8 replies to this topic

[MkV]

I am getting into Battle tech for the first time and I just bought the introductory box set. I'd like to generate some interest in our local game store so here is the plan:


I am going to run a series of demo games to see if I can drive interest. I will pick a Saturday and set up 3 maps. (I am using Heroscape tiles to replicate the maps in the box, see link for work in progress) The intro box set comes with 24 Mechs. I am going to divide them into 6 lances and put 2 per map. In this manner I can have 3 "Demo" games going at one time, OR, let players try different lances and different terrain.

One of the challenges is going to be properly dividing the mechs up into "balanced" lances. Keeping in mind that we will be using the introductory rules at first, and the goal is to introduce players to Battletech for the first time and have them have a fun first impression. By the time I do this I should have 10-15 games in, BUT, I like to run demo's with all painted mini's so I am going to paint each lance in a different (basic) color scheme so I need to divide them up now.

For my first pass, I just tried to get them all close to an average BV taken from the wiki, and divided up the "roles" as defined in the intro manual. My first pass at it is: (Remember I have not played a game yet)

I'd like some input on this.

Legend:
Name, weight, Role (From the intro manual), BV (From the wiki)

Lance 1
Zeus 80 Sniper 1374
Enforcer 50 Brawler 1032
Cyclops 90 Juggernauts 1308
Cicada 40 Scout 659

Lance 2
Catapult 65 Missile Boats 1399
Panther 35 Sniper 769
Trebuchet 50 Missile Boats 1191
Jenner 35 Striker 875

Lance 3
Banshee 95 Sniper 1422
Assassin 40 Scout 749
Quickdraw 60 Skirmisher 1178
JagerMech 65 Sniper 901

Lance 4
Grasshopper 70 Skirmisher 1427
Hermes II 40 Skirmisher 784
Dragon 60 Brawler 1125
Whitworth 40 Missile Boats 982

Lance 5
Awesome 80 Sniper 1605
Spider 30 Scout 622
Hunchback 50 Juggernauts 1041
Vindicator 45 Sniper 1024

Lance 6
Atlas 100 Juggernauts 1897
Commando 25 Striker 541
Clint 40 Scout 770
Dervish 55 Missile Boats 1146

Thanks In Advance

MkV,
Atlanta, GA

Edited by MkV, 11 July 2012 - 07:26 AM.

[RangerRob]

Another option you could try is doing a "grinder" with those lances.

Have each play only one mech of thier force, once eliminated, the next one of their force enteres the next turn.

I think it is easier to show folks the game when running one mech rather than multiples. The Grinder also lets them see the differences with the mechs. Noramlly I set them up with one of each weight class, but your lances look pretty even. Just have them work from the lightest mech to the heaviest.

One of the main drawbacks to TT Btech in this age of Video and card games is how long the games take to play. The Grinder helps you get past that with just one mech per player, turns go faster, and players stay interested.

[Fahr]

I highly recommend that you play some at home even if just against yourself to familiarize with the rules as they workout, there is a learning curve to TT, it can be steep at times, but if you're going to do a demo, it is a good Idea to try it out ahead of time.

as for your lance builds, they look pretty good.

additionally a normal 4 on 4 on a decent map in MegaMek (non-offiecial but accurate computer version) can easily take 2 hours. and depending on the lances and terrain, sometimes as much as 4.

[Latriam]

i would also suggest that to start out you only do an all light lance versus and all light lance
gives them a very good idea how to use a light
this takes awhile but the pay off is great

one map of lights one map of meds one map of mixed heavy and assaults

if your introducing new players it is best to just put all the maps together for a big arena style combat
try giving one guy 3 lights one guy 2 meds or one heavy or one assault
with each guy only controlling one mech just roll intiative and move through it move move move fire fire fire
this will teach you the rules with only trying to handle one map and one big combat
it also gives new players more time to think out their moves
i would highly suggest you do this and you also mention who is on deck
we used to say on deck and on your turn to move you only have one minute to move your mech.
when you have 8 other players in the game they have plenty of time to think.
give the winner and 2nd on int a few extra minutes as they did not the benefit of waiting for 6 other guys to move
trust me this works well to teach new guys the game

