BattleTech: A Game of Armored Combat - The World's Greatest Miniature Wargame for BattleMech Beginners and Veterans By Catalyst Game Labs

Unlike other games it is not about throwing dice and move. It is a game for those who like details and realism. It is not the simpler of games. But it is famous for a reason. It has lots of rules and it does not need a dungeon master, you you can even play alone, pretending to be the enemy if you wish.It is some sort of chess with math. I know parents who use it to keep their kids sharp in math at school and give them some family moments when playing. I can recommend the board game for kids, but Battletech novels have adult content, so I do not advice to buy the novels for kids. Novels are great, but for adults, this tabletop game is good for kids and adults.The only weak spot is that board is made of paper, unlike a Monopoly board that is stronger. It has been the norm since forever for this game.As for the product itself, Battletech a game of armored combat is the standard game with a full set of rules to play combat between robots (they call mechs). It includes 2 light mechs, 2 heavy mechs and 4 medium mechs. It has record sheets for many mechs, including the Griffin that is not included as plastic miniature. I recommend to photocopy the sheets. Also buy pairs of colored dice. Having many pairs of different colors allow you to throw many pairs at once to speed up the game. Also, you need 3 colors of dice per mech, so you can keep track of the 3 types of movement.If you want a set with simplified rules, good for newbies, or you want a Griffin miniature, or another map to play, you may want to buy the Beginner Box. This is what I did. I bought the Beginner Box that has 2 plastic miniature mechs.The rules of this standard game are many more than I expected, for a casual board gamer like me, whose most complex game has been Monopoly or chess (I always lose in chess). The issue is that these rules bring overwhelming realism to the game. And strangely I am bad at chess, but in Battletech moves make sense.This standard box takes place in a time right before the clan invasion, during 4th succession war in the lore. This game does not include any rules to play with vehicles, infantry, dropships (descent vehicles), jumpships, etc. So some mech variants that include flamer or machine gun are diminished in usefullness because of lack of infantry and vehicles.As I said, the rules are overwhelmingly complex for a casual board gamer. What you can do is to search youtube for "battletech fan" that explains rules in a very visual way, like a Lego instruction manual. There are other tutorials, but are not so visual and a bit boring. Playing a single turn takes a lot of time. So those players who are not willing to so much realism and attention to detail, may feel bored. This game was designed for people who love attention to detail. For players who want simplicity, the beginner box will do. For the rest, this standard box will do.The game includes pilot cards with special abilities, but the manual does not explain how to use cards, this is explained in the rules of beginner box.The difference between the beginner box and this standard game is that beginner box does not have internal armor, you cannot damage equipment inside and have machine malfunctions due to damaged hardware, and heat is not a problem. Heat can slow your mech, hurt the pilot, cause ammunition explosion. Also, in the beginner box you cannot conduct physical attacks, like kicking, punching, and many others.The standard game does not allow to jettison ammunition, so when it explodes, it could blow your mech straight to the stars.As casual gamer, be prepared for the steep curve of learning many rules.Normally the order I would recommend to buy is:* Battletech beginner box* Battletech a game of armored combat* "Alpha strike commander's edition" bookAlpha strike offers a fast paced game, with alternate rules, so a game that would take one week to play with standard rules, will take 4 hours with Alpha Strike rules. With these 3 products you will have a complete set to play.But if you wanted even more, I would recomment the following products in the following order:* "Total warfare" book. Rules that include aerial, space units, vehicles, infantry* "Tech manual" book. How to create and configure your own unit* Clan invasion expansion boxset. Clan mechs, more maps. It has no rulebook.* "Tactical operations advanced rules" book. Expand your rules with cool new rules.* "Tactical operations advanced units and equipment" book. Add some fancy equipment to your game* "Campaign operations". Plan your campaign with budget and costs.* "Strategic operations". Space combat.* "Interstellar operations" You play as the leader of one of the great houses. The "dungeon master" plays all NPC factions. Basically it is like playing Risk in the Inner Sphere.Aside of these, there are 2 alternate separate game systems to play stories and characters.* "A time of war" RPG game very similar to Dungeons and Dragons but in the Battletech universe.* "Mechwarrior destiny" RPG game more narrative orientedThe right price for this game is $59.99. That is the price that the publisher of this game has in its store and every other store in the internet. If you pay more, that is a rip-off by a scalper seller.

