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Purple Haze box art

Purple Haze

Game ID: GID0452100
Game Info
Year
2024
Players
1-4
Age
18+
Playtime
120 min
Collection
Rating
Mechanic profile
Not enough video data yet
Vibe profile
Not enough video data yet
Description

Cooperative story-creation and tactical combat campaign wargame set in Vietnam 1967 where you lead a squad of U.S. Marines through jungles and villages

Description

Cooperative story-creation and tactical combat campaign wargame set in Vietnam 1967 where you lead a squad of U.S. Marines through jungles and villages

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All mentions
Browse transcript mentions, sentiments, pros/cons, mechanics, topics, quotes, and references.
Total mentions: 2
This page: 2
Sentiment: pos 2 · mix 0 · neu 0 · neg 0
Mentions per page
Showing 1–2 of 2
Video pQFp9-Ot2x8 Review at 0:25 sentiment: positive
video_pk 68034 · mention_pk 164349
Purple Haze video thumbnail
Click to watch at 0:25 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
  • Very well produced with excellent presentation and detail.
  • Engaging narrative with meaningful choices that feel impactful.
  • High replayability due to branching narrative paths and character variety.
  • The system could be applied well to other settings like fantasy.
  • The marine handbook provides a great introduction to the game.
  • Balances strategic depth with emotional weight and character development.
  • Cinematic and immersive presentation.
Cons
  • Can be overwhelming at first due to the number of special abilities and rules.
  • The playtime can be long, especially for the first mission.
Thematic elements
  • War/narrative/roleplaying
  • Vietnam era
Comparison games
  • Ambush
  • Phantom Leader
  • Sleeping Gods
  • Osworn
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
  • Character progression — Soldiers gain experience, level up, and can acquire new abilities or conditions.
  • Cover system — Soft and hard cover mechanics are used in combat to absorb hits.
  • Dice-based testing/combat — Tests and combat are resolved using dice rolls, with mechanics for target numbers, successes, and critical dice.
  • Goal-based scoring — Players choose one of three goals at the beginning of the campaign, which affects how they score at the end.
  • initiative track — An initiative track determines the order of activation in combat, influenced by various factors.
  • Mission-based campaign — The game is played through nine missions, with the possibility of more through expansions, forming a campaign.
  • multi-phase gameplay — The game involves three distinct phases: map movement, narrative events/decisions in books, and tactical grid-based combat.
  • Narrative decision-making — Players make choices within narrative events presented in mission books, influencing the story and outcomes.
  • Resource management — Players manage stamina and time, with mechanics for resting to recover stamina which costs time.
  • Squad management — Players control a squad of soldiers, managing their stamina, time, and conditions.
  • Threat/event system — A threat die is rolled to trigger events and adjust threat levels, impacting gameplay.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
  • It's not really like part of the rules but this is how you sort of like win the game is the in the game you take the persona of the squad leader.
  • So, if you are being a protective uh sergeant that is, you know, taking care of the of of the squad, then you're going to keep track of, you know, those that are killed in action or and and that kind of thing and those that have maybe been left behind and so on.
  • The most important part of it which I'll mention now and then I'll mention at the end in the review section cuz it's it's not really like part of the rules but this is how you sort of like win the game is the in the game you take the persona of the squad leader.
  • It's not like a war game really. I mean, it very much is. It 100% is.
  • This is storybook war game. And I think it does a really good job of keeping you and sort of like pulling you through it because of those three things that you pick at the beginning.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video 0h3Q42Sbc9c Meet Me at the Table Playthrough at 0:04 sentiment: positive
video_pk 65832 · mention_pk 159780
Meet Me at the Table - Purple Haze video thumbnail
Click to watch at 0:04 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
  • tense and engaging combat
  • story parts are interesting and unique
  • crossfire ambush is a cool tactical option
  • scout/pathfinding reduces threat in meaningful ways
  • RNR and boon token system add depth and progression
Cons
  • heavy threat management and potential for high casualties
  • mortar attack and booby trap can be punishing early
  • time and stamina management can be stressful during the run
  • complexity of rules and multiple tracking elements may be challenging
Thematic elements
  • guerrilla warfare and reconnaissance/military operation against VC infiltration
  • Vietnamese village and surrounding jungle terrain, with a date reference of September 29, 1967
  • narrative-driven mission briefing with in-game story and decision points
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
  • boons and boon tokens — Boons are earned and can be used or saved via boon tokens; tokens affect later phases.
  • cover and range — Soft and hard cover affect survivability; range interacts with cover and line of sight during actions.
  • Crossfire ambush — A tactical option to split the squad and set up a crossfire; requires a survival test for two selected Marines.
  • dice pools and bursts — Actions use pools of focus, strike, and crit dice; some abilities convert dice or add range-based bonuses (burst).
  • enemy activity zones (EAZ) — Being adjacent to an EAZ increases threat; entering EAZs can trigger additional events.
  • evac and base movement — Evac action allows extraction from non-mountainous regions; bivouacking to restock and recover.
  • experience (XP) and leveling up — XP is earned for actions; leveling up grants new abilities and improved capabilities.
  • initiative and combat board setup — Combat uses a board with front/middle/back rows; placement and initiative determine order of actions.
  • Pathfinding (scout ability) — Scouts can reduce threat before threat die rolls as a once-per-scenario effect.
  • Rest and Recuperation (RNR) and boons — RNR phase allows stress reduction and recovery; boons can influence outcomes during RNR.
  • stamina and movement — Movement consumes stamina and time; various terrain costs time and stamina; running low leads to penalties.
  • threat die — A die roll that can increase or decrease threat, triggering encounters or specific events.
  • weight and equipment management — Each marine carries equipment with a weight limit; weight impacts actions and endurance.
  • wounds and stress — Wounds reduce health; stress tokens accumulate and can be managed via rules and recovery mechanisms.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
  • I absolutely love it.
  • Combat is tense.
  • The story parts are interesting and unique.
  • Mission two Patrol. That was so much fun.
  • I can't wait to do mission three.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
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