Charlie Don't Surf (CDS)



Description from the TooFatLardies Website

Charlie Don't Surf is a set of wargames rules for the Vietnam War that are designed to reflect the realities of asymmetrical warfare. Designed for games of roughly company size (between two and four platoons per side being typical) the rules use a system of dual victory conditions, military and political, to allow balanced games where both Free World and Communist forces can do battle with equal chance of success.

The rules are comprehensive in that they contain all you'll need to game the period, including details of force orgaisation for the the US, ARVN, ANZAC and Communists, a scenario and mission generation system, alongh a force and objective generator to ensure that no two games are the same.

Supplements
Surf'sUp - A collection of scenarios for the Vietnam War.

Summer/Christmas Special Articles
2010 Summer Special 2010 Christmas Special
 * Tet a Tet - The battle for Hue, urban conflict rules and three linked scenarios based on the relief of the MACV Compound, by TFL. (pp. 13-33)
 * A Bird In The Trees - Huey crew rescue scenario by Charles Eckhart. (pp. 67-70)
 * Manchu Alpha - US casualty rescue scenario by Robert Avery. (pp. 105-110)
 * Tour Of Duty, The Alternative Ending - Post-Vietnam careers by TFL. (pp. 121-122)
 * Winning Here With Charlie - Introduction to Communist tactics by TFL. (pp. 136-142)
 * In The Rubber - Search and Destroy scenario by Robert Avery. (pp. 38-42)
 * Renegade Woods - Airborne Assault scenario by Robert Avery. (pp. 112-116)

Frequently Asked Questions
The following questions have been posted and answered on the mailing list, so it's not a complete FAQ per se. Unless noted the answers are from game authour Richard Clarke.

Q: The description states it is for company sized games, does it work equally well with only a platoon and support weapons per side?

''A: I would say that less than a couple of Free World platoons should be an oddity. Wargamers seem to have decided that Vietnam was a platoon sized war. It was not. Yes, you get platoon sized patrols and the like, but real battles were fought in company size, and that is what the rules are designed for.''

Q: How many movement dice do Commissars, FOs and Medics operate with? I know Medics use 2D6 when evacuating casualties but what about when they are unencumbered? I've been using 3d6 as per a Big Man.

A: 3D6 is good.

Q: Do Commissars need to be physically with a squad to remove Shock, as per a medic, or is it enough that a platoon has a Commissar to benefit from the Commissar card.

A: Personally I like to move him about, but if you prefer to lose that level of detail then it is quite sufficient that he is there.

Q: Since there is only one medic card in a deck. does it activate all medics on the table or do you just pick one to activate?

A: All on one card.

Q: Can Big Men, Commissars, FOs and Medics, that are not physically with a squad, be targeted? I note that even the sniper rules do not single out Big Men.

''A: No. And certainly not Medics you evil swine you! ;^D''

Q: What happens if an LZ is overrun -- the infantry is rushed and defeated in close combat -- before the helicopters have taken off? There isn't anything in the rules on infantry capturing choppers.

''A: You're absolutely right, there is no rules as I simply never considered that this would happen. The pilots would automatically get out of there if the bird was still flying.''

Q: If I'm not wrong a blind can reserve their dice when activated. Assuming this is the case, an enemy unit moving at close range to a blind with reserved dice, is it considered ambushed if the unit in blinds fires in that moment?

''A: Yes to both; blinds certainly can reserve dice, and it is still an ambush if they open fire using those reserved dice. (Answered by Dom Skelton)''

Q: When rolling up the possibilities for a scenario, one of the options is "allied platoon." Does this mean that the platoon has to be from an ally (for instance, ARVN if I am playing US), or could it be a platoon from the same country not normally associated with my core company? For example, if I have a US infantry company and this comes up, could I pick a US Blue Team platoon, or a platoon of M113s or tanks?

''A: I'd definitely read it as the former - a common or garden rifle platoon from an allied army, not anything fancy of any nationality. (Answered by Dom Skelton)''

Q: Where are the morale levels for vehicles listed? I looked in the appendix and didn't see it.

''A: AFV morale was missed in the rules but here they are courtesy of Rich.  Poor is level 2; Average is level 3; Good is level 4; High is level 5.'' ARVN normal is level 3; USA normal is level 4; ANZAC normal is level 4; PAVN normal is level 3 Any on a "good day" gets +1 level; Any on a "bad day" gets -1 level