.
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4. Action cards c. Targeting number(TN). Lower left block. This

These are the playing cards used to activate a number (-2 to 10) is used to determine whether or
player’s units, enhance their abilities, or degrade not the target of Armor Piercing (AP) fire is hit.
an opponent’s actions. Each card has the following There are also three other pieces of information
components: sometimes found in this block.
a. Action Blocks. These FIRE • Turret hit: This means that the vehicle’s turret
Play this card to fire with an Eligible
contain text and denote Unit or group of units. a or other heavily armored section has been hit,
actions your units may increasing the targeted unit’s Armor Factor(AF)
POWER b
take or enhancements to MOVE
by one in the event that it is hit.
actions taken. Play this card to move one hex of
Eligible Unit/s. a • Moving Fire(MF): When this card is drawn, a
Green, red and yellow vehicle using a Move & Fire action misses its
icons beside the action's e HIT
target, regardless of the number drawn.
name show particular
types of actions: 10 1 • Miss: The shot misses its intended target.
c d d. Armor-Piercing Fire Bonus. Lower right
block. This is added to the attacking unit’s APF and
• Green icons: Denote an action only played in compared to the target’s AF to determine if the
the player’s impulse (exception: Opportunity target is destroyed. This number is either the sole
Fire (11e(3)). Unless modified by the text on a number in the lower right block or the number in
card, only one Action may be played in the the lower half of the block. There are four other
player’s impulse. For example, a player may results located in the APF Bonus block. They are
play a card with a Move Action in the lower either located in the upper half of the block or are
Action Block, to move one hex of units. the sole result in the block. Shake, Dud, and
• Red icons: Denote an action to be played during Destroy apply to the targeted Hard Target. The
the opposing player’s Impulse, in reaction to an word ‘Hit’ in various colors applies only to Soft
action the other player has taken. More than one targets (see next entry).
reaction may be played in response to the other • Shake: The target is Shaken.
player’s Action. For example, you could play
an Unexpected Cover in response to a Fire • Dud: There is no effect on the target.
Action targeting a vehicle and a Glancing Shot • Destroy: The target is destroyed.
if the vehicle was actually hit. e. HE result. This is located in the top half of the
• Yellowicons: These support an Action. For lower right block. If the word "Hit" is present, the
example, a player could play Bullet Storm to target might suffer a hit. There are three colors of
enhanced an attack on an enemy Soft target. ‘Hit’ and each apply in a different circumstance
Only one of each supporting card may be (see Combat (11d) for more details).
played per Action. For example, you may only 5. Scale
play one Bullet Storm with a Fire Action. Units represent infantry teams, such as squads or
b. Power. If the Action Card contains the word gun teams, or individual tanks, heroes, leaders, and
‘Power’ between the upper and lower Action snipers. Hexes are approximately 50 meters wide
Blocks, the owner may play the card to activate the and each turn represents several minutes of time.
selected unit's Power. Mark the unit Ops Complete Only one of each supporting card may be played
(3p) after resolving its Power. per Action. For example, you may only play one
3 Bullet Storm and/or one Panic with a Fire Action.
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6. Sequence of play When the scenario-prescribed number of ‘End

Each turn of ‘65 will be a series of Impulses (3l) Turn’ cards have been laid down or when both
Note: that start and end in a specific sequence: players pass consecutively, the turn moves to the
End Reserve Phase. If a final ‘End Turn’ is drawn when
turn a. Deal cards. At the beginning of each turn,
cards shuffle the Action Card deck and deal each player resolving combat (8a), complete the resolution of
are that action before moving to the Reserve Phase.
counte cards until they have four. Players may not possess
d even more than four cards in their hand at any given d. Reserve phase. The player with turn initiative
if
drawn time. Note that the Action Card deck is shuffled at moves first in the reserve phase. In the Reserve
at the the beginning of each turn, not the beginning of phase, the player with the initiative moves all their
start
of the each impulse. units, and then the other player moves all of theirs.
game
b. Determine initiative. Determine Initiative. • Only Eligible Units (7c) may move in the
After the cards are dealt, each player selects a card Reserve Phase. This includes all units not
Note: and places it face down in front of himself. The currently on the map.
the
winner players reveal the cards and compare the TN (4c, • Eligible units that begin the Reserve Phase
does lower left block). The player with the higher
not more than three hexes from an enemy unit may
redraw number has initiative for the turn, and discards that move as follows: Units with the Wheeled(W),
and card. The player that loses the initiative returns the
will Off-road(O), or Tracked(T) movement class
play card to their hand. A word, such as “Miss” in the (See 8a, Movement) may expend 3 movement
with TN box is less than any number for determining points. Leg(L) movement class units may
three
cards initiative. If the Targeting Numbers tie, refer to the expend 2 movement points. All types of units
Armor Piercing Fire bonus (4d, lower right block). must stop immediately upon entering a hex at
The player with the higher APFB wins. If even or within three hexes of an enemy unit. Shaken
those numbers tie (a rare occurrence, really) the units may spend 1 movement point. Eligible
players must choose and reveal another card from Units may always move at least 1 hex. Flying(F)
their hand. In this event the winner must only dis- units do not move in the Reserve Phase.
card one card (their choice), the loser keeps both.
• Eligible Units that begin the Reserve Phase
c. Impulse actions. Beginning with the player within 3 hexes (inclusive) of an enemy unit,
who won the initiative, the players alternate may move 1 hex, but may not enter an enemy
impulses. In their impulse, a player does the unit’s hex. Shaken units that begin the Reserve
following things in this order: Phase within 3 hexes (inclusive) of an enemy
• Fill hand: Fill their hand to four cards, drawing unit may not move.
cards one at a time in case there are End Turn • No cards may be played in the Reserve Phase.
cards that need to be immediately discarded.
e. Clean-up phase. After the Reserve Phase is
• Play: Play cards and/or activates units. over, the players remove all Fired, Moved, and
• Discard: May discard up to 2 cards. Ops Complete markers. Shaken markers remain in
Or, the player can do nothing and pass. During place. Smoke 2 markers are degraded to Smoke 1,
each impulse, the player can play one action card and Smoke 1 markers are removed. Both players
and appropriate supporting cards to go with it. Be discard all but one card from their hand (if you
aware that the text on the cards may alter the wish, you may discard all the cards in your hand).
number of cards that can be played. See the Player Combine the discard and draw pile and begin again
Impulse (7a) for details. as per step 6a (Deal cards).
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7. The Player Impulse 8. Movement

