Shako
Printed and Published by Dave Waxtel
Quantum Printing
460 West 34th Street
New York, NY 10001

Old Fashioned

Well, well, well Arty Conliffe you sweet old fashioned thing you!

Or at least that was my first impression of Shako as with a single bound we leapt back over twenty years of wargaming to D6's, uniform unit sizes and range sticks.

Having played quite a few games at the basic level I am not quite so sure. This is definitely a case of there being more to something than meets the eye.

What Arty appears to have done has gone a long way to answer my plea for someone to create a Fire & Fury for Napoleonics, although it's a pity he did not go further down that road and opt for some form of block casualty removal. Arty has achieved this in a manner which seems to allow the complexity of the period to come through while retaining simple game mechanics.

In order to do this there are of course some fairly sweeping generalisations. For example not only are squares immobile but they cannot fire. In addition getting into the said formation while being charged is at best 50/50 chance, with failure rewarded by instant rout. Similarly cavalry are a bit of a one shot weapon. Chuck them in and either you get a lot of dead foot sloggers or it's bye bye, Murat! Also, one thing that Dave Watkins will like is that Columns can't fire!

Having said all that it certainly feels like Napoleonics and although fairly simple, the rules often come up with results which mirror those achieved in Empire (my customary yardstick). Sometimes you have to step back a bit and think, hang on that can't be right, but most of the time it is.

Scales

The game is rigged for all scales although 15 and 25mm are the main target areas. No rebasing is required and I found my own Empire set up more or less spot on. Two other alternatives are offered one bearing more than a passing resemblance to Napoleon's Battles, so Arty obviously knows his potential readership. As mentioned the unit size is not terribly important to the game in that every nation seems to have twelve figure battalions and six to nine figure cavalry units. Although a figure ratio is given for both the basic game and the big battle variant, it is fairly unimportant and on table units are really best thought of as representative rather than accurate. Some upward variation does occur for historical purposes, for example Austrian infantry are allowed to field an extra stand to demonstrate the exceptional size of their formations but on the whole things are pretty even.

Command and control is simple and annoyingly effective. The C in C (a Corps Commander at basic game level) is nailed in place at the start of the action. He must then communicate with Divisional commanders via two courier figures that operate in real time on the table. Orders cannot be changed until they physically contact the intended commander. The French react at once to the change, the Allies a turn or two later.

The courier then must make the return leg and reach the C in C before being sent out again; with only two of these guys you don't get to make many changes! In addition units must at all times be in command range of their Divisional Commander which keeps formations tight, deep and pretty accurate. There are really only two types of orders: Attack and Defend, although units can be placed on reserve or committed to a flank march (shades of WRG) and any of these can have a timed condition attached.

Movement

Movement is fairly simple with formation changes and directional alteration basic and suitably restrictive. The French get all the good moves and are allowed far more flexibility than the Allies but no more so than history or other rules would credit in my experience. As they are expected in the rules to do most of the attacking, this is just as well.

One point here that is worth mentioning is that, as written, these rules are somewhat stylised in that the French are assumed to be the attackers in a consistent attacker verses stationary defender model. To this, all be it generally accurate, end they are given advantages in all arms which reflect their higher level of skill and manoeuvre over continental opponents. This is balanced a little by allowing the British the second best manoeuvre ability and almost equal use of light troops but other Allies will have to bargain their position in more historical games.

The most difficult element of the permanent superiority in my view is the flank march rule, of which it is strongly suggested the French only, need apply. I have mixed feelings about this. On a strategic level I might tend to agree that nobody else attempted to turn a position, either as often or with any success, as the man with his hand on his wallet; but this, at the lower level, is a Divisional game so does this follow?

However, having played several games without using the aforementioned ploy I can see its attraction. Even with the advantage of being French and having the additional number of recommended infantry units, added to the attacking side from the army lists, frontal attacks are sheer bloody murder.

Along with the flank marches direction is given to players as to permitted table deployment areas and styles of formation so as to try and simulate national preferences as to column or line.

