26 replies to this topic

[Habokku]

Greetings!

I'm putting out a call to any and all Mechwarrior/Battletech fans who live in the Central Mississippi area, specifically in and around the capital city of Jackson.

I'm Habokku, a resident of the fine state of Mississippi, and am currently trying to organize anyone interested in playing, or learning how to play, the Battletech board game and who also happens to live within a reasonable drive of the aforementioned area.

I've got a fair collection of 'mech miniatures, mostly Inner Sphere with a smattering of clan 'mechs here and there, for general recreational play and learning. I've also got a fair collection of the hex maps, along with my own copy of the board game as well. I'm hoping to set up some gaming sessions at a couple of different comic book/hobby shops in the area here, but before actually doing so I thought it might be prudent to at least see if any of the other members of the community might live nearby and be interested in joining in on the fun!

I'll be the first to admit I'm not an expert, I've only been playing the tabletop game for about a year now with my local gaming group, but I'd like to try and extend the fun to anyone else out there who happens to live in the area and has an interest in playing.

So that said, chime in if you live close by!

<S> Thanks ant take it easy everyone.

-Havoc
A.K.A. Habokku

[Gaius Kerensky]

wish I could come to your area unfortunately Im in Shreveport LA... if I find myself going through that neck of the woods I will give you a should and bring the ENTIRE 9th Wolf Guard (Artic Wolves) with me....

I am Star Colonel Gaius Kerensky Commanding Officer of the 9th Wolf Guards... I issue a Trial of possession for this world what forces defend this planet ?

[Habokku]

Hah, awesome

I've got a good buddy of mine who plays/played Warhammer 40k who lives down there now. If you do ever find yourself up this way, let me know ahead of time and I'll try and set up a game with you!

As for me, I'm Captain Ander Davis, of the Gray Death Legion mercenaries. I defend this planet with one company of battlemechs and the coordinates for the battle have already been transmitted to your vessel. I have but one thing to say to you, clanner.

We're waiting.

<S>

-The comm line clicks closed-

-Havoc
A.K.A. Habokku

[KillerWabbit]

Hey! I live in the greater Jackson area! And I LOVE me some Battletech! We should totally play sometime!

And (strangely enough), I have a good buddy who plays Battletech who used the call-sign Havoc back in the day! And he was GDL as well!

THESE COINCIDENCES ARE AMAZING!

See ya tonight for Mechwarrior, mook!

[Habokku]

Haha! Coincidences indeed!!

Awesome game session tonight, I am very much looking forwards to the next game and getting to blast on some Jade Falcons (I have a well documented affinity to shooting them!), can't wait actually!

Also stoked we got the Hunchback operational, talk about some damn good rolls being dropped (Outside of that one crit fail on my part... stupid LRM launcher.)

Ah well, live and learn, haha! See ya soon man!

-Havoc
A.K.A. Habokku

[Belial]

In keeping with the coincidences, I too live somewhat around here (Baton Rouge, LA) and my best friend Jared went by (and still does) the callsign Havoc in MW4 and Dark Age. There's a great little war store here in BR called Little Wars that would be happy to cater to a gathering of BattleTech players.

[Randal Waide]

I live in the madison area. I haven't played the TT game in years but we play miniature rules on a game board. Hollar when you set up something at a hobby shop. ( A friend and I actually did the same thing a couple of times a loooong time ago)

[42O4ME]

Howdy from the coast:)

[Habokku]

Just got my 25th anniversary Battletech Introductory box set!

I'm impressed! The plastic miniatures are better than I'd expected them to be (Nothing to write home about, all told, but if I were to clean the flash off of them and paint them they'd be passable)

Also, speaking of miniatures, the two high-quality clan 'mechs are extremely well made! I wasn't expecting this level of detail or quality from these miniatures. They're very very well done. I can only hope that one day there is a full line of Battletech miniatures done to this quality, but in MWO's updated (and amazing) style. I'd certainly purchase my fair share of them!

The other thing I wanted to note is the maps. I REALLY liked the two, double-sided hex maps that were included here. They're not the typical paper maps that you usually see, but honest to goodness THICK board-game style maps. Quite awesome!

More to come soon, going to thumb through the quick start guide and other materials in the box. Figured I'd give my first impressions of the contents all the same.

