Year of the Rat: Vietnam 1972 (Deluxe Edition)

On 30 March 1972 the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) launched its “Easter Offensive” into South Vietnam, attempting to either win the war decisively or improve the North’s negotiating position at the Paris Peace Talks. Surprised by the large-scale attack, the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) rallied, and supported by US airpower, launched counterattacks into the fall, finally repulsing the Communist offensive.

Year of the Rat Deluxe Edition recreates that decisive campaign. Powerful NVA divisions operate alongside Viet Cong regiments and decoys, evading the ARVN while striking quickly at vital towns and bases. ARVN elite airborne, ranger, and marine units respond, creating a tense asymmetrical contest of big unit battles and hard-fought sieges, with increasing American airstrikes and worsening NVA supply capabilities.

This Deluxe Edition enhances the original, acclaimed SPI game design (published during the campaign) with a half-century of research and analysis, providing updated orders of battle and terrain analysis. Three scenarios and fifteen order of battle variants cover a wide range of game options, including operations into Laos and Cambodia.

Additional features include:

• New graphics on enlarged maps and counters
• Expanded Allied airmobile operations and units
• NVA divisional reorganization and tank regiments
• Full 1971–72 US order of battle
• Australian, Royal Thai, Cambodian, and Khmer Rouge forces
• Vietnamese and US Navy riverine units
• ARVN base camps and regional forces
• Extensive optional rules

Year of the Rat Deluxe Edition offers you the opportunity to explore and make decisions in a campaign that changed the course of war and peace.