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Collection Status
Your Rating
Description
Volume IV in the Series: COIN (GMT) dives headlong into the momentous and complex battle for South Vietnam. A unique multi-faction treatment of the Vietnam War, Fire in the Lake will take players on US heliborne sweeps of the jungle and Communist infiltration of the South, and into inter-allied conferences, Saigon politics, interdiction of the Ho Chi Minh Trail, air defense of Northern infrastructure, graduated escalation, and media war.
Fire in the Lake features the same card-assisted counterinsurgency game system as GMT's Andean Abyss, Cuba Libre, and A Distant Plain, with twists that take the Series to another level, including:
Pivotal events that trump initiative (Tet Offensive, Vietnamization, Easter Offensive, and Linebacker II)
Inter-coup campaign effects that vary by RVN leader
Counterinsurgent guerrillas (US-led Irregulars and ARVN Rangers)
Insurgent troops (NVA) for direct force-on-force engagements
Tunneled VC and NVA bases
Trail construction and degradation
A larger-than-ever event deck for even greater play variety
Short and medium-length scenarios with either random or period-event options
-- description from publisher
Year Published
2014
Featured Videos
Transcript Analysis
Browse transcript mentions, sentiments, pros/cons, mechanics, topics, quotes, and references.
Total mentions: 4
This page: 4
Sentiment:
pos 4 ·
mix 0 ·
neu 0 ·
neg 0
Showing 1–4 of 4
Video BxT5Y_w4WGQ
Unknown top_10_list at 5:14 sentiment: positive
video_pk 60599 · mention_pk 152988
Click to watch at 5:14 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Strong historical flavor; deep strategic depth
- Great depth for coin-game fans
Cons
- Lengthy play sessions may deter casual players
Thematic elements
- Array
- Vietnam War COIN-era conflict
- Emulates a historical conflict with emergent events driven by player choices
Comparison games
- A Distant Plane
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Coin-based action system — Uses a coin-driven mechanism to resolve actions and events, contributing to heavy randomness control.
- High interaction between players — Greater player interaction increases game time and strategic depth.
- Historical simulation with long playtime — Core design aims to replicate the historical dynamics of Vietnam using extended campaigns.
- Positive player interaction — Greater player interaction increases game time and strategic depth.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- I really like the one versus many gameplay of it.
- The Rebels and the Empire player also changes over time as they get more experience points too.
- If the empire player is picking a different doctrine, the way you have to approach the campaign can actually be quite different.
- you can change history.
- the Europe scoring card, having painted all the battleground countries of Europe red on turn two and win the game immediately.
- this game is wonderful. I've played it over 40 times now, and every game is a blast.
- the card drawing and the two card limit per region mechanisms
- the gods, they bicker amongst themselves. Sometimes in an alliance, sometimes in a state of total war.
- I've spent many hours arguing over who is and is not a Sylon.
- I would basically want to play this game all the time if I could.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video f7CTDGjSGeA
Unknown Channel game_review at 0:00 sentiment: positive
video_pk 11305 · mention_pk 33230
Click to watch at 0:00 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Epic scale and scope that invites long, immersive sessions with a grand strategic flavor.
- Clever victory conditions that model the political and military complexity of the war, creating meaningful trade-offs.
- Strong emphasis on historical modeling and thoughtful design that rewards long-term planning and careful risk management.
- High replayability due to faction asymmetry and a broad set of scenarios.
Cons
- Rules are dense and the learning curve is extremely steep, which can be intimidating for new players.
- First playthrough tends to be lengthy, often taking many hours and requiring patience and dedicated time.
- Subject matter is intense and not suitable for all players; some may find the realism challenging or distressing.
- Component quality and setup time can be nontrivial, adding to the barrier to entry for casual players.
Thematic elements
- counterinsurgency warfare, nation-building, political-military strategy, international pressure and diplomacy
- Vietnam War era, 1960s, divided country with North (communist) and South (US-supported) government
- multi-faction strategic simulation with event-driven turns and scenario-based progression
Comparison games
- Red Dust Rebellion
- Dracuba Libre
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Area Control — Players vie for control of regions and bases. Controlling areas yields victory points, supports political aims, and can open or close access to certain operations. The map acts as the primary theater for both military and political maneuvering, with tokens and bases serving as tangible anchors for influence.
