Overview
At a glance
Is this game right for my group?
ABG editorial scores on a 1–5 scale.
Harder to teach
High replayability
Highly interactive
Scales well
Deep strategy
How it plays
How does it play?
Platoon is a simple wargame on small squad combat in Vietnam. The game is similar to AH's Smithsonian series games: a single sheet with basic rules and a small booklet that contains advanced rules, additional scenarios and historical background information.
Core mechanisms
Key systems that shape the decisions players make.
Grid Movement
Move pieces between adjacent spaces on a regular grid.
Dice Rolling
Roll dice to introduce uncertainty into actions, production, movement, or resolution.
Chit-Pull System
Draw tokens to determine which units, factions, or events activate next.
Scenario Campaign
Play linked or standalone scenarios with their own setup, objectives, and consequences.
Hexagon Grid
Use a hexagonal map where each space connects evenly in six directions.
Read the full game description
Platoon is a simple wargame on small squad combat in Vietnam. The game is similar to AH's Smithsonian series games: a single sheet with basic rules and a small booklet that contains advanced rules, additional scenarios and historical background information. The combat system is also similar to other Smithsonian games. The scenarios and soldiers are based upon events and characters in the movie. The game uses two elements to create fog of war: - the counters have small stands so the identity of each counter is unknown to the enemy. Some of the counters are fakes and "substitutes" (these are used to combine several counters into a single group. All counters are placed in an off board box and the matching substitute counter is placed on the map.) - Random initiative draw. Similar to Firepower, chits for each side are placed in a cup and each turn one is randomly drawn to determine which player may move. Platoon had a AH complexity rating of 3.