a. Draw. The player draws up to a hand size of To move, an eligible unit must be activated by a
four cards. Cards are drawn one at a time in case ‘Move’, ‘Fast Move’, ‘Let’s Get ‘Em!’, ‘Scout’ or
any of them have an immediate effect when drawn. other clearly defined movement card, or be
b. Play an Action. During each impulse, the activated in the Reserve Phase. Units move hex to
Phasing Player can play one Action card and as hex, paying the movement costs delineated on the
many Support cards of different names as they Terrain Effects Chart to enter the terrain.
wish. Be aware that the text on the cards may alter Units may pass through another friendly unit’s
the number of cards that you can play. For example, hex, but cannot violate stacking limitations (10a).
‘Command Ops’ allows the player to take two Units with the Assault ability may enter an enemy
additional Actions or ‘Reinforcements’ allows a unit’s hex but must conduct Assault Combat as
player to draw a card and take another Action. described under that section (12a).
Once the card is played, the owner designates the a. Movement classes. There are five movement
unit or units the card will activate. For example, classes in ‘65, and each has its designation letter
the American player could play a card with the Fire next to its movement factor on the counter.
Action on it to activate an eligible M-48 to fire or
• Leg(L): Units that have to walk.
play a Rally Action to remove a Shaken Marker or
reconstitute (14b) a reduced unit. Actions labeled • Wheeled(W): Units using wheels for propulsion.
‘Fire’, ‘Move’ or ‘Fast Move’ can activate all the • Off-road(O): Wheeled units with improved
units in a hex to do that Action. Other Actions like cross-country mobility.
‘Punishing Fire’ only activate one unit.
• Tracked(T): Units that commonly use tracks for
Some cards do not activate a unit at all. For propulsion.
example, ‘Artillery’ calls in an artillery strike, and
‘Reinforcements’ allow a player to discard the card
• Flying(F): Units that fly through the air. For
example, helicopters.
in order to draw another and get another Action.
b. Vehicle movement. Vehicles face the corners
Some cards activate more than one hex of units.
of a hex, as described in 13c. The corner of the
For example, “Let’s Get ‘Em” allows the player to
vehicle counter containing the Targeting Modifier
move infantry units in two different hexes, and
(the upper left) is considered the vehicle’s front.
‘Flanking Fire’ can activate all units in a hex and
These types of units may only move into their
one unit in a different hex.
frontal hexes. Pivoting in place to a different facing
c. Eligible Units. Any unit not marked with a costs them 1 MP for each corner pivoted. They
Fired, Ops Complete, or Moved marker is eligible may however reverse move into their flank hexes.
for activation. Such units are Eligible Units (EU). See 13c for a complete explanation.
Two exceptions are the ‘Reload & Fire’ and
c. Minimum movement. An Eligible unit given a
‘Second Wind’ Actions. Units marked Fired may
Move action may always move at least 1 hex,
use the ‘Reload & Fire’ action (and are marked
unless the movement would be into prohibited
Ops Complete afterwards), and units marked Fired
terrain.
or Moved may use the ‘Second Wind’ action and
this removes the Fired or Moved marker.
d. Discard. At the end of their impulse, a player
may discard up to two cards.
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9. Transport units g. Shaken passengers may unload, but neither

a. A unit with a circled MF can passenger nor carrier can do more in that impulse.
transport one Leg movement h. A Shaken carrier cannot be loaded and a
class unit plus one Hero. The Shaken passenger cannot load.
unit doing the transporting is the
carrier, a unit being transported i.. In all instances, if either passenger or carrier
is a passenger. When halving is activated by a ‘Fast Move’ action, the extra 2
MF, round up. MPs are added to the total MP available before
halving due to loading or unloading.
• If the carrier and passenger begin an impulse
in separate hexes, the owning player can play j. A ‘Let’s Get ‘Em!’ action may be played to
a Move action to move one of them up to 1/2 of move and load up to two passengers, move two
its MF, into the other's hex and load. For loaded passenger and their carriers, or move and
instance, the shown M-113 could expend up to then unload two passengers from their carriers.
3MF to get into a hex with an infantry unit, and k. Specific rules for helicopters and passengers
then load the infantry unit and end its move. are found in the section on helicopters (15).
• If both the passenger and carrier begin their 10. Stacking
impulse in the same hex, but unloaded, the a. Stacking limits for friendly units apply at all
owning player can play a Move action to load times. Stacking limits for friendly units apply the
the passenger and then move the carrier 1/2 of following rules:
the carrier's MF.
• No more than three ground units may stack in
• If a carrier has a passenger at the beginning of a hex
the impulse, they may either:
• No more than one Hero may stack in a hex
1) Move 1/2 the carrier's MF and unload
• No more than two non-Hero Leg units may
2) Move the carrier's entire MF stack in a hex
3) Unload and each move 1/2 of their MF
• No more than one ground vehicle may stack in
b. To denote the status of a carrier and passenger a hex
in the same hex, place loaded passengers on top of
the carrier, and unloaded passengers under it. • No more than one Wreck counter may stack in
a hex, but you can have one ground vehicle and
c. Passengers unload into the same hex as the one Wreck in the same hex
carrier, which requires paying attention to stacking
limits (10a). • No more than one Air unit may stack in a hex
d. A loaded carrier fires normally. A passenger • A grounded Air unit counts as a ground vehicle
may not fire or engage in Assault Combat. • Administrative counters (like Fired) and terrain
e. If a carrier is destroyed while loaded, inflict modifications (like Smoke) have no stacking
two hits on the passenger. If the carrier is destroyed limits
in Assault Combat, any surviving passengers Example: Two Rifle and one Hero could stack.
retreat to an adjacent hex away from the direction Three Rifle could not. One Rifle, one M48 tank,
the assault took place. If this is not possible, the and one Hero could stack. One Truck, one M48
surviving passenger is eliminated. tank, and one Hero could not. Two Rifle, and one
f. If a carrier is Shaken, so is its passenger. If a M113 with a passenger could stack, but the M113
Shaken vehicle is Rallied (14a), so are passengers. could not unload its passenger.
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11. Ranged Combat

There are two types of combat in ‘65, ranged
combat and assault combat. Ranged combat occurs a
when one unit attacks another that isn’t in its hex.
Assault combat occurs when a unit moves into an
enemy unit’s hex. Below is non-vehicular combat.
b
We cover vehicle combat in a later section (13).
a. Ranged Combat. To
FIRE c d
conduct ranged combat Play this card to fire with an Eligible
an Eligible Unit (7c) Unit or group of units.

must have Line of Sight POWER

(11b) to its target, and the MOVE g
owning player must play Play this card to move one hex of
Eligible Unit/s.
a card allowing the unit
to fire (Fire, Flanking e f
HIT
Fire, Reload & Fire,
Move & Fire, or in some 10 1
cases, First Fire). Units Green lines indicate valid line of sight, red lines
cannot Fire out of a hex indicate blocked line of sight.
jointly occupied with an enemy unit. d-g: Adjacent units can always see each other.
b. Line of sight (LOS). All ranged combat, b-e: Brush is degrading terrain, but there is only
whether HEF or APF, requires that the attacker one intervening hex between the units, so LOS is
have a line of sight (or LOS) on the target. not blocked (remember that the terrain a target is
You can always see an adjacent unit. in does not count for LOS in or out of that hex).

