I recently played (and reviewed) the boardgame Hearts and Minds (Vietnam, 1965-75). It is a solid effort with very playable game mechanics, although I didn't find it especially engaging.

While the victory conditions are largely political (US casualties and NVA/VC successes generate "hawk/dove points" that determine the game winner), although these political outcomes are largely achieved through military force.

That left me wondering--if one was asked to design a strategic (10 year) simulation of the Vietnam conflict, would would be the essential dynamics that the game mechanics would need to capture?