Storm Over Dien Bien Phu (2014)

Storm Over Dien Bien Phu is a 2-player wargame simulating the Battle of Dien Bien Phu from March to May 1954, focusing on the French central strongpoints of Gabrielle, Anne–Marie, Beatrice, Eliane, Claudine, Huguette and Dominique. One player controls the French forces, and the other player controls the Viet Minh forces.

In the spring of 1954, General Giap shocked the world by doing what had previously been considered impossible—defeating a Western occupying force. Storm Over Dien Bien Phu simulates the climactic moment when the isolated French forces (composed of French legionnaires and elite paratrooper units), and crumbled under the unrelenting pressure of the Chinese–backed Viet Minh forces.

Using the Area Move system redefined in Storm Over Stalingrad, the game features the use of cards to augment game play, adding to the tension experienced by both sides. The rules are similar in length to those seen in Storm Over Stalingrad, and are of the same level of complexity, with additions made for the situations encountered in this battle.

Additional rules added to the game include sapping, assaulting, and the French supply situation. In addition to these new rules, new cards have been created in order to represent events encountered during the battle. These include “Detonate Mine Shaft”, “Rats of the Nam Yum”, “Giap Demands Success”, “Propaganda”, “Débouchez à Zéro!”, and “B-26 Bombers”.

Game Scale:
Turn: 1 week
Map: Area
Unit: Infantry Platoons/Companies

Game Inventory:
One 22" X 34" mapsheet
One and a half countersheets (264 5/8" counters)
One 12 page Game Rulebook
Card deck with 55 full-color cards
Four six-sided dice

Complexity - Low
Solitaire suitability - Low
Playing time - Up to 3 hours

Designer: Nick Richardson
Developer: Brian Youse
Game Artwork: Nicolas Eskubi