Determine if you have a clear LOS to a target by c-e: The degrading terrain on one side does not
tracing a line from the center of your hex to the interfere with LOS.
center of the target's hex. If this line crosses a hex c-f: Even though the Kunai is a blocking terrain,
of blocking terrain or intersects a silhouette of a blocking terrain that is on the edge of LOS does
building or crosses two hexes of degrading terrain not block it.
that is not part of your hex or the defending unit's d-f: Even though there appears to be LOS traced
hex the LOS is blocked and you cannot fire. down the hex edge, the blocking terrain on both
Degrading terrain is Brush, Rubbe or hexes sides of the LOS path means that LOS is blocked.
containing vehicles or wrecks. Blocking terrain is a-e: This LOS is traced through two hexes of
any Jungle, Smoke or Kunai hex, or a LOS traced degrading terrain (Brush), so LOS is blocked.
through the silhouette of a building.
d-e: Even though the LOS passes through
LOS is not blocked or degraded if it is traced blocking terrain (Kunai), it is traced directly down
directly down a path through a blocking terrain. the path so there is a valid LOS.
LOS traced down the edge of a hex of blocking
terrain is not blocked. LOS traced down the edge c-g: This LOS is traced through blocking terrain
of two hexes of blocking terrain, one on each side (Kunai) and is not down the path, so LOS is
of the LOS, is blocked. blocked.

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c. Fire against Soft Targets. Soft Targets are d. HEF results. The HE result on a card (4e) will
those that have an asterisk for their AF (3c). either be blank or have the word ‘Hit’ in one of
Typically, these are American, Viet Cong and NVA three colors. Whether a card drawn counts as a hit
Rifle units, NVA and Viet Cong Sapper units, as on a target depends on the type of Action and in
well as Heroes, and belong to the Leg movement some cases the type of unit making the attack:
class (8a). Trucks are also considered Soft Targets, Action Hits on
although they may also be attacked by a unit using
its AP factor. Use the following procedure to Fire, Reload & Fire, Flanking Fire Hit
resolve fire against Soft Targets: Artillery Hit
1)Designation: Determine the firing unit(s) and Move & Fire Hit, Hit
the target. The attacker must have LOS on the
Assault combat Hit, Hit
target. See section 16 for special details for
particular Action cards. For range, count the Fire from hovering helicopters Hit
hex the target is in but not the attacker. Using Fire from moving/landed helicopters Hit, Hit
the illustration to the left, the range between d
If the correct color ‘Hit’ is on the card drawn, the
and g is 1 and the range between d and e is 3.
target has been hit. If the target is eliminated before
2)Play card: Play an appropriate card. For all cards have been drawn, stop drawing.
example, ‘Fire’.
The first hit on a unit Shakes it.
3)Determine firepower: Calculate the total Place a Shaken Marker on the
High Explosive Factor (HEF) in the attack and unit. A hit on a Shaken unit flips
modify as appropriate for range, cover and the unit to its reduced side. A hit
Support and Reaction cards. If the total is zero on a Shaken and reduced unit
or less, the attack is aborted. For instance, a eliminates the unit. A Shaken
unit with an HEF of 1 attacked a unit in terrain unit’s MF is halved, rounding
with a Cover Factor of 1, the result is an fractions down, after any other
aborted attack (unless the attacker plays a modifiers, such as Fast Move, are
Support card that increases their HEF). An applied. For example, a Shaken
aborted attack does count as an Action. Viet Cong Rifle unit given a Fast
4)Execute attack: Draw a number of cards from Move order (which gives +1MF)
the top of the deck equal to the adjusted HEF, would have a MF of 2 (3MF
and consult the HE result on each card (4e). HE +1MF)/2 = 2.
results on ‘End Turn’ cards are counted, but A Shaken unit cannot fire, and may not initiate
remember to set aside the ‘End Turn’ cards Assault combat, but may counterattack in Assault
afterwards. combat. Assault combat against a Shaken unit is not
5)Admin: Mark the firing unit(s) with a Fired simultaneous. All non-Shaken units inflict their hits,
marker if the units used Fire, Flanking Fire, and then the Shaken units counterattack. This can
First Fire (hard targets only) and with an Ops result in the Shaken unit being eliminated before it has
Complete marker if the unit used a Power, a chance to counter-attack.
Move & Fire or Reload & Fire. A Shaken Unit may be Rallied (see section 14).

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Combat example 1: See the map below. It is the e. Special cases. There are four special cases for
American player’s impulse. They designate the ranged combat. These are for multiple defenders,
Viet Cong Rifle in hex F3 as their target and play multiple attackers, opportunity fire and artillery.
a ‘Fire’ card, declaring that they are only using one 1)Multiple defenders: If there is more than one
of the two Rifle in that hex. The American HEF is target in a hex, the attacking player may choose
2 and the Kunai has a Cover Factor of 1, so the the target and can only choose one of them.
final HEF is 1 (the brush in D3 does not block Exceptions are: Artillery (10d(4)), Suppression
LOS). The American player draws one card from (19) and Satchel Charges (20). Unless the
the deck (the ‘Damage Draw’) and consults the attack is made by a Sniper (19), Heroes cannot
lower right block. On ‘Hit’, the Viet Cong Rifle be targeted by direct fire (without this, players
takes a hit, all other results are ignored. Regardless would do nothing but target Heroes, drastically
of the result, the American player puts their Fire reducing their effectiveness if there is another
card in the discard pile and places a Fired marker unit in the hex).
on their unit.
2)Multiple attackers: All of the Eligible Units
Powers /
in a hex can add their HEF together, using one abilitie
‘Fire’, ‘Move & Fire’ or appropriate Power. s /
cards /
The attacker designates one unit as the lead terrain
unit. All modifiers and Power card effects apply effects
are
to this unit, all other units add their unmodified determin
HEF to this unit. The only qualification is that ed by
additional units must have an adjusted HEF of the lead
unit and
at least 1 at the range to the target. It is not all
mandatory that all units in a hex must fire in a others
just add
given impulse or Opportunity Fire, but if they in their
Combat example 2: This is the same situation, do, they must fire at the same target. When base
but the American player uses a Power card and firing at a soft target, the HEF are summed,
HEF.

fires at the Viet Cong Rifle in hex E3. The when firing at a Hard Target, the multiple
American Rifle unit has the ‘40mm’ power , attacks are conducted sequentially.
which gives them +1 to the HEF. In addition, they
get +1 HEF for a range of 2, and the Viet Cong Example: Using the previous example 2, the
have no benefit from cover. So, the base HEF of 2 American player activates both Rifle to fire on
the American Rifle is increased by 2 more, giving the Viet Cong Rifle. Adding the second Rifle
them a Damage Draw of 4 cards. As before, on any adds +2 HEF to the attack. Even though the
‘Hit’, the Viet Cong Rifle takes a hit. If it took 3 range is short enough that the second rifle
hits in the first 3 cards it would be Shaken, would normally get a +1 HEF bonus, it only
Reduced and then eliminated, so the 4th card uses its base HEF because it is a supporting
would not be drawn. Because the American Rifle unit. Similarly, only the lead unit gets the
used a Power card, they are marked Ops Complete benefit of the Power card. When the combat is
instead of Fired. over, the lead unit will have an Ops Complete
marker and the supporting unit will have a
Fired marker.
Note: The ‘Reload & Fire’ action only activates
one unit from a previous attack, no matter how
9 many units were involved in the initial attack.
 '65 layout-13.xpr:65 layout 7/8/16 2:18 PM Page 10