Combat, Fire and Morale are simple and generally work well. In firepower terms there can be feast or famine but not as annoyingly so as in F & F. Morale is the same for every body (pause for un-histoncal screams) with troop type variations i.e., Guards do not run away as fast as militia but French Guards are no better than any other. Unit moral is effected mainly by enemy fire and four / five hits on anyone (there is no actual figure removal) and their off mate, end of story. Hardened Empire players in particular will sob over total equality in fighting and shooting prowess, the only differences being between various troop qualities but these tend to apply to all nations equally. This is a reflection of the apparently quick and reasonably dirty (in detail terms) approach to the game overall.

Salesmanship

Look people, it's like this. You can't sell a rule set on the speed of it's resolution without cutting some comers and as anyone will tell you a rule set lives and dies (pardon the pun) when you get stuck in the combat functions. Moving units under any rules should be the fast bit, the proverbial clash of arms is where most start running through deep mud.

Arty does a more than reasonable job of balancing feel and results against speed of play. If at times the results make you wince as units break and your plans turn to dust, well it's war isn't it? And we all know what war is don't we?

By the way, you will have to try and make sure your terrain layout is fairly mixed, along the lines suggested in the rules. I have found that if your opponent is inclined to hide behind the size of hill we normally play with you might as well leave your guns at home. Not that artillery fire is totally stopped by hills, in fact bounce through onto reverse slopes is both simple and effective via the range sticks, it's just that you can only shoot at what's on top of the hill (seems fair) so no target, no damage anywhere beyond. A fine example of a simple rule stopping an unrealistic result, if you can't see a threat in that area you have no cause to fire in that direction, but it does encourage all nations to use reverse slope tactics as if they were King George's own!

So what else. The charts and overall presentation are first class. The army lists seem OK, although they are obviously a bit of a generalisation given the need to provide a balanced one off game and do contain the odd questionable item. I for one would take exception to finding my Redcoats confronted with French Heavy batteries in the Peninsular. Also the French Allies will be the cause of a few arguments as they don't exist, so you will have to make up your own lists. Here the infantry morale ratings could cause a problem or two as the distinction as to who should be classed as line and who as second rate is open to interpretation, outside the major nations. I would suggest any body rated as conscnpt or below in Empire should be second rate but that's not much use to those of you who don't own a copy is it?

With the above exception the lists are well thought out, with suitable reductions and increases in troop types and quality over the course of the period, although why the Ottoman Turks should be included at the expense of the German States I do not understand. As Empire also includes them I can only assume there are far more would be Pashas on that side of the Atlantic than over here. One other general point I cannot follow is why there is no equivalent of second rate in the mounted arm but there you are.

The big game variant? Well I haven't played it yet. At first glance it looks not a lot more than a simplification of the main set where a stand equals a whole battalion rather than a part of one. Although having said that I would not want to be dismissive as the rules look as if they could well work and indeed lend themselves to my old favourites, 2mm blocks, in fact they might look more believable this way. You will of course have to be prepared for even broader concepts and resolutions than in some areas of the basic game but reading the separate section that covers these actions, after playing at the lower level, you can see where the train of thought is going clear enough.

Closing

In closing I would like to give my comment on some review statements made in the latest adverts for Shako.

1. Elegant, yet simple and fast - Well they do have a distinctive character and yes they are both simple and fast, but sometimes not quite as fast as you might like.
2. Historically accurate - Overall surprisingly so, but compromised for speed in some places.
3. Fun to Play - Undoubtedly.
4. Shako has put realism and fun back into wargaming - They certainly do provide a good blend of these two elements, although the realism tends to be more in the perceived results than how they are achieved.
5. The Best Napoleonic Rules I have ever known - Well that rather depends who you are! But they are very good at what they do.

PS. They do have a Seven Years War section which looks all right to me (you just cut out the light troops and swan about in lines don't you?) but I am always hesitant about cross period add ons. Particularly where, as in this case, my personal time machine won't go back that far.