7 replies to this topic

[Alkabides]

Hi all,
I’ve been playing some form of BattleTech on computer since the Crescent Hawk’s Inception. Love the BT universe. I’m lucky in that my 4 year old son is into as much as I am, which is fun as he’s all about the mechs. He’s a good copilot, boss on hitting the R button for me. At any rate, we play mwo together, ie he sits on my lap and works the radar, we build HG grade Gundams together so he can focus his attention for long periods of time. Was thinking since he isn’t physically big enough to work a keyboard and mouse and he is big into board games - chutes and ladders type stuff - he could probably be eased into a table top version of Battletech that we can play together.

Wanted to see what people had for set recommendations. I’m not looking to blow a bunch of cash out of the gate before I’m sure it’s something he’ll be interested in and can grasp the concepts of with a little playing time. I have next to zero knowledge of this side of BattleTech, so any reccomendations would be great. Thank you.

[Tetatae Squawkins]

I'd recommend Alpha Strike or the new Beginner Box coming out. They have some simplified/streamlined gameplay that might be easier to get into. You could also try tracking down some heroclix stuff but I never played it and have no idea what price or availability is like now.

Edited by Tetatae Squawkins, 28 July 2018 - 11:40 AM.

[Alkabides]

Thanks squawkins.. appreciate it.

[Spheroid]

Your kid is too young. Maybe age eight to ten would be a better time to think about this topic.

[Alkabides]

I know it’s a stretch... I don’t necessarily need to start with strict rules with him... but I’m sure we can do the basics together - roll the dice, move, attack. If it doesn’t work now I can just put the kit in the games closet for a year or two and rediscover, which is why I don’t want to buy a big expensive set. Some of this is to challenge him a bit with something he’s interested in but a little complicated so he has to pay attention and use his head. I played D&D with my older brother and his friends when I was around his age, it was certainly responsible for an uptick in reading, math and thinking more creatively for me. This all dart throws, no telling if we’ll get same results but doesn’t hurt to try.

[Spheroid]

@Alkabides: You don't need to spend a single cent to play BattleTech.
Just go to BattleTech.com

The Quickstart rules pdf includes counters and a printable map. The quickstart rules are a little too basic in my opinion as heat is ignored.

http://bg.battletech...ules.pdf?x64300

You can also get the full record sheet pdf for every mech included in the Introductory Box set.

http://bg.battletech...ters.pdf?x64300


The full introductory rulebook is out there on the internet from the fifth edition. That was free for many years, there is no issue of piracy. The only reason it is not hosted at the current site is the trademarks display the previous IP holder which was Wizkids/Fanpro. The rules are still current at that level as well. The core game has changed very little in thirty years.





To play BattleTech you need a pencil and two dice nothing else.

Edited by Spheroid, 28 July 2018 - 10:32 PM.

[Alkabides]

Spheroid,
For a free birther, you’re pretty solid. Thanks for the help my man, you can be a bondsman for me anytime.

[Koniving]

Solaris VII (2006) has extremely simple rules (5 hitpoints, etc.) Seems to be made around the 'clix' version of BT.

While it isn't a physical board, you could consider Megamek. Open a pair of windows or just one, work against each other or with each other against bot players.
Rules can be as simple or complex as you choose. They are entirely handled by the computer so all you need to do is point and click (note: the action and damage stuff needs to be read, though a display for health does exist).


(old) River City as it appears in Megamek when zoomed out.

Combat.

(Classic scene; I pass this around a lot, as this stock BT tank single handedly takes out 5 mechs in a single turn [so in 10 seconds]...)

"Results" from a turn (battle armor versus an urbanmech.)


And some stuff about it.
Urbie versus Tarantula. (A one on one battle on an environment where the map changes shape every turn.)
"What do you do when you're bored with MWO?" Play megamek. (Big post talking about it.)