3)Opportunity fire: All Opportunity Fire is a The player draws the number of cards indicated
special type of attack that occurs during your on the artillery card for each hex attacked and
opponent’s impulse. It is the only time in ‘65 consults the HE Result (4e) vs. Soft Targets,
that you can react to an opponent’s action with resolving hits normally. If there is more than
a card Action (instead of a Reaction (18)). If one Soft Target in a hex, draw one additional
your opponent expends movement points within card for the HE resolution for that hex. When
the LOS and range of a friendly Eligible Unit attacking a hex of all Soft Targets, hits must be
(7c), and you have a card with a ‘Fire’ action distributed evenly. In other words, all units
or an appropriate Power (i.e. one that states receive one hit before any receive a second.
that the unit using the Power may Fire on or Difficult Targets are always hit last.
otherwise attack a unit), you may temporarily Hits against Hard Targets are resolved by
If all
requireme halt the opponent in any hex that meets the comparing the artillery’s APF plus a drawn
nt are above requirements and fire on them. If more card’s APF Bonus to the AF of the vehicle.
met, it
may be than one unit is in the hex, one that is moving, Equal to or greater is a hit. Artillery hits
possible and one that is not, the Opportunity Fire targets against a Hard Target Shake the target but
for a
unit to the moving unit. never eliminate it. If one of each (Soft and
be fired
upon each
Opportunity Fire cannot be used against a unit Hard) occupy a hex, attack each with the
time it entering your hex, but you may Opportunity appropriate printed HEF (Soft) or APF (Hard).
enters a
new hex.
Fire against a jointly occupied hex. This might Artillery example: The American player plays an
happen if an enemy unit moves into Assault Artillery action, designating hexes E3, E4 and F3,
Combat while simultaneously meeting the each of which is resolved separately. Note that only
requirements for Opportunity Fire. In this case, one of the target hexes has to be in LOS of the
every Hit affects a randomly determined unit in friendly unit, but any extra hexes have to be adja-
the target hex (which might bounce off cent to a hex that is in LOS. Artillery normally has
vehicles). Resolve this Opportunity Fire before an HEF of 3. Hex E3 has one enemy unit and no
the Assault Combat. Cover Factor so there will be a Damage Draw of 3
Resolve Opportunity Fire as you would any cards against that unit. Hex E4 has one enemy unit
other Ranged Combat attack, with the following and a Cover Factor of 1, so there will be a Damage
exception. If the target unit is Shaken or Shaken Draw of 2 cards against that unit. Hex F3 has 2
and reduced, it must stop moving and you place units and a Cover Factor of 1. There is 1 fewer card
an Ops Complete marker on the target. Mark drawn because of the Cover Factor of 1, but 1 extra
the attacker with a Fired marker. Units with card drawn because there are two units there.
Powers may use the Power in an Opportunity
Fire attack, if they play the appropriate card.
4)Artillery: Artillery is most often called as a
card Action. Artillery attacks the target hex and
two hexes adjacent to the target hex, The attack
factor of the card, whether resolved as an HEF
or APF or both, attacks each hex in the pattern.
To call an artillery strike, a friendly unit must
have a LOS to the targeted hex and not be
Shaken (11d).
Artillery may target an empty hex
10
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12. Assault Combat b. If there are multiple attacking or defending

a. To conduct Assault Combat, units in the Assault Combat, all must be Shaken
an Eligible Unit (7c) must play before any are reduced and all must be reduced
a ‘Move’, ‘Fast Move’, ‘Let’s before any are eliminated. Note that if a unit does
Get ‘Em!’ or other card-driven not have a reduced side, destroying it counts as
Action or Power to enter an reducing it. For instance, an Assault Combat doing
enemy unit’s hex. Only units 4 hits against a defending vehicle and a Rifle
with the Assault or Assault+ abilities can would Shake both (2 hits), reduce the Rifle (1 hit),
initiate Assault. Those without the ability defend then eliminate the vehicle.
with a HEF of 1, regardless of what their printed c. If one side (i.e. the attacker or defender) is
13-1
HEF is. A hex may only be the target of one assault eliminated, the other side remains in the hex. If
in a turn. This is because Assault Combat occurs neither side is eliminated, the side suffering the
as the last action in the player’s impulse. Hence, it most hits must retreat from the hex. If both sides
is possible that the phasing player can move more received an equal number of hits, the attacker’s
than one unit into the opposing unit’s hex, and then units retreat from the hex. Attackers must retreat
all of these attacking units resolve Assault Combat back to the hex they entered Assault Combat from.
as a group. The attacker is the player who moved Defenders must retreat directly away from the
units into the hex. The defender is the player who direction of the attack, and they may choose if the
occupied the hex. Assault Combat is simultaneous assault came from multiple hexes. A unit may not
unless altered by card play or the status of the retreat off the map unless that map edge is a valid
defender. To resolve Assault Combat: exit point for that unit as defined by a scenario, and
• Total the HEF of the attacking and defending units may not retreat into any terrain they are
units. This is not modified by range or the prohibited from moving into and cannot retreat
terrain in the defender’s hex. into enemy units. A unit which cannot retreat when
required to is eliminated.
• Either side can modify their HEF by abilities,
powers, Support or Reaction cards. d. All units taking part in an Assault Combat are
marked Ops Complete afterwards.
• The attacker has a Damage Draw of their
adjusted HEF, and consults the HE Result Note: If for any reason an attacking unit becomes
(Every “Hit” or “Hit” inflicts a hit). Do not Shaken before any Damage Draws are done, its
apply the results yet. The defender now fires on attack is aborted and it retreats to the hex it entered
the attacker, using the same procedure. Then the Assault Combat from.
the results are applied to each side. Note that
the Ambush action allows combat results to be
drawn and applied before the other player
calculates and draws theirs, and any Shaken
defender draws after the attacker as well. If a
defender has Shaken and non-Shaken units, the
HEF of the non-Shaken ones resolves at the
same time as the attacker, and the Shaken one
resolves (if it survives) afterwards. Vehicles in assault combat:
There are no special rules for vehicles in
assault combat. As a result vehicles are quite
vulnerable. As they don't have an assault
ability they can't initiate assaults and defend
11 with a HEF of 1. They take hits normally - first
hit shakes, second eliminates.
'65 layout-13.xpr:65 layout 7/8/16 2:18 PM Page 12