See y'all later.

-Havoc
A.K.A. Habokku

[Waylandx]

Plz do keep us up to date, I was thinking of getting that box.

[Lina Thoren]

Waylandx, on 01 March 2012 - 06:37 PM, said:

Plz do keep us up to date, I was thinking of getting that box.

Same here. Oh, and greetings from New Orleans.

[Habokku]

Alrighty gents and ladies, greetings from the greater Jackson Metro area!

I'll finish the first half of my review here and address a few things I've noticed about the box set.

Before I delve in however, I'd also like to say that I purchased a Battletech Total Warfare rulebook about 2 years ago, and I would like to also take a moment and mention (as I forgot to do so in my opening post), that it is very well made and extremely well bound. I tend to be a stickler for taking care of rulebooks and such, and have been very pleased with this purchase as well as the Introductory board game box I finally purchased today.

Now, on to the figurative meat and potatoes!

First, the quick start rules: Well put together, brief, but easy to read and understand. Only 12 pages long, it's very concise but when you're just getting started there's no point in getting bogged down in the nuance of the finer more obscure rules. Overall a great little tool for teaching new players to the game.

Second, the Inner Sphere at a Glance: Great little resource, gives a fairly detailed overview of the major houses, mercs, periphery, and clans as well as some really cool fluff and a neat step by step development of the Inner Sphere from the first days of exploration all the way to 3067. It also has a neat little blurb in the back about each of the 'mech miniatures included in the box, showing specifications and a nice commentary about each 'mech too (including the 2 nicely made clan 'mechs)

Third, How the Core Rulebooks Work: This is pretty cool here. It's a detailed explanation of what each individual core rulebook does and how they play. This includes the total warfare book, techmanual, TRO's, Tactial Operations, Strategic Operations, Interstellar Operations, and A Time of War. Not only that, but the last two pages go in to the scale of each of these sub-set rules (including a handy table for time scale and map scale too) and a flavor comparison for new players to figure out what rulebooks would be best suited for their gaming needs. VERY neat resource and only about 7 pages long so easy to real quickly.

Fourth, Painting and Tactics Guide: Pretty well done here, the painting section is detailed enough to help new players who've never painted before produce something that doesn't look horrible, and yet at the same time isn't so nuanced that they give up after reading 1 or 2 pages of it. The tactics section is pretty well done as well, detailing different points one would need to address such as how to move, jump jetting, heat management, torso twisting, facing, even physical attacks such as punching, charging, pushing, kicking and DFAing as well. Also, each of the 'mechs included in the box has a little write up on what they're good at, and how to go about best using them (Differentiating Scouts. skirmishers, Strikers, Brawlers, Missile Boats, Snipers, and Juggernauts from each other and explaining what each 'mech is designed to do.)

Fifth, the Introductory Rulebook: Total warfare paired down and with less fluff and pictures, but very very nice, and well made. I'll be using it a lot despite having the Total Warfare book to help in case multiple rules questions come in to play. Also it's a little more concise, so looking up basic 'mech combat rules questions should be a little easier than in the (nicer, but thicker) total warfare rulebook. Very happy with this part.

Sixth, the 'mech armor and weapon diagrams are clear, easy to read & understand, and have a good picture of the 'mech printed on them for easy identification of all 'mechs included in the box for beginners. (Including the 2 clan 'mechs)

Lastly two solid, well made card-stock quick reference cards for playing the game. Easy to read and sturdy. Barring water or liquid gets on them they're not likely to be easy to mess up.

Bonus: A really cool fold out map of the Inner Sphere circa 3067, and 2 D6 (I've got lots of them but 'mo dice, 'mo betta!)

That's my final review of the contents not already listed in my earlier observation.

Hope y'all liked it

See ya soon!

-Havoc
A.K.A. Habokku

Edited by Habokku, 02 March 2012 - 01:49 AM.

[Bronsk]

Hi,

I live in Forest (about 45 minutes from Jxn) and would be interested in playing some TT but probably could not make every gaiming session, would that be a problem? I complete understand if it is, many GMs like a stable group that can dedicate a set day for gaming. Thanks!

