BattleTech – A Beginner’s Guide to the Biggest Bots in the Galaxy
Humanity has spread to the stars, and the six Great Noble Houses battle for control using giant mechs. This is BattleTech!
You may have come across a MechWarrior video game or heard of a ‘Mech before. You might have even seen a cartoon or seen the Clix version in the past. But you might not be familiar with BattleTech. We’re here to change that!
The classic game is back with a new and updated Beginner Box, a new batch of plastic miniatures, and the tabletop game of BattleTech. So, suit up MechWarriors. It’s time to pilot your Mechs and fight for fame and fortune in BattleTech!
What is BattleTech?
To quote from the Box:
BattleTech is a science-fiction ‘space opera’ set in the factional, militarized universe of the thirty-first century.
In other words, it’s the year 30xx, and mankind has spread out among the stars — and started fighting over them. The Great Houses have had a series of Succession Wars to determine who should rule and things have kind of hit a stalemate. These houses make up what’s known as the Inner Sphere. And their warriors aren’t your typical foot soldiers — they are the mighty Battlemechs!
Battlemechs are the giant, multi-ton robots that are piloted by MechWarriors (the people in the cockpit). Most Mechs only require a single pilot…but that’s another topic. These MechWarriors are highly skilled combatants who render their services to one of the six Great Houses. In many ways, the setting is a retro-futuristic medieval setting. The MechWarriors are the knights who ride these massive mounts into combat. Those mounts just happen to have lasers, missiles, and really big guns instead of swords and lances.
The game itself takes place in that setting. But at the core, BattleTech is a Tabletop miniatures game involving Battlemechs (just called Mechs for short) fighting against each other. The game uses a hex grid for movement and facing and also uses D6 dice for its random number generation mechanics. Move your Mechs, shoot your weapons at the targets, and roll dice to see what happens!
Damage is tracked on the ‘Mechs Record Sheet. As the ‘Mechs take damage they can lose weapons, limbs, and even entire torsos! Take enough damage and that ‘Mech is wrecked and out of the game. Hopefully, your other ‘Mechs can still salvage a win though.
Why Play BattleTech?
Do you like the idea of giant robots blasting and smashing each other? Do you enjoy miniature games? Does the idea of a relatively simple-to-learn but tactically complex game appeal to you? Did I mention giant freakin’ robots blowing stuff up!?
The fun of BattleTech is the wide array of ‘Mechs and load-outs for those ‘Mechs you can use. The newest plastic miniatures come pre-assembled and have a lot of details. Plus they’re plastic and not the old-school metal miniatures from the early days. As someone who played when they still had lead miniatures, I really appreciate the plastic ones now. Even if they don’t taste the same…
Each ‘Mech has a tonnage rating. Most games games have a set tonnage limit that your Lance (or Squadron) has to meet or fall under. You might play a game with a 200-ton limit. So your ‘Mech Lance has to Drop (or be deployed) at or under that limit. But once the Lances are assembled and dropped it’s game on.
What’s Playing Like?
As mentioned above the game is played with hex maps but can be played with inches if you want to do some minor math converting things. Personally, it’s pretty easy to pick up either way, but if you’re just getting started, stick to the hex grids as they help visualize your facing and movement a bit more clearly.
The weapons also have ranges and the ‘Mechs have different movement values. There are also modifiers to hit based on your speed, target’s speed, and distance to the target. But, at the end of the day, it’s really just “apply modifiers to your attack” and “roll dice to see what happens.”
There are scenarios and missions to play. There are also some great campaign tools you can use to create a longer narrative—but that’s a few steps down the line. Start with the Quick-Start Rules in the Beginner Box and play some games first. Then, get the Core Set for even more rules and Mechs. You’ll be loading out custom Lances in no time.
Now, we won’t do a complete breakdown of the rules here. However, if you’re interested in learning the basics you can download the BattleTech: Primer from Catalyst Game Labs. They also have a section for other Free PDF downloads where you can explore more about the universe of BattleTech and check out other various scenarios and extras. And if you’re ready to dive head first you can pick up the core set as well.
What are the Clans? Who’s This Kerensky Fella? What’s the Star League?!
Whoa, whoa, whoa! This is for beginners are those are some deeper lore questions. For now, just know that BattleTech spans multiple eras. The Clans don’t show up until the year 3049 in universe. The Beginner Box starts you during the 3025 era. The later the game goes in the timeline the more tech options open up.
The neat thing about BattleTech is that ‘Mechs are treated like family heirlooms and get passed down from one generation of MechWarrior to the next. So many of the ‘Mechs decades if not hundreds of years old! These old warmachines are maintained and treated as functioning relics. That’s why there can be a lot of options and variants of ‘Mechs to play around with. It’s part of the fun of the game.
This is BattleTech!
If you like the idea of piloting a squadron of giant robots into battle, then you definitely need to check out BattleTech!
