Thank you to the developers for such an outstanding computer wargame. This is not a formal review but rather some highlights for anyone passing by who is thinking of picking this up:

• This game is meaty, rich, and complex. The manual is hundreds of pages long. This is not a game you learn in a few evenings but rather a few weeks of dedicated study… and even then, I am sure it would take a considerably longer time to master.
• The AI is outstanding in scripted scenarios, and those scripts are available for you to use in building your own scenarios.
• Speaking of which: the scenario editor is robust.
• There are 100+ scenarios included with the game and more to come.
• Work continues on this “living game” in order to continue to make it the best it can be each passing year with no signs of stopping.
• The timeframe spans several decades and goes well beyond US involvement in Vietnam. This is truly a Vietnam game. This helps set the game apart.
• The UI can seem overwhelming but is frankly easy to navigate once you’ve gotten the hang of it. Like the Wargame Design Studios games, there are tabs you can click to determine which buttons you see, which helps tremendously.
• The developer streams constantly and has a lot of tutorial videos on his channel.
• The historical context presented in the non-hypothetical scenarios helps immerse you in the game.
• The number of factors to consider in every move is tremendous and will keep you thinking for a quite a while between turns.

…I could go on. It’s a masterpiece. Highly recommended! 

25 January, 2026

When I joined the Army National Guard I did so with an outlook on the military shaped by those soldiers and authors. Much later in life, when I had discovered the joys of computer wargaming I bought the first copy of SSI’s ‘Nam and at the time wanted more, with more detail, and felt that ‘Nam’s grand tactical-ish, just south of operational level was a great gaming experience. Calling in fire support of CAS with troops in contact was fun, even the rough “green splotch-heavy” way my ‘ol Commodore 64 presented it.

Back then my playing buddy and I talked about all of the things we would like to see in the game, detailed coordinated combined arms and air assault missions, constructing night defensive positions, night fighting with muzzle flash and illuminating rounds, Artillery and close air support, and the ability to order units to perform the same actions that were historically performed, such as booby-trapping terrain and objects, requiring successful supply deliveries, and so on.

…

Playing as the US I have come to relish the massive amounts of firepower I can unleash on those rare occasions I observe enemies that are not too close for artillery or CAS. Naval gunfire, in-range fire-support bases, and a host of on-call A-1 Sandies as well as helicopter gunships and organic mortars are available.

My opponent and I have played scenarios in which patrols have been ambushed, compounds attacked, reinforcing columns themselves ambushed, and are currently fighting the Ia Drang valley battle described so well in the novel We Were Soldiers Once, and Young. An amazing feature of CV is that many events in the scenarios are scripted to occur when something triggers them. This has enabled the team to create scenarios with depth and tension. The resultant wargaming experience is unique for this genre.

…

I recommend CV to computer wargamers who enjoy games that look and play like board games, who want realistic unit performance and weapon effects, and who have an interest in French and American involvement in Southeast Asia. If you are a wargamer who enjoys exploring the challenges of fighting in different eras it should not be missed. The game is not currently available on Steam, but I hope to see it there someday, to be seen and appreciated by a wider audience. It is available on Matrix Games’ site. If you have not purchased from Matrix, once you have an account, you have access to all of your game installs there. I can’t say enough good things about Matrix’s contribution to our hobby.

22 June, 2024

Campaign Series: Vietnam is a classical hex-based, IGO-UGO, operational (and tactical) level wargame focusing on the jungle conflicts of Indo-China, with scenarios spanning several conflicts, starting with the First Indochina War, from 1948 to 1954 all the way to the late 1960s with the American invasion of Vietnam. In between both conflicts, CS: Vietnam also represents the South Vietnamese Civil War of 1955-1964.

…

In Strategy and Wargaming’s 3 and a half stars review, it was stated that “I might be becoming an old bat that enjoys slow-paced, methodical turn-based games. Given that the last game on this website to receive a 5-star rating was Ardennes Offensive- a truly unique gem of a game that improved on the genre in almost every way- I don’t think it’s fair to attribute the same score to Campaign Series, mainly because it stays so glued to the typical wargame formula it’s hard to praise something for playing it too safe.

I also don’t know enough about the Indochina Wars to fully appreciate the game and I’m almost certain that if I did, there would be little doubt in my mind that Campaign Series: Vietnam would earn four and a half stars based on mechanics and details alone.

2 January, 2023

When I first saw that a game called Campaign Series: Vietnam was coming out, I was skeptical. I’ve told you about it before but (at the risk of being repetitive) the reason was that I questioned the match between the scale of, essentially, the Panzer Blitz games being applied to jungle warfare. I now admit that I was wrong.

…

My bottom line is this; Campaign Series: Vietnam turned out to be much better than even what I might have hoped for, a few months back. I’m still only a handful of scenarios in, so I reserve the right to complain down the road but, at this stage, I mark it tied with TOAW’s Vietnam Combat Operations for the best historical treatment of this conflict in wargaming.

23 April, 2022

The painstakingly-crafted scenarios in the latest version of the Campaign Series (CS) match the rich history of the game’s design and development. From the struggle of the French to re-establish their position in Indochina beginning with Vietnam in 1948, to U.S. involvement starting in the early 1960s and ending prior to the communist Tet Offensive in 1968, the 100-plus scenarios shipping with the game offer wargamers a playground with an unprecedented level of detail.

Add to this a wide variety of combat units with unique capabilities, including combat and transport helicopters, riverine assets, tunnel “rats,” civilians, and supply units, and even the most hard-core Campaign Series veterans may have their hands full tackling the new tactical realities. These include, among many other challenges, flight limitations, no-go zones, IEDs, hidden minefields, and other combat elements specific to unconventional, asynchronous warfare.

What’s more CSVN isn’t some kind of half-baked, early access wargame debuting on Steam, for example. To the contrary, the game engine has been expanded, enhanced, tweaked and improved based on input from experienced players for more than two decades since its first iteration – TalonSoft’s East Front II – was released.

Is it perfect, yet? Well, not quite. But for the type of game it’s designed to be, it’s currently pretty close to ideal and getting better with every update.

…

For board and digital wargamers alike, there is simply nothing out there with the depth, historicity and role-playing elements of CSVN. All of us at AWNT are hoping that readers “vote” with their hearts, minds and dollars and support the continued development of this excellent wargame.

18 February, 2022

⭐⭐⭐⭐ ½    Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Have only but a passing interest in this kind of conflict and you’re a wargamer accustomed to modern sensibilities?

⭐⭐⭐ ½    Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

7 February, 2022

⭐⭐⭐⭐  Rating: 4.0 out of 5.