13. Vehicle Combat The lower right block might also display:
The movement classes W, T and O comprise • Shaken: The vehicle target is Shaken.
vehicles. Vehicle combat in ‘65 is a two-step
process. The firing unit must first hit the target, and • Dud!: The shot has no effect.
then the shot must penetrate the target’s armor. • Destroyed!: The vehicle target is destroyed.
a. Hitting the Target. To attack a target, the player • Hit: Ignore “Hit” results of any color. These
play a ‘Fire’, ‘Move & Fire’, ‘Reload & Fire’ (or only apply to Soft Targets.
as a Reaction), a ‘First Fire’ and designates the Vehicle example: It is the NVA player’s impulse.
firing unit and the target. To fire on a target, it must They play a ‘Fire’ Action and declare that the PT76
be in the LOS (11b) of the firing unit. Count the in hex J1 will fire on the American M-48 in H4.
number of hexes from the firer to the target. Count The range is 4 and this becomes the base to hit
the target’s hex, but not the firer’s. This range is number. Subtract the PT76’s Targeting Modifier
the base to hit number. Modify the number by (1) and apply the Cover Factor of a Jungle hex (1).
subtracting the firing unit’s Targeting Modifier (a The modified ‘to hit’ number is 4.
negative targeting value adds to the range), and
then adding the Cover Factor of the target’s terrain Targeting number APF
(CF adds to effective range). The modified result
is the ‘to hit’ number.
Draw a card. If the BLOODLUST
Targeting Number (in Rally Eligible Unit, but do not place
an Ops Complete marker.
the lower left block, gold
in the example to the
right) is equal to or FAST MOVE
Play this card to move one hex of
greater than the ‘to hit’ Eligible Unit/s. Add 1 to the unit/s’
Movement Factor.

number, the target is hit.

If the card’s Targeting TURRET HIT HIT

Number also reads ‘MF’

and the firing unit is
7 4
using a ‘Move & Fire’
action, the shot automatically misses. If it reads
Armor
‘Turret hit’, then any shot that hits will hit the tar-
get’s turret (or other more heavily armored portion The NVA player pulls the top card from the deck
of the vehicle) and the target’s Armor Factor is and checks the Targeting Number. If it is equal to
increased by 1 for the next step. or greater than 4, the M-48 is hit. Let’s pretend the
b. Destroying the Target. To determine if the NVA player drew a 4 and hit the M-48. Then take
target is destroyed, draw a card and add the APF the PT76’s APF of 2, and add 1 for being within 4
Bonus (in the lower right block, red in the example hexes of its target, for a modified APF is 3. The
above) to the firing unit's APF, modified by the AP NVA player draws a card and adds its APF Bonus
Range Modifiers table, to obtain the modified APF. (lower right block). We’ll say the number is -4
If the modified APF is greater than or equal to the (yeah, there are negative numbers). So 3 + (-4) is
target unit's AF, the target is destroyed. Flip the -1. The number -1 is less than the M-48’s AF of 4,
target vehicle to its wreck side. so the shot caroms off into the jungle and the
M-48 lives to fight again.
12
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c. Target Facing. Soft Targets have no facing, but 14. Rally

vehicles must face a hex corner. The vehicle’s front a. Shaken units do not
is defined as the corner with the vehicle’s Targeting automatically recover at
Modifier; it is also the direction in which the vehi- the start of each turn.
cle faces. Unless a vehicle has the Fixed Weapon The Shaken marker is
attribute, it can fire in a 360 degree arc. Units with only removed through
the Fixed Weapon attribute can only fire through use of an Action like
their front arc, unless they play a Move and Fire Rally. By rallying a unit,
action, which lets them pivot in their current hex. a player may eliminate
Vehicles can only move into their front arc, as or at least, mitigate the
shown in the image below. If they wish to move to effects of enemy fire. To
a hex outside of their frontal arc, they must first rally a unit, designate the
pivot. Pivoting to a new hex corner costs 1 MP. unit being activated and play a Rally or Bloodlust
Action. You may only rally an Eligible Unit (5.1).
If Rally is used, replace the Shaken marker with an
Ops Complete marker, and if Bloodlust is used,
simply removed the Shaken marker.
Front b. Reconstitution.If a reduced, unshaken,
Eligible Unit (7c) is not in the LOS (11b) of an
enemy unit, you may use a ‘Rally’ or ‘Bloodlust’
action on the unit to reconstitute the unit. Play the
Action, designate the unit, and flip the unit to its
full strength side. Mark the unit with an Ops
Complete marker, if a ‘Rally’ action was used. Do
Flank
not mark the unit if a ‘Bloodlust’ action was used.
You cannot use the same ‘Rally’ or ‘Bloodlust’
action to remove a Shaken marker and reconstitute
a unit. It takes two, separate actions.

A vehicle may reverse directly into a flank hex

without pivoting by paying +1MP for each such
hex entered. The unit retains its initial facing.
If a shot strikes a vehicle in its flank armor, 1 is
subtracted from its armor. For example, an M-48’s
flank armor value is 3.
Mark says: Yes, all this is a bit of a simplification.
We did test the game with turret counters, but felt
it was more trouble than it was worth. You may see
a ‘65 variant in Yaah! magazine with turrets for all
the tanks, and the rules to use them. For now we
hope you are satisfied with the way it works.
13
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15. Helicopters Only Landed helicopters may load or unload

