Classic BattleTech
BattleTech was my first foray into gaming beyond classic Red Box D&D. I picked up the first printing back in the summer of 1985, which would have made me somewhere around 12 years old. We spent that entire summer fighting epic combats between huge, armored robots, and I loved every minute of it. This is the game that coined the term "Mech" - a term that has almost become synonymous for describing giant robots - it has become part of the geek vernacular, and you even hear it used by people who never played the game.
BattleTech is a game that defies categorization - it is one part miniature wargame, one part boardgame, and one part giant robot RPG. Each robot has its own character sheet, with tons of details and endless options for player customization. Half the fun of the game was pouring over technical specifications and building your own mech. The core robot-building mechanic involved a three-way balancing act between the available tonnage, structural space and heat management, and it was great fun to see what you could come up with. I still remember building incredibly risky mechs, heavy on the firepower but poorly equipped to manage the heat generated by those massive weapons - they would either deliver a rapid death to my enemies or mushroom cloud themselves as they quickly overheated their nuclear cores.
So, on a whim, and maybe with hopes of recapturing some of that nostalgia, I picked up the Classic BattleTech introductory Boxed Set put out by Catalyst Game Labs, the latest owner of the BattleTech franchise. At face value, it's quite a complete set that includes: Quick Start Rules, Introductory Rules, a fluff book called "The Inner Sphere at a Glance," a pair of maps, dice, and 24 plastic miniatures to represent your robots on the battlefield.
While the contents themselves have good artistic production values, the quality is a bit lacking on some of the components. The quickstart rules are printed on magazine stock (even the cover) and I doubt will stand up to much abuse, although the other two books are a better quality. The maps are printed on cheap poster-paper, like you would expect to get out of a magazine insert. This was especially disappointing considering the heavy-duty cardboard maps from the original boxed set (thankfully, I still have those). Map quality becomes especially important when you consider that Battletech is not a normal wargame that uses a tape measure and free-form terrain, and requires a hex map to play properly. But of course, if you read this blog, it's probably the miniatures that you are most interested in...
When it comes to miniatures, the good news is that Catalyst wasn't stingy... twenty-four models is a nice amount, given the small scale of the game. Unfortunately, the models are mediocre at best. This is partially the sculpts themselves, and partially the fact that I just don't like a lot of the mech designs. Back when I was first playing the game, most of the robot designs were stolen from anime sources, and frankly looked much better. The models themselves are made from a medium-soft plastic that isn't as nice as GW plastics, but not as bad as something like the D&D pre-painted miniatures. I was a little disappointed at first, but then I decided I would put some paint on them before I passed final judgment. Who knows - it worked for the Black 13th...
So, I painted three of them up this weekend, and I have to admit that they look a lot better with some color (see the pic above). I'm still not a huge fan of the robot designs, but I'd be plenty content to put them on the table and enjoy the game. If I were getting serious, I would probably be looking elsewhere: The Iron Wind Metals versions look somewhat better, and if I were really looking to get back into the game I would consider proxying the far-superior CAV models from Reaper.
All-in-all, the CBT Introductory Boxed Set still feels like a good deal for $40. I think BattleTech almost requires a box-set to introduce it to new players. Because it is more board game than war game, having everything in one place makes it much easier to get a sense of the game. Kudos to Catalyst Games Labs for realizing this and bringing the boxed set back. For many people, it's all they will ever need, especially for casual play. I'd definitely recommend picking it up if you've ever wondered what the game is all about, or if you share my fond memories of it from more than 20 years ago. Either way, it's a worthy addition to any gamer's shelf, and provides a taste of what was one of the seminal games of the last 20 years. I'm looking forward to painting up the rest of the models and getting a few games in with old friends later this summer at PAX.
BattleTech is a game that defies categorization - it is one part miniature wargame, one part boardgame, and one part giant robot RPG. Each robot has its own character sheet, with tons of details and endless options for player customization. Half the fun of the game was pouring over technical specifications and building your own mech. The core robot-building mechanic involved a three-way balancing act between the available tonnage, structural space and heat management, and it was great fun to see what you could come up with. I still remember building incredibly risky mechs, heavy on the firepower but poorly equipped to manage the heat generated by those massive weapons - they would either deliver a rapid death to my enemies or mushroom cloud themselves as they quickly overheated their nuclear cores.
My attempt at painting up the plastic models from the Classic Batteltech Introductory Boxed Set
So, on a whim, and maybe with hopes of recapturing some of that nostalgia, I picked up the Classic BattleTech introductory Boxed Set put out by Catalyst Game Labs, the latest owner of the BattleTech franchise. At face value, it's quite a complete set that includes: Quick Start Rules, Introductory Rules, a fluff book called "The Inner Sphere at a Glance," a pair of maps, dice, and 24 plastic miniatures to represent your robots on the battlefield.
While the contents themselves have good artistic production values, the quality is a bit lacking on some of the components. The quickstart rules are printed on magazine stock (even the cover) and I doubt will stand up to much abuse, although the other two books are a better quality. The maps are printed on cheap poster-paper, like you would expect to get out of a magazine insert. This was especially disappointing considering the heavy-duty cardboard maps from the original boxed set (thankfully, I still have those). Map quality becomes especially important when you consider that Battletech is not a normal wargame that uses a tape measure and free-form terrain, and requires a hex map to play properly. But of course, if you read this blog, it's probably the miniatures that you are most interested in...
When it comes to miniatures, the good news is that Catalyst wasn't stingy... twenty-four models is a nice amount, given the small scale of the game. Unfortunately, the models are mediocre at best. This is partially the sculpts themselves, and partially the fact that I just don't like a lot of the mech designs. Back when I was first playing the game, most of the robot designs were stolen from anime sources, and frankly looked much better. The models themselves are made from a medium-soft plastic that isn't as nice as GW plastics, but not as bad as something like the D&D pre-painted miniatures. I was a little disappointed at first, but then I decided I would put some paint on them before I passed final judgment. Who knows - it worked for the Black 13th...
So, I painted three of them up this weekend, and I have to admit that they look a lot better with some color (see the pic above). I'm still not a huge fan of the robot designs, but I'd be plenty content to put them on the table and enjoy the game. If I were getting serious, I would probably be looking elsewhere: The Iron Wind Metals versions look somewhat better, and if I were really looking to get back into the game I would consider proxying the far-superior CAV models from Reaper.
All-in-all, the CBT Introductory Boxed Set still feels like a good deal for $40. I think BattleTech almost requires a box-set to introduce it to new players. Because it is more board game than war game, having everything in one place makes it much easier to get a sense of the game. Kudos to Catalyst Games Labs for realizing this and bringing the boxed set back. For many people, it's all they will ever need, especially for casual play. I'd definitely recommend picking it up if you've ever wondered what the game is all about, or if you share my fond memories of it from more than 20 years ago. Either way, it's a worthy addition to any gamer's shelf, and provides a taste of what was one of the seminal games of the last 20 years. I'm looking forward to painting up the rest of the models and getting a few games in with old friends later this summer at PAX.
Labels: BattleTech, miniatures, wargaming
Those look good. I didn't realize there were so many minis in that box... what a great deal!
Scary enough, I'm knee-deep in Wood Elves and GW terrain for the store. And commission work. I've only got two models on the books for the May Challenge on the forums and a ton of Trolls to paint in the next week. We'll see what happens.
Posted by
ghettokorestudios |
10:50 PM