Unboxing – BATTLETECH: A GAME OF ARMORED COMBAT
October 6, 2021 by avernos
John jumps into the studio to show off the core box for Battletech from the folks at Catalyst Game Labs, inside you'll get everything you need to get your first games under your belt and learn the game system.
A hard sci-fi game of mech combat with lore so rich that you can play out games as RPGs, hex map board games, and full-on tabletop miniature games, Battletech has been beloved for decades and now with a resurgence of interest this is a great time to take a look at a mainstay of our industry.
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Will you be jumping into a mech to fight with your merc company?
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What’s in the box!
And how much was it?
😉
Congratulations on 100k subs
In the States it goes for $59.95.
I know the regular price. I was just poking fun at John because he “snagged” his box for “a bit more” on fleaBay just before Catalyst was restocking everywhere 😉
I remember Battletech from way back in the day. Looking at it now it seems a bit too old skool design for current tastes. Not sure I want to track that level of damage on individual mechs.
There seems to be a more streamlined version of the rules called Alpha Strike but looking on their website the information is a confusing mess.
If the company making the game cannot make an easy guide then i’m not interested in doing my own research to try and work it out.
It’s easier than you think. Besides CGL doesn’t hate it’s community like certain other company does.
If you are going to tempt people away from 40K then it would be really helpful to have a simple to navigate website. Minis look great, so a bit of work to make it more newbie friendly might help things along.
Looking at the website you will find…
There are five ways in which people enjoy the BattleTech universe.
1. As a tabletop miniatures game
2. As a board game
3. As a roleplaying game (RPG)
4. As a reader of fiction
5. As a computer game
And then you will find some broken web links. There is a confusing array of products, starter boxes, alpha strike card packs, rules books, clan boxes…
The fiction at least is a lot more accessible now via Amazon’s Kindle store. I agree it’s still not as intuitive as it should be for a newcomer though.
You think that at first, but it’s only the same as tracking the damage on a regiment/unit in an army. Typically games are about 8-10 mechs a side, but the Grognards of the game (who are used to the rules) can easily play this along with additional tanks/infantry/air support in a club night.
You just have to have a little preparation in getting all the record sheets ready before the game and remember the pencils and sharpeners.
The Alpha Strike rules are more towards playing the game without tracking everything, but I do feel the game loses “something” when you do.
I managed to get mine year before Clan Invasion box set was released and before this one become difficult to find. This AGoAC boxed set is worth getting for anyone who is interest from starting classic that is BT.
I’m SOOO glad I don’t own a 3D printer, and that at this moment in time it’s almost impossible to get from the store shelves (I believe the window for retail stock (post kickstarter) is going to be next year). Because I would totally CAVE and buy lots of things I don’t need.
BT is traditionally played on a hex map (although there are rules for playing on a tabletop akin to games like 40K), and I personally think this is the best way to play the game.
On a personal note I’ve never been a fan of the more humanoid mechs that “hold” their weapons (like the Battlemaster). This is probably due to the manga roots to the game (a lot of the early mechs were copies of robots from Japanese cartoons and manga books), But there’s LOADS of mechs available (so I can always leave then out).
The lore/fluff for the game is fantastic with a lot of paperbacks released. Imagine Game of Thrones/War of the Roses mixed in with spaceships and big stompy robots. Take a look at the TexTalks Youtube videos for some fantastic history on the universe (good for listening to while you paint as some are over 2 hours long).
But this does bring me to the only negative about the current release of the Battletech game. The Lance Boxes of miniatures (either 4 or 5 in a box). These come as a “set” of mechs and there’s no way of buying exactly what you want (ie the mechs being available individually) unless you have a 3D printer.
So glad I can’t buy the minis at the moment, as my pile of shame is at record proportions. The other main temptation is unlike other companies (cough “GW” cough), the rules are available in about three books for just about everything (rather than 15 plus), and the rulebooks ARE rulebooks (and not 90 percent pictures and fluff), so that makes finding the rules (and comprehending them) a lot easier 🙂
In the States you can buy metal Miniatures from Iron Wind Metals (old Ral Partha). There is a German
based store/company. I am not sure of the name, Ral Partha/FASA Europe? Catalyst Game Labs is releasing addition sets to retailers as soon as the Kickstarter Backers get theirs.
Some of the IWM minis are quite good (particularly the recent releases like the new Thunderbolt), but the main reason I have for holding off any purchases is the “scale” of the minis (and particularly if they will mix and match with the new CGI plastics). I’d like to be able to buy a IWM mini and then have another plastic and have them at least “roughly” match in height and bulk.
Some of the older IWM (ex Ral Partha) as frankly awful, and the scaling was WAYYYYY off across the range (a 20 ton locust was the same height as most 70 Mechs in the same range. You have to be able to pick and choose from the entire listing for the newer releases.
It’s almost impossible to find post on the internet doing comparisons of the IWM and the new plastics across the range (there’s a few threads, but they usually feature either an Atlas or a Marauder.
I have to agree with you. Their sense of scale was way off. I have an original Locust fig that is as tall as an Atlas. The Plastec set that was done was bigger than most metal figs. The new plastic figs seem to be in scale and have good details. I have not tried comparing metal figs to plastic figs. Yet!!
John have fun kicking Justin’s butt.
Ooh a fabulous blast from the past I always remember the locusts being a pain in the computer game. Star league is the laststarfighter part of the same universe?
I have always liked the Battletech universe in all it’s guises. Who can’t love a mech the size of a town hall. But when it comes to big mech gameplay I prefer Heavy Gear by Dream Pod 9. It’s just more fun.
I’ve tried the new version of the Heavy Gear Rules, but I much preferred the original V1.0 set. The newest set of rules have been “streamlined” to a point where I find them a bit too simplistic (and I don’t get the sense of “big stompy robots” from the rules (in fact they could be used for any hi-tech future soldier setting without any power armour or exo-suit).
Perhaps it’s just me. The minis are nice (but I do wish you could get the old Ral Partha 15mm sculpts (even although the blisters were almost always missing a part, and they were fiddly to put together), because they were really nice sculpts (even with Ral Partha doing them 😀 )).
But the HG rules are probably good for BIG games, but they just don’t have the detail that the BT rules have (and you can get your teeth into). Don’t get me wrong, sometimes I like to play an easy set of rules for a quick game. But sometimes I like to play a game that’s going to take an entire evening to play (sometimes detailed rules give a better sense of immersion as the level of abstraction isn’t negating the minds eye of what’s actually happening). There’s LOTS of “streamlined” rulesets out there, but in this day and age very few of the more detailed sets of rules. BT scratches a particular wargaming itch that’s hard to find a comparable match to 🙂
Very good points phaidknot. I feel the same way about game rules. But some times when playing with a mixed bag of club members, simple works. If it’s one thing that winds me up is being drawn into a futile row with an armchair barrister on rules.
That box looks good, I have the introductory box from back in the day and various books tucked away in the loft somewhere from even further back. I am waiting for clan invasion kickstarter to turn up so have been considering getting back into this. Does anyone know if the rules have changed at all?
The rules have changed slightly over the years, but for mech on mech games the changes are minimal – most recently (and by which I mean in 2007) they changed the hit numbers and damage for melee attacks slightly, skidding works a little differently, partial cover is changed… Not much. The biggest changes were to vehicles and infantry, who take damage differently now, and they added some more movement types for both.
Thanks for the update, I’m still waiting for my Clan invasion Kickstarter to arrive but once it does it feels like its time to start getting back into this.