Vietnam was America’s first passengers. Such loading/unloading costs the
war where helicopters played an passenger 1/2 of its MF (round fractions up).
important part in not only Passengers that load onto a helicopter are marked
delivering troops but also with a Moved marker. If the helicopter is an
providing fire support. Eligible Unit, it may be activated to move or fire
a. Activation. The owning player may play any according to the rules of movement in 15a (i.e. any
card to activate a helicopter as a ‘Move’, ‘Fire’, card may be used to activate a helicopter for
‘Move & Fire’, or ‘Rally’ action. The owning movement). If an actual ‘Fast Move’ action is
player must play a Power card to use a helicopter’s played to activate a helicopter to land and unload
Explosive Rounds power (20). A Bloodlust card its passenger, the passenger gets the benefit of the
rallies helicopters as per 14a (i.e. remove Shaken additional MP as well.
marker, do not place an Ops Complete marker). c. Helicopter combat. Helicopters are unique Note:
This
b. Movement. Helicopters have three movement units. They are both hard targets and soft targets, means
modes: Flying, Hovering, and Landed. Helicopters and have the following properties: attacks
against
may change their movement mode as the first thing • Helicopters are Difficult Targets (19). a moving
helicopt
they do in their impulse. That is, if you designate • Helicopters in Flying mode get a Cover Factor er get
a helicopter as the unit you are going to play an of 1 (which combined with the above makes -2 HEF.
Action for, you declare whether it is going to be them doubly hard to hit).
Flying, Hovering or Landed until the start of its
next activation. Helicopters may change to any When hovering or landed, helicopters may be
movement mode from any other, assuming this is targeted as if they were Hard Targets. A successful
a legal change. For example, a Flying helicopter hit and destruction (13a,b) destroys the helicopter.
may change to Landed, but not over terrain it is Place a wreck in its hex if it was hovering or
prohibited from landing in. Helicopters ignore the landed. A flying helicopter that is destroyed instead
cost of the terrain below them, and Helicopters will crash in one of the two hexes it is facing
may not activate in the Reserve Phase. Helicopters (determine randomly). A crashing helicopter
have three modes of movement: (hovering or flying) conducts a 2 HEF attack on
any Soft Targets in the hex and/or a -2 AP attack
• Flying: Helicopters in Flying Mode have on any Hard Targets in the hex.
unlimited movement. They are considered to be
one level above the terrain in their hex. In any movement mode, helicopters may be
Helicopters in Flying Mode only hit Soft targeted as Soft Targets. The first hit Shakes it, the
Targets on Hit or Hit HE results. second damages it, and the third destroys it.
Passengers of a hovering or flying helicopter are
• Hovering: Helicopters in Hovering Mode may eliminated. Passengers of landed helicopters are
not move. Helicopters in Flying Mode hit Soft affected as per the Transport Units rules (9).
Targets on Hit HE results.
Artillery only affects landed helicopters, and
• Landed: Helicopters may only land in Clear attacks them as if they were Soft Targets.
and Brush hexes that are free of enemy units.
Landed helicopters cannot move. Landed
helicopters only hit Soft Targets on Hit or Hit
HE results and cannot attack Hard Hargets or
use their Explosive Rounds power (20).
14
'65 layout-13.xpr:65 layout 7/8/16 2:19 PM Page 15

c. Helicopter line of sight. Flying and hovering 16. Actions

helicopters fly above the terrain below them. They Unless otherwise stated on the card, all Actions,
can be seen from anywhere on the map with the Supports, and Reactions apply to only one unit.
following exceptions: Remember that you can only use one of the two
• LOS traced from the helicopters through Jungle Actions on a card in any given impulse.
and Building hexes creates a one hex blind spot a. Bloodlust. This action allows you to Rally
immediately behind the jungle or building hex. (14a) or reconstitute (14b) one Eligible Unit (7c).
• This LOS is reciprocal. Remove the Shaken marker, do not mark the unit
with an Ops Complete marker.
• Helicopters can see into but not through Smoke.
b. Fire. Fire. Allows you to fire with some or all
• Landed helicopters trace LOS the same as Eligible Units (7c) in a hex. Attacks with multiple
other ground units. units combine fire (11e(2)) and must be at the same
target. Vehicle HEF can combine with Leg unit
HEF, but APF sources attack separately. That is, a
tank and a rifle could combine HEF, but a tank and
a LAW team could not combine APF. Mark all
firing units with a Fired marker.
c. Flanking Fire. Fire. This Action allows some
or all of the units in a hex to attack, plus up to 1
unit in a different hex may combine fire with the
lead unit. If an attack by multiple units enters a
target’s hex from different hex sides or different
spines add 1 to the total HEF (hex corners count
as both of the adjacent sides). Note that it is not
mandatory to meet these requirements when you
play a ‘Flanking Fire’ card. If the fire does not
qualify as Flanking Fire you may conduct normal
fire combat (so it could be used with ground
vehicles).
Example. This Huey cannot see either of the Viet
Cong Rifle units. For the one on the left, the LOS d. Rally. Remove a Shaken Marker from an
traced from the center of one hex to another barely Eligible Unit (7c). Place an Ops Complete marker
crosses the building, so there is a 1 hex blind spot on the unit.
past the building in that direction. For the unit on e. Rally 2. Remove a Shaken Marker from one
the right, LOS traces down the edge of the hex and or two Eligible Units (7c). Place an Ops Complete
since both hexes are Blocking terrain for LOS, the marker on the units.
hex 1 beyond them is also a blind spot. If the Huey f. Move. Move one hex of Eligible Units up to
was in hex D3 it would be able to see the left Viet the limit of their Movement Factor. Units are not
Cong Rifle, as the LOS would not trace over the required to move the same distance or along the
buildings, but the right Viet Cong Rifle would still same route, but no unit can use more than its avail-
be blocked for the reason it was blocked from the able MF. Mark the units with a Moved marker.
Huey’s current position.
Sudden Downpour. Visibility is limited to three
hexes. Range bonus only applicable to adjacent
15 hex. Downpour ends when the turn ends.
'65 layout-13.xpr:65 layout 7/8/16 2:19 PM Page 16

g. Fast Move. Move one hex of Eligible Units up o. Punishing Fire. Fire. A single Eligible Unit
to the limit of their Movement Factor, but they get (7c) may fire twice. The target may retreat 1 hex
+1MF. Units are not required to move the same between attacks. The retreat must end with the
distance or along the same route, but no unit can target unit farther from the firing unit than it started
use more than its available MF. Mark the units with and the retreating unit may not retreat into an
a Moved marker. enemy hex. Mark a retreated unit with a Moved
h. Move & Fire. An Eligible Unit may move up marker. If already marked Moved, mark it with an
to one half its Movement Factor, with fractions Ops Complete marker. If already marked Ops
rounded up. The unit must then fire if it was not Complete, the unit may not retreat.
Shaken while moving. If the unit is firing at a p. Cannister. Fire. May only be declared for the
vehicle, an ‘MF’ on the targeting draw (in the PT-76 and M-48. The vehicle may fire and add 2
Targeting Number block) is an automatic miss. If HEF to its HEF. Maximum range is 4 hexes.
the unit is firing at a Soft Target, only Hit or Hit q. Reload & Fire. One unit marked Fired may
hits the target. Mark the unit Ops Complete. The fire again at its original target. Add 1 to the unit’s
defending player conducts any Opportunity Fire Targeting Modifier or HEF. Mark the unit Ops
(11e(3)) before any Fire part of this Action Complete.
resolves.
17. Supports
i. Command Ops. Play the ‘Command Ops’ Remember that only 1 Support card of a particu-
action to play up to two additional actions. For lar name can be used to support an Action.
example, you may play the Command Ops card
and then play ‘Fire’ for one hex of units and a. Bullet Storm. Add 1 to the HEF of an attacking
‘Move’ for another or hex of units. If the turn ends Leg unit. May be used in either Ranged Combat
during the execution of the first action, the second (11) or Assault Combat (12).
action is lost. b. Ambush. The player‘s unit(s) may fire first in
j. Reinforcements. You may play this, then draw Close Assault, assessing all hits on the target before
another card and may play another Action unless the target returns fire. May not be played on a unit
the turn ends with that card draw. that is Shaken, or a unit that does not possess the
Assault or Assault+ icon.
k. Scout. You may only move one Leg unit (not
one hex of units), but that unit only pays one c. Retreat. May be used as either Reaction or
Movement Point per hex entered. For example, Support. Ignore the Assault results for both sides.
you could move through 3 jungle hexes for only 3 This card may be played at any point in the Assault
Movement Points. Combat process, including after all hits are
resolved (you just undo them). The player using
l. Second Wind. Remove a Moved or Fired the Reaction/Support must retreat all friendly units
marker from one unit. from the hex. Return them to the hex from where
m. Let’s Get ‘Em!. You may move up to 2 hexes they entered the Assault or, if the the defenders,
of Eligible Leg units that start within 2 hexes of retreat them away from the hexside from which the
each other. Mark all units that move with a Moved attackers entered the hex. Mark all participating
marker. units Ops Complete.
n. Artillery. Attacks target hex and two adjacent d. Aimed Shot. Add 2 to a unit’s Targeting
hexes to the target hex. See 11e(4) for full details. Modifier when firing on a Hard Target. May be
played only in support of a ‘Fire’ action, not
‘Reload & Fire’ or ‘Move & Fire’. 16
'65 layout-13.xpr:65 layout 7/8/16 2:19 PM Page 17