[Lyon]

I live in Lumberton, MS, a coupla hours south of you on I-59. It would be great to organize something, because I claim possession of this state in the name of House Steiner, and I bring to this fight a reinforced battalion of miniatures, painted by lances or half-companies, plus some mapsheets, and plenty of sourcebooks.

[Habokku]

Bronsk, on 02 March 2012 - 12:30 PM, said:

Hi,

I live in Forest (about 45 minutes from Jxn) and would be interested in playing some TT but probably could not make every gaiming session, would that be a problem? I complete understand if it is, many GMs like a stable group that can dedicate a set day for gaming. Thanks!

Howdy sir! Glad to hear from you I'll let you know ahead of time when I set something up, and it wouldn't be a problem in the slightest! It won't be anything more than pickup style games. You bring a lance, I bring a lance, both about equvilent battle value and we drop dice until one side wins or loses! I'll either post something here or PM ya well before I set something up so you can try to be there if you don't mind making the drive.

Glad to see a fellow Mississippi based BT player all the same, looking forwards to hopefully playing ya!

Lyon, on 02 March 2012 - 06:26 PM, said:

I live in Lumberton, MS, a coupla hours south of you on I-59. It would be great to organize something, because I claim possession of this state in the name of House Steiner, and I bring to this fight a reinforced battalion of miniatures, painted by lances or half-companies, plus some mapsheets, and plenty of sourcebooks.

Howdy Lyon! Good to see ya As I said it's awesome seeing the MS based BT players are around, if not somewhat spread out. When I get something set up, I'd welcome the chance to play ya if you'd like to make the drive!

Also, I tend to play/enjoy Gray Death Legion, so I've got no beef with steiner personally. That said, I'm thinking for the time being I'm going to try and field lance on lance matches at most, just till I learn the CBT board game system a litte more completely. (Though if you bring a lot of 'mechs, it'd be awesome to see them!)

I'll post something here later on when I get something sorted. We'll see.

Take care you guys, and thanks for chiming in! Talk to y'all soon.

-Havoc
A.K.A. Habokku

[Waylandx]

Nice! Ty for the review!

[Belial]

Just called my game store and they have the new box set. I have no one to play with right now ,but I used to make up scenarios to fill the in-between time back when I was a more frequent player. Think I'm going to go get it, and measure it up. The only rules I know are the older ones, and not all of them at that. Maybe with luck I'll be able to start a little gathering, assuming that the players don't turn into (or already aren't) cheesy n00b rules lawyers- the kind that nitpick everything yet make damn sure they smash everyone else, including new players.

And as I typed that I decided I am going to get it. Be right back!

[Helmer]

Randal Waide, on 28 February 2012 - 03:27 AM, said:

I live in the madison area. I haven't played the TT game in years but we play miniature rules on a game board. Hollar when you set up something at a hobby shop. ( A friend and I actually did the same thing a couple of times a loooong time ago)

My wife says "Go Arrows" .


Whatever that means.

[Randal Waide]

Helmer, on 03 March 2012 - 05:24 PM, said:

My wife says "Go Arrows" .


Whatever that means.

Lol, Well I did have some association with the high school. (My kids graduated from there.) I guess I'm one of the original Battletech players in the state. That would make me a "bearded one" I guess. Have played one time in the past 5 years though. Work and real life takes priority over what kind of weekend afternoon I can spend. That is one reason I am hopeful MWO is good. Late nights is about all I can manage, most of the time. Go Jags!

[Randal Waide]

It would be cool if we could get a Battletech weekend at some central location in MS. Kind of like a convention. Tournament even. Are there enough MS players to make that a reality? Do they still do CoastCon? For some reason it always coincides with a work deadline and I can't seem to make it. Of course I'm way out of the demographic for that crowd, but a tourney would be nice to do again. Don't ask me to organize it, but I'll pay a fee to enter if there are prizes, lol. Miniature rules FTW! The only way to play.
The big match could be played with the Quick-Strike rules in the new Strategic Manual. (It uses a combination of Battleforce and miniature rules so large fights can take place. A regiment to a side would be nice. 2-4 boards put together. (I'm not really a dreamer, We actually converted Battleforce 2 and played a huge game years ago.) It was very cool. Inner sphere won, barely, but at a huge cost. Seeing all those mechs on the board is a sight to behold.