The 31st century. A time of war and intrigue across the stars. Many factions, nations, even mercenary and pirate outfits are savagely laying waste to one another to further their own agendas. Battletech is a universe like no other and has been for the past 35 years. With this set you can start your own foray into it's universe or expand upon your collection with some very nice additions.This boxed set is the ideal entry point for those who have a serious desire to get into the Battletech tabletop wargame, but have either already picked up the beginner box or wish to simply buy in with more content. It comes with everything you need in the box to play. You get a number of very well sculpted, highly-detailed miniature battlemech models to use in your games. These come fully-assembled and will even look great painted if you so choose to customize them to your favorite unit or faction. Also included are numerous booklets for rules, explanations on the Battletech universe itself, and a couple of great hex maps to play on. You also get cardboard punch-outs in the way of even more battlemechs to add to your battles as well as terrain tiles to customize your battlefields with. It's a great, well-rounded package that could literally keep you playing for the years to come if you have no inclination to buy other products. This is a full, stand-alone boxed game of battlemech combat if you want it to be, or the start of a very impressive collection of miniatures, maps, rules, and more.Battletech is a game that scales very nicely. You can make your games of Battletech as simple or complex as you see fit. With the set you have here you've got everything you need to slug it out on the battlefield with massive, multi-ton mechs that come bristling with high tech weaponry. If you want to take it further down the road, you can add battle tanks, armored fighting vehicles, infantry, aircraft, naval assets, artillery, and more to your games and even make them span an entire campaign with additional rules for things like mech salvage and more. Battletech makes the 31st century your oyster and you can take your experience as far as you want to go.All told, this set is a great value. While it may not offer as many miniatures as past starter boxes have, it makes up for it in quality and substance. You've got a lot to get started with here, and if you're already a Battletech collector you have the opportunity to add some brand new hex maps and incredibly gorgeous, newly redesigned plastic mechs to your lineup.No box set is perfect, but this is honestly about as close as we've gotten in awhile as it adds so much of a "refresh" to the game with the all-new components. The new mech redesigns look SO GOOD. Battletech has never been this pretty. If I had one gripe I would say I really wished the maps had been the thicker, board game style maps of the past, but I understand some decisions had to be made to keep the price reasonable for everyone to be able to pick this one up at retail.In closing, no regrets here! This boxed set is an excellent buy in my opinion even just for the mechs alone and I really think anyone who plays or is thinking of playing Battletech should give it a go!

I have loved this game since I was a child. I have many memories of playing this with my brother a friends. The box has great miniatures and includes some terrain punch-out's so that you can customize the maps it comes with. I look forward to playing more and painting up the miniatures!

So, I do this podcast, right? And we were recording an episode on our favorite board game. (Over/complicated is the podcast, give it a listen) We had to record that episode over two separate sessions. I just so happened to play this particular game between the recordings.This changed my list. It has a TON of rules, but honestly? There is a logical flow to them, so it becomes easier over time. If you like giant robots blowing each other up with rockets, guns, lasers, and trees (yes, trees) then you need to grab this game. For it's price, you get a ton of stuff. If you have a board game group that prefers easier, quicker games, this is NOT the game for you. This is a "I'll kiss the next 3 hours goodbye" game if you play 4 on 4. A match of 1 mech on 1 mech goes by quickly enough, but for every mech included, it gets exponentially lengthier.But if time at the table and a lengthy rulebook is no concern of yours, then this is the game for you.