e. Critical Hit. Add 2 to the firing unit’s APF 19. Abilities

when targeting a Hard Target. Play this Support Remember that Abilities are generally a constant
after a vehicle is successfully targeted but before feature of the Unit that has them.
the Damage Draw is done. Assault: The unit is capable of initiating Assault
f. Heavy Artillery. May only be played to Support Combat (12). A unit must have this ability or
the Artillery action. Adds one to both APF and Assault+ to initiate Assault Combat, but may
HEF on each hex attacked. defend with an HEF of 1 regardless.
g. Panic. Play after any attack against an infantry Assault+: Add 1 to HEF in Assault Combat.
(Leg) unit. Remove the targeted unit if it is reduced Tactical: Units in the same hex with this Hero
and Shaken (11d). This Support cannot be played may redraw a card during Ranged or Assault
if the attack had no Damage Draw. combat. A unit cannot utilize the Tactical
18. Reactions Ability if it is Shaken or Ops Complete.
Remember that only one Reaction card of a Inspirational: One unit in an adjacent hex may
particular name can be used to respond to an join in Ranged combat initiated by this unit’s
Action or Support. hex. A unit cannot utilize the Inspirational
a. Glancing Shot. Subtract 2 from the firer’s APF Ability if it is Shaken or Ops Complete.
bonus draw. Play after the vehicle (Hard Target) is Pathfinder: This unit, and any units moving
hit, but before the AP bonus draw. with it, only pay 1 MP per hex entered. A unit
b. First Fire. Play after your opponent declares cannot utilize the Pathfinder Ability if it is
they are firing a vehicle at another vehicle. Both Shaken or Ops Complete.
vehicles fire simultaneously and the results are as- No Move & Fire: Unit cannot use the Move &
sessed after. May only be played on a defending Fire Action.
Eligible Unit or a unit executing a Move and Fire
action. That is, if someone Opportunity Fires on Difficult Target: Subtract 1 from the targeting
your vehicle during a Move & Fire. The unit using draw against it if it is a Hard Target or subtract
the First Fire is marked Fired (or Ops Complete if 1 from the attacking HEF if it is a Soft Target,
it was using ‘Move & Fire’). for a unit attacking this unit with Ranged
Combat (11) or Artillery (11e(4)) if alone, but
c. Light Wounds. One Leg unit may ignore one does not apply in Assault Combat (12) or
Hit that would otherwise apply. This Reaction must against Snipers (19).
be played at the time the hit is taken, usually before
any subsequent Damage Draws. Sniper: This unit receives no range bonuses
or penalties, nor do its targets receive CF
d. Unexpected Cover. Acts as a CF of 2 for Hard modifiers from either terrain or cards. A sniper
targets and a CF of 1 for Soft Targets. The latter does get the +1 HEF modifier when firing on a
ability does not apply vs. Snipers (19). This moving unit or a unit marked with a Moved
Reaction may be used in Assault Combat and marker. Snipers may fire with other units in its
reduces the enemy Damage Draw by 1 card. Must hex or an adjacent hex (see Tactical), but lose
be played before the drawing player begins their their ability to negate cover when doing so.
Damage Draw. Snipers may not use the Bullet Storm (17a)
Action card errata: the "Punji Stakes
Support. The Sniper attribute gives Hero’s
/ Claymore card should be a reaction, unlimited range.
not action.
17
'65 layout-13.xpr:65 layout 7/8/16 2:19 PM Page 18

Suppression: When this unit is the lead unit in Leadership: Play up to two additional actions
an attack, before the Damage Draw it may on hexes or units within two hexes of this unit.
choose to distribute its hits evenly throughout For example, you may play the Power card to
the target hex. That is, the designated target is activate this unit and then (if you have the cards
all units in the hex instead of one unit in the and the units/hexes are within two hexes of the
hex. For example, if an M60 targets a hex with activating unit) Fire with one unit (or hex of
two NVA Rifle units and gets two hits, both units) and Move with another unit (or hex of
NVA units are Shaken. units). The Hero may activate himself to move
20. Powers or fire with units in either of the two hexes. If
Remember that Powers only happen if you the turn ends during the execution of the first
activate the Unit using a card with ‘Power’ in action, the second action is lost.
between the upper text blocks, and that the Unit is Satchel Charge: Conduct a satchel charge
marked Ops Complete after completing their attack against an adjacent hex. Satchel charge
Action or using the power. attacks have a HEF of 5 and may not be
Units may not use powers if they are Shaken. combined with other HEF or Support cards.
Bold red words in this section are Keywords. Any The hits inflicted are spread equally among all
Power using a Keyword in its definition includes units in the target hex.
the Action attributed to that Key word in addition Kill Shot: We apologize if this term seems too
to the action described in the Power. violent. We couldn’t think of another, and after
Smoke: The unit may place smoke in either its all, these are only cardboard counters. Fire the
hex or one adjacent hex. If the unit also has the unit and add 1 HEF to the unit’s attack.
40mm Power, it may place the smoke up to 3 40mm: Fire the unit, and any other unit(s) in the
hexes distant. Smoke is blocking terrain, hex that the player wishes. Add +1 HEF to the
covers the entire hex, and is infinitely high, unit’s attack. The target must be within 3 hexes
blocking the LOS of a sighting unit on a hill or of the firing unit.
a helicopter to a ground unit. Units in a Smoke
Explosive Rounds: Fire the unit. Add 2 to the
hex receive a +1 CF. Units firing from a Smoke
unit’s HEF.
hex subtract 1 from their HEF. Place the Smoke
marker with the ‘Smoke 2’ side up. Flip all Charge: Fast Move, if movement ends in
Smoke markers that begin the Clean Up Phase Assault Combat, add 2 to this side’s total HEF
on their ‘Smoke 2’ side to ‘Smoke 1’. Remove (not per unit, the total for that side).
all Smoke markers that begin the Clean Up Unit errata and clarifications:
Phase on their ‘Smoke 1’ side." * Helicopters should have “difficult target” icons
* ANZAC "LAW unit" The counter shows a Target
PAC errata and additional terrain information: Modifier "0" and APF "-2". It should have Target
Modifier "-2" and APF "2" like all the LAW units
* Roads grant no Cover factor (PAC lists +1) * The US "M40 unit" should have a "No Move & Fire"
* Effects of wire: Leg units must stop on icon.
entering. Tracked units must pay 3 MP. Cover
Factor is -1. Unit range clarification:
* Range table - asterisk means the unit cannot * The Bazooka's range 3 is same as LAW
fire at that range * The M2s range is 13.
* The M40 has no HE Range limit
* Reference to tank side/rear should be side/ * AP Fire has no range limit as this is factored
flank (flank = rear) into the range penalties.

