"Shako 1 -Shako 2, is one really better?" Topic

So is Shako 2 really better? I like Shako 1, I honestly didn't think 💭 it needed a second writing. I see where Shako 2 uses (or strongly suggests) a four stand battalion (16 piece) arrangement. I'm so old school, that I still see imperial troops in 2 stands of 4 (single rank) with 2 stands of two, and German/Russian infantry in 4 stands of 3. Hapsburgers at 16 and 12. (Or 18 for the purest who use that for the first 2 battalions of the foot regiments). I've been using the commands and colors blocks for Shako and it has given me good solo battles, is Shako 2 worth the cost? I also have black powder and like that too, but I have some heartburn over the brigade breaks no up when half of your battalions are disrupted. If I'm reading this correctly, if you have a force of 16 battalions in 4 brigades of 4 battalions, and you find yourself with 2 battalions from 2 of your brigades dispersed, your corps quits the field. Uhhhhh what?

If you like the old version why change?

It is important to spend some time rallying shaken units in Black Powder, it is not glorious but keeps you in the game. 3 brigades of 5 battalions is more a robust organisation, requiring 6 battalions to be shaken or broken. Some people use more than half shaken or broken as the brigade break point, which pushes the number of units upto 6 of your 16 units. Given historical casualty rates the rules as written seem about right to me.

Regards

We use over half for a brigade/division to break as well, and yes got to rally those hit points off.

I don't think v2 of Shako is an improvement (and it doesn't have the Big Battle game or the Seven Years War variant, either).

Garry Willis: excellent point. I think I would go with half of the base units as in , 16 battalions, – 8 dispersed/driven off, you are forced from the field. Just a thought.
Dexter, another good point. If it's not broke, why fix it until it is broke.
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Also, I have people get downright righteous over double rank figures with units on the table top, but I if you have a battalion of 12 in single rank, or a battalion of 24 in double rank, the footprint frontage is the same. It's nothing but asthetics. I am in a conundrum.

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I need a bottle of Burgundy

I still like Shako 1…

I like double rank because I am old school, and my ideas around Napoleonics were formed by admiring Peter Gilder's magnificent work – which was all double ranked. Of course, the depth is even worse out of scale that way, but it is just a compromise I accept. It does mean I have to paint twice as many figures though. But it also means my colonel's horse doesn't stick out in front (my bases are 40mm deep, 15mm wide per figure, 1:20 scale (although in reality to reflect battlefield strengths I reckon 1:15 is closer)

So what are the differences between Shako 1 and 2?

Marc, I have no idea------