The video is here for those inclined:
For those with less time, shortened attention spans, or both:
The Good:
1. The game really hauled freight. This was certainly in part due to a better familiarity with the rules, but remembering that when a brigadier fails a command roll that he is done making command rolls made a significant difference as well. As Doug pointed out, it also opens up interesting tactical choices for opponents when a brigadier fails at a particularly bad moment.
2. The Austrian use of march column and a better understanding of the importance of that formation made the game much more competitive for the Austrians. It was a bit painful to end the session at the end of three hours as the Austrian reinforcements were just about to come crashing over the Buchberg.
3. While there were many troop maneuvers, wheels, formation changes, &c., in the end, it went fairly smoothly and looked very nice as a tableau.
4. I am particularly proud that we seem to have implemented almost all of the rules we confronted correctly. Almost.
The Bad:
1. We were over-generous with the divisional commanders. They must be within 12'' of the brigadier they intend to assist at the start of the turn and must ride with him or her during the turn or they cannot assist him or her. A significant limitation, I think.
2. Skirmishers and units in open order (more on this later) block LoS. Who knew? Certainly not I.
3. In the middle-going, you will see Doug order an advance on the French left and receive a significant success on his command roll. Technically -- and boy do I mean technically -- the rules would not have allowed him to charge because he did not say he was charging those fellows at the edge of the forest. In the spirit of the game, however, I do not feel we sinned very much.
The Ugly (I am not being blamed for these):
1. The rule about how many units can charge a single unit was changed between 1e and 2e. In 1e, it is as we played it and as my friend Doug clearly would prefer it. In 2e, however, it is as I initially described it, viz.: only one unit can charge to a face unless the target is large and the chargers are both small or tiny. Cleaner, but Doug's point re: this limiting the French capacity to use columnar attack is well taken.
2. The rules re: skirmishers in Black Powder 2 are a bit buggered at the moment in my judgment. Straight 1e -- no supplements -- seems to read that all units may enter open order and skirmish meaning they get certain bonuses when targeting for fire and shooting; not the least of these is a +1 on the "to hit" roll. As the supplements were released, some units were identified as "skirmish" meaning, I take it, that they receive the combat bonuses where others do not. The problem with this designation, though, is what to make of the "Poor Skirmisher" designation given to Austrian troops in Clash of Eagles? I presume it means they can enter open order, become harder to hit, and target from wherever they like, but do not receive the +1 to hit.
And then, in 2e, the "skirmisher" designation now appears regularly in army lists and the +1 for skirmishers firing as been taken away. I have no particular objection, but this is consequential for those building points-based armies.
I do not quite know what to think, but my gut is:
1. All infantry units may enter open order.
2. Only units with the "skirmish" ability may take advantage of the special firing stuff.
3. Only units with the "Mixed Order" may form Mixed Order -- this is explicit in the rules.
4. The Austrian "Poor Skirmishers" special rule is now vestigial.
Despite all this, my love of Black Powder 2 has not diminished and I will be back at it.
See anything else we screwed up? I would love to hear about it. Honestly.
Oh, and here is a shot I had forgotten I took. This was game state when we called it for the evening.
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