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21. Fortifications
Fortifications are usually placed before scenario Scenario errata and clarifications:
start in any terrain except buildings or ponds, but
Reinforcements are only able to be moved into play
there may be cases in which cards can be used to with a "Move" action card or during the reserve
create them. phase. Multiple units can be moved into play as long
as it does not exceed stacking limits.
a. Foxholes. Leg units in a hex
You can exit the board by the scenario-define map
with a Foxhole are considered edge. If there is no scenario-defined edge you can
in the Foxhole. The first actual exit on any edge.
Hit of any non-Assault attack
Base game:
(including Artillery) targeting a Scenario 1: The Americans set up on rows 2I, 2J, 2K
Leg unit in a Foxhole is redrawn and 1A, 1B, and 1C.

and the new result applied. Vehicles get no benefit Scenario 3: Victory conditions 8BVP should be 8VP.
from a Foxhole, but may enter a hex with one. For Victory conditions ignore the “-“ signs.

b. Bunkers. Bunkers face a Scenario 5: Place a Wire marker in the following

hexes in scenario five: K3, J2, I3, H3, G3, F2, E3,
hex corner in a similar manner D2, C3, B2, A3.
as vehicles do, the flat side of
City Map Expansion:
the Bunker from which the Scenario 3: Battle of Quang Tri (variation): The 2nd
arrow points facing the vertex. VP condition "of the river: 3VP" is a misprint and
is to be disregarded and ignored for this scenario.
Only Leg units may be in a
Bunker. Vehicles get no benefit from a Bunker, but USMC/ANZAC Expansion:
Scenario 6: The last special Scenario Rule for
may enter a hex with one. scenario 6 of the USMC/ANZAC expansion has been cut
off. It says: "The USMC player may call a 3 HEF
Units in a Bunker can only make HEF and APF artillery strike by p or Glancing Shot. Strike
attacks through the Bunker’s front facing and can impacts target hex and 2 adjace" A: It should
actually say, “The USMC player may call a 3 HEF
only be the target of non-Assault attacks through strike by playing a Fire card and either a Critical
the front facing. Exceptions are that 1) the Satchel Hit or Glancing Shot. Strike impacts target hex and
Charge Power may attack a Bunker from any 2 adjacent just like an Artillery card.”

facing and 2) Artillery is assumed to attack from

any facing desired (front in this case).
All Leg units in a Bunker hex are considered in
the Bunker and get +1 CF in addition to other
cover modifiers.
Any Action card may be played to get the effect
of Second Wind (16l) for one unit in the Bunker.
The Bunker itself (instead of its occupants) may
be attacked from any facing as if it were a Hard
Target with an AF of 4, and this includes the
option of Artillery used for AP firepower instead
of HEF. A Destroyed result (13b) replaces the
Bunker with a Rubble marker and inflicts two Hits
on each unit in the Bunker. A Shaken (13b) result
Shakes all units in the Bunker.
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21. Scenarios
‘65 is played through a series of scenarios. Each scenario defines a set of circumstances, units that
participate, and victory conditions. Control is defined as either having a unit in the hex or being the last
side to have a unit in the hex. Unless stated otherwise a side controls all hexes it is eligible to set up in
and the top of the maps display is always North.
Bonus Victory Conditions
Before setting up their forces, each player draws a random Bonus Victory
Condition card. If it is impossible to achieve the condition, for example you
must kill an enemy hero, but the enemy is not given a hero in the scenario or
the player must exit units off the opposing player’s map edge, but no opposing
map edge is defined, draw another card. Fulfilling the condition awards a
scenario-defined number of victory points.
Scenario One: Village Assault
Rural South Vietnam, 1965. Sometimes there was only one way to save a
village from the Viet Cong, and that was to get into the village and throw the
Viet Cong out. In this scenario, an understrength American rifle company
attempts to do just that.
Length: 7 Turns. Each turn ends when the third ‘End Turn’ is drawn.
Setup
Viet Cong: Set up first in any building hex: 3 x Rifle, 2 x RPD, 1 x Sapper. NGO, Phan.
US: Set up second on rows A, B, C on Map 1 and/or rows J, K, L on Map 2: 7 x Rifle, 2 x M60, Riggs,
Black, Dixon. I, J, K

Victory
The US needs 6 victory points (VP) to win.
• Americans get 1VP for each building hex they control at scenario end.
• Americans get 1VP for each VC unit they eliminate.
• Americans lose 1VP for each American unit eliminated.
• Americans achieve their Special Victory Condition: 2VP.
• Viet Cong achieve their Special Victory Condition: -2VP.
Maps
Map 1 and Map 2, laid out as shown below.

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Scenario Two: By the Belt Buckle

The American air power was devastating. The NVA knew that their only chance was to close with the
Americans and fight them at a range where their planes couldn’t intercede. On the second day of the
Battle of Ia Drang, that is exactly what they did.
Length: 7 Turns. Each turn ends when the fourth ‘End Turn’ is drawn.
Setup
US: Set up first on Map 2: 7 x Rifle, 2 x M60, Riggs, Black, Dixon. South is their friendly map edge.
Viet Cong: Set up second on Map 3 on any hex numbered 5 or less. 9 x Rifle, 4 x Sappers, 2 x RPD,
1 x RPG, Phan, Nguyen. North is their friendly map edge.
Special Scenario Rules
• Building hexes are considered Kunai. It fills the entire hex.
• The American player may play 2 Fire (not Flanking Fire or Moving Fire) actions to call an artillery
strike (11e(4)). At least one of the Fire actions must also be a Power action.
Victory
The Viet Cong need 18 victory points (VP) to win.
• Viet Cong get 4VP for each unit that ends the scenario on Map 2.
• Viet Cong get 2VP for each American unit eliminated.
• Viet Cong lose 1VP for each Viet Cong unit eliminated.
• Americans achieve their Special Victory Condition: -2VP.
• Viet Cong achieve their Special Victory Condition: 4VP.
Maps
Map 2 and Map 3, laid out as shown below.

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Notes i

1 Sep 2019 at 12:03 pm

13-1
an impulse

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