BattleTech is a tactical combat simulation of warfare in the period between 2750 and 3060 AD. As tanks are the 'kings of the battlefield' today, giant robotic war machines called BattleMechs (or 'Mechs for short) reign supreme in the future.
So how is it played?
BattleTech is what is known as a 'tabletop game,' played with playing pieces on either pre-made maps or on miniature terrain (kind of like with a model railroad). In most games that use pieces and boards, movement is strictly limited. This means that the player has no real choice on where the piece goes. In Monopoly, you roll the dice and move the piece clockwise around the board. In Parchesi you have the added dimension of being able to allocate the roll to different pieces. In BattleTech, rolling does not determine movement. Each unit has its own characteristics and can move a set amount. Rolling comes into play for tactical initiative (who goes first), determining hits, random events, and figuring out when and where damage occurs. BattleTech usually uses two six-sided dice (shortened to 2D6 in gamer-speak) as random number generators. The players take turns moving and attacking.
Explain the movement system to me.
The movement system may sound odd, but it is quite simple if you think about it. Each unit gets a set number of 'movement points' (MP). These MP basically determine how quick and agile a 'Mech or other unit is. A 'Mech with 2 MP is a slow plodder while one with 8 MP is a fast runner. These movement points are expended to turn, go forward or walk backwards. It is further complicated by the fact that different terrain types require different amounts of MP to go through. Water is harder to go through than clear terrain, so it costs more MP to trudge through it. When a unit runs out of MP, it has finished its move. Of course, it doesn't have to use all of its MP if it doesn't want to.
The MP system makes more sense if you visualize the premade map. The map is overlaid with a grid of hexagon (hexes). Hexes are used because a) they tesselate and b) they offer six possible directions rather than four (with squares) or three (with triangles). Hexes represent an area about 30 meters across. Units are set to face a particular hex side. Turning 60° (one hexside