the lances you made are fine but they are so mixed in weights that it will be tough for a new player to understand all the strategy
first few games they are just learning about movement heat etc. not to mention which weapons work good when

one other thing to consider is we never played a game on just one mapboard it was just to tight and definitly favored the heavies/assault

you should be able to go online and find more mapboards for ideas
heck pick up pine cones or cut pieces off bushes for light/heavy woods
little pebbles work great for rough terrain while semi flat rocks work good for mountains or hills
we have even used legos to build buildings
basically anything goes if your using "real" terrain instead of the flat maps

good luck and definitly play at least 5-10 games on megamek or at home before you try running a game for someone else

[Barad]

As someone who has taught several players (probably 12-18+ players) I would recommend one person/Mech, with teams. Having the 3D mini's from the box set helps! It gives them an actual object they can identify as being "their Mech".

I wouldn't do an "Arena" style play, tho. I've noticed with "Arena" style play, if one person gets fired on by several players they feel "ganged up on" and that's no fun for anyone.
With a "Team" play, they know they have players that can "back them up" if necessary.

The hardest part, for me anyways, was keeping new players interested if they died from a head shot, from the first shot they get hit by. IT's really rare, but I've seen it happen. lol

Best of luck! I hope you find some good people to start playing TT with!

[Haldricht]

I always used Grinder, but I agree it would be better with a team element.

[Kael Tropheus]

I recommend the one mech per person thing too. BT can be complicated and time consuming with multiple mechs and players. Having one mech a person makes them actually think about what they are doing and learn the rules as opposed to thinking about what their mech A is doing then having to think of what B is doing and so on, Then after people have a firm grasp start expanding. Have 8 mechs picked out and let the players chose and have the lances already balanced. If they pick mech A then they are on team 1, mech B is team 2. Easy.

I played a bigger game at Dragoncon last year that had clan vs clan. Organiser gave people the choice of a heavy star or the medium star with elemental support. Once chosen the team players picked out their mechs. It came down to two of us had two mechs each, and one player had all three elemental points and the heavier mech in the star(Linebacker). I had a Ryoken and a Puma. The other guy had a Fenris and something else.

The other team had 4 heavies and a medium. The medium team won. The game took close to 8 hours and all of us knew what we were doing pretty much although my teammate and I almost threw down.


Edit: the point of that was long games lead to frustration with the other players and even small numbers of mechs make the games take forever. Better to have newer players in single mechs to learn the basics. I would recommend 2 mediums, a light and an Assault on each team.

Edited by Kael Tropheus, 16 July 2012 - 06:27 AM.

[Greyjoy]

We always had luck doing demos that were mixed lances. By that I mean that a mech from each weight class, and at least two with jump jets. I also tried to make sure that was a good mix of weaponry, so that new players could get the feel of how the classes and roles interacted.

[Beazle]

I'm gonna throw in my .02 and say go with 1 mech per person.

Also, find a way to play against somebody first (even if it's just a MegaMek game versus it's horrible bot). Nothing will kill interest in a game quicker than sitting around while the guy who's running it tries to figure out the rules. You want to be failry proficient before you try to tempt others. I aslo recommend you not playing in your game, just Ref it, and teach.

You could do a team-grinder event. Set up a 4v4 (or 3v3, 2v2, 5v5 depending on how many people you get to play) match using the 8 lowest BV mechs. When a player's mech is knocked out, (or he ejects and gives it up), he enters with the next lowest mech at a designated spot. The match ends when the last of the original mechs dies. Winner is determined by adding up the BV of destroyed mechs. This keeps everybody involved, but shouldn't make the game last too long, since big heavy-hittters will be coming into the game to hunt down the low BV originals. This will also keep things simple for you, since all you really need to do is keep the Mechs sorted by BV.