SGS Battle For: Dien Bien Phu

This was my first SGS game and i was pleasantly surprised. As others have noted there isn't much in the way of a tutorial but after a few turns it was easy enough to figure out. i would not let the lack of a comprehensive tutorial deter you from buying the game. The cards system creates a fair bit of uncertainty to the AIs moves to the battle which is a good change up. some issues i have noticed is that the AI was very aggressive early into the battle taking multiple positions but after i stifled two attacks the AI was completely neutered and ceased all pressure instead gradual building a ring of defenses around me. it still wasn't enough by the time the campaign ended and i was easily able to win. Hopefully this will be improved upon with patches later on. There are a few bugs here and there but the auto save feature on this game is awesome, you can easily reload your last save and keep playing. i would also hope in later patches the human player gets more movement cards earlier in the campaign. If you have any historical interest in this battle or the first Indochina war just go ahead and buy the game, i promise you will get a kick out of simply organizing an ad hoc foreign le…

I believe this is an excellent addition to the SGS series. I teach the Vietnam War as part of a curriculum for postgraduate military education. WhileI haven't had the time yet to dive fully into longer scenarios in the game, I like what I see so far. I do not normally review games on Steam, but was driven to do this by a negative post that, in my opinion, was unfair. Perhaps I should do it more often. I teach case studies such as the War in the Pacific, Korea, and Vietnam. SGS delivers titles that provide useful context and insight, while not being so complex that it impacts work and family life for busy military professionals. I am looking forward to SGS's take on the Indochina War - but I expect the AI will be challenging to program as an effective opponent to due to the complexity and length of the conflict- so I'll need to find a real-life opponent for that one. SGS, please keep up the great work. Mahalo, Mark

I've just played through all 56 turns of the campaign game as the Viet Minh vs French AI and, while the game research, OB and map, are excellent, there are some particular issues that marred things: --You have a very limited number of stack activations using cards and as a result all sorts of minor units (even noting there are some units always able to move)--"ants" we call them in the trade--end up sitting doing nothing. Waste a precious activation card on a few supply or combat support units you want to move forward? Ich don't think so. --Likewise a powerful force appeared on the map edge and was thus only moveable with a strategic map(s) activation card (which are very rare); even with that there was no way to get it onto the battlefield by the end of the game. Was this play-tested? --You are given all these entrenchment reinforcements but even as time passes and you advance they are only placeable in certain areas with no rhyme or reason that I can ascertain. Likewise many minor support units have to be assigned to divisional boxes and the majority stay there... because there are limited activation cards. --Victory conditions: even though I took 90%+ of French strongpoints,…

Generally alright, some bugs that freeze the game during AI turns but overall an interesting look at an under-represented period of history and has a decent amount of scenarios and unit roster. If you're interested in French history and a play-by-play of Dien Bien Phu that's generally easy enough to pick up and play, this is good. UI isn't nearly as bad as some people say if you're familiar with the Wargaming genre, but AI turns could be smoother and some mechanics could be better explained.

I love the subject matter (would highly recommend the books Hell in a Very Small Place and The Last Valley: Dien Bien Phu and the French Defeat in Vietnam if you're interested in learning more about one of the most underrated decisive battles of the last 100 years). The presentation and usability of this game are also really good for what it is. For a newcomer to this series though, I think I need to find another entry point, as Battle for Dien Bien Phu doesn't have any in-game tutorial info, or much in the way of dedicated online resources yet. If you're already into the series, however, I think you'll really enjoy this entry. If you like SGS games, it's worth it just to learn more about this fascinating life-and-death struggle in the northwestern highlands of Indochina.

Already played both sides of this conflict and would recommend purchasing this game. I would respectfully suggest, however, that the AI be tweaked, if possible, to have the Viet Minh attack French positions with more troops after an initial artillery barrage or two to destroy most of the perimeter defenses instead of wasting shell fire off the main board; target the crucial French airfield and truck/transport positions as a priority to reduce chances of re-supply or at least fire upon exposed French tank brigades outside the perimeter; always approach French positions using trench system; and, have Communist "intelligence/spy" cards (or game artillery phase) that allow the V.M. AI to see which French bunkers have reduced troops or defenses just like the French have spy planes during the Artillery phase in order to concentrate fire.