- Area control and territorial influence — Players vie for control of regions and bases. Controlling areas yields victory points, supports political aims, and can open or close access to certain operations. The map acts as the primary theater for both military and political maneuvering, with tokens and bases serving as tangible anchors for influence.
- Base building, supply management, and territory security — Operations include rallying forces, building bases, and maintaining supply lines. Securing bases and controlling supply routes are essential for sustaining operations and preventing a swift collapse of your position. Money management and reserve funds also factor into long-term planning.
- Card-driven actions — Actions are selected from a rotating hand of faction-specific cards, where the visible current card and the next card determine the flow of the turn. Each card ties into a strategic option such as reinforcing a base, rallying public support, or launching an operation. The draw and reveal timing create tension, because you must consider not only your immediate choice but also your opponent's likely replies and the evolving state of the battlefield and the political environment.
- Counterinsurgency emphasis and political-military synthesis — The game emphasizes counterinsurgency concepts: securing popular support, suppressing opposition, and managing political legitimacy. Victory conditions blend military occupation with political influence, forcing players to juggle two intertwined objectives rather than optimizing one at the expense of the other.
- Event and coup card system — Two cards are visible at any time: the current and the next. The card shows four faction symbols, and the active players decide how to resolve it. Coup rounds trigger checks for victory conditions based on a blend of political and military objectives, pushing players toward different priorities as the game unfolds.
- Influence Points — Each faction manipulates influence and resources to advance its long-term goals. The game allows for covert actions and money to be quietly stashed away to support ongoing campaigns, creating a tension between overt operations and hidden strategy.
- Influence, money reserve management, and covert activity — Each faction manipulates influence and resources to advance its long-term goals. The game allows for covert actions and money to be quietly stashed away to support ongoing campaigns, creating a tension between overt operations and hidden strategy.
- Unique player powers — Each faction (U.S. government, ARVN, NVA, Viet Cong) has a unique set of actions and abilities that shape how they approach the conflict. This asymmetry is core to the replayability, ensuring no two games unfold identically and that different strategic paths are viable depending on who you are playing as.
- Unit deployment, movement, and combat resolution — Players deploy troops, move units across the board, and engage in combat using a mixture of dice-driven outcomes and strategic positioning. Rebels can attack or be ambushed, with special activities adding depth to how you manage the asymmetrical forces on the board.
- Variable player powers — Each faction (U.S. government, ARVN, NVA, Viet Cong) has a unique set of actions and abilities that shape how they approach the conflict. This asymmetry is core to the replayability, ensuring no two games unfold identically and that different strategic paths are viable depending on who you are playing as.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- It's an amazing effort to model one of the most misunderstood conflicts in human history.
- The victory conditions model the conflict in such a clever way.
- The best thing about this game is its sheer size and scale. It's epic.
- However, it's a beast.
- It's amazing as a historic war game, and it's just as good as a game in general.
- The subject matter is certainly not for everyone.
- If those victory conditions sound intriguing to you, then Fire in the Lake could be the game for you.
- This is an amazing effort to model one of the most misunderstood conflicts in human history.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video lPa21FiqwQA
Beyond Solitire top_25_list at 23:19 sentiment: positive
video_pk 9037 · mention_pk 26668
Click to watch at 23:19 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Top coin-game title consistently appearing in top lists
Cons
Thematic elements
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Mechanics unknown.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- I think onboarding is the key here and maybe that's a lesson every company and designer should take to heart.
- People are hungry for heavy games. If you present it in a way that is going to be accessible enough, they will come if you design it.
- Go play war game.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video ZviD_pfi51E
3 Minute Board Games top_10_list at 19:23 sentiment: positive
video_pk 8939 · mention_pk 26385
Click to watch at 19:23 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- strong solo bots
- focus on faction strategy
Cons
- war game complexity
Thematic elements
- cooperative and bot-driven solo play
- Vietnam War-era asymmetric warfare
- scenario-based and modular
Comparison games
- Spirit Island
- XCOM: The Board Game
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- solo bots expansion — expansion introduces bots to simulate other players
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- solo board gaming isn't really that weird
- it's a very smart and Savvy thing to do if you are infectious
- these six I would highly recommend as a great entry point to solo gaming
- it's fun to set up the game and go racing
- you can set up all parts and play all factions by yourself to understand a game
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Transcript Navigation
Showing 1–4 of 4