Fire in the Lake

This is a masterpiece of a game. Each faction has a different goal and often allies will have a very hard time working together if they are going to try and win. The game really feels like the Vietnam War and more so by not being fixated merely on the fighting. The game recognizes that modern wars are political and thus the actions that are taken must be guided by political considerations as much or more than purely strategic ones. Most war gamers as well as Eurogamers used to heavier worker placement games (such as Agricola) will be able to learn the Fire in the Lake without too much trouble but there are many novel concepts and mechanics so I would encourage you to watch videos on YouTube about the COIN series of games. The game comes with 3 scenarios, the shortest running between 2-3 hours play. Solitaire play is very possible, though more involved.

My favorite boardgame ever. This game is so good in so many ways, and not near as complicated as so many claim. This game is really beautiful and fun for me, like playing with every toy in the toy box on a playground while eating ice cream.

This game is a most excellent effort to portray the intricate and complicated scenario that was the Vietnam War. As a combat veteran of the War I can assure you that this is about the best anyone can do to create a tableau that addresses not only battle strategy but also the equally important issues of politics, economics and culture that affected the outcome. And having spent more that 40 years researching the War I can honestly state that this strategy game is right on point. Yes, the game is complicated, but that only intensifies the richness of detail with which you will deal. The game board isn't just your map full of hexes but rather plays a part in the interactive experience. Other reviewers have commended the strong solitaire option and I second those comments wholeheartedly. Quality is present in all aspects of design, directions and materials. April 11 2015 This is a follow up to my review. I have now played the "practice" scenarios and am pleased to say that my 5-star review stands. This game is definitely a challenge, though, and I found myself making several look-ups in the various rulebooks, etc. I am sure I am missing some aspects of the game process but I'm sure I'll correct those with more experience. One aspect that I really like is how the political and economical influences change the complexion of the game. And the fact that various components, such as the role of the cards, allow apparently unlimited variations on the scenarios will keep the game fresh. I look forward to trying Fire in the Lake against an opponent, but in the meantime the solitaire set up is very rewarding and entertaining. Once again I say "Buy it, you'll like it."

This game is just area control, very similar to Dominant Species: Marine. But to be honest, I will always rather play Dominant Species than this because of Dominant Species' elegant and extremely simple rules. Pros - The best thing about this game are the interactions with the other players. The game is played with 2 opposing sides, where each side has 2 semi-allied players, thus the game is somewhat 2 versus 2. I say "semi" only because while most of their actions negatively affect their opponents, some of their actions may negatively affect their ally for their own gain. That alone creates tension even among teammates to advance their own interests. Also if 1 is winning, the rest of the players may temporarily help each other to stop such advance. - In terms of rules, without the solo / non-player rules (the bots / AI), the rules of the game aren't complex. The rules are straightforward. There is a guide for all the actions. What makes this game heavy is the depth of strategy out of the many options you have on a turn. - Highly replayable. The competition on the map alone with the players countering moves, just like in chess, already makes this extremely replayable. The other source of replayability here are the varied card effects from game to game. Also playing different factions has a different strategy as they have a different goals to win. Even on the same faction, there are multiple strategies one can try. Cons - If you're buying this for a solo game, DON'T! The base game's flow charts and the expansion Tru'ng cards both requires a digital app (which doesn't exist) for it to be playable, as doing it manually is near to impossible. With the base game alone, the bots are so hard to implement with all the flowcharts needed to read. If you think the card expansion Tru'ng is simpler, still no!!! There are no flowcharts there but there are around 10 different tables you have to check for every bot's action. The fun in boardgames are the planning that you make and executing it for the rewards, but if you will be spending 15 minutes on a single bot's turn, reading 10 different tables (with at least 10 items each) and doing a hundred cross-checks (since you have to check each item in a table one by one against the map), doing the same thing for every bot for each of the cards in the game, there is no fun in that! - In terms of strategy, Fire in the Lake is heavy due to the number of options and things happening on the board. But in terms of rules, the base game alone excluding the bots isn't very complex, learning the rules isn't that hard. Now if you include the bots, whether the bot flowcharts (base game) or the bot cards (Tru'ng expansion), the game becomes very complex and very hard to learn! - If you're looking for a war game (wargame) where you will tactically position troops and equipment, storm the front line of an enemy base, escape your soldiers, etc., don't buy this game. This game is just purely area control. This is just a more-detailed version of Dominant Species. - The rulebook has many statements that are open to different interpretations that it is so frustrating to try to understand. I am an english speaker for more than 20 years now (being from the Philippines I'd say I'm better than most) but still can't grasp most things fully. The causes are comma separators, location of "or", "and", and "not", no followup examples to clarify the context (don't tell me I should always read the whole playthrough rulebook), and so on. - The rulebook lacks a lot of details. That is not an opinion, that is a FACT! Proof? There is none indicated in the setup on how to track the resources, or even how to track the eligibility, or even where to put the available forces of a faction (should they be put starting from the lowest number or highest). And that is just the setup part! For you to know such details, you must read all the rulebooks, use 100% of your brain power to co-relate things, and waste 5 hours of your time just finding such small details. But even if you find it, it may not be clearly explained and thus you need to make intelligent assumptions. Overall, the rulebook needs a lot of improvement. There aren't even any images of setup! You have to guess the correct components to use and place on the board. As one who starts a game, it is so hard to even setup a a game!

Highly thematic and lots of moving pieces. If you can handle the fiddliness, it's one of the best area control or wargame out there.

FiTL is shockingly simple for being such a deep game. Everything from the addition of 'ranger' types to the counter-insurgents to the scenario setups, while it presents as dense, is exceedingly straightforward when seen firsthand. True asymmetry is a difficult thing to achieve but this 4p does a *fantastic* job of it and even includes the now popular "bots" playsheets for solo run throughs that also double as a good "what the heck should I do here" check. If you have three folks in your playgroup who even vaguely enjoy wargames this is a fabulous addition to your collection.

The tutorial for the game is a perfect way to see how the game works. Setup for all three timeline scenarios were clear easy to follow. I'm definitely going to enjoy this abstract war game the more I play it.

Like all of the COIN I’ve played Fire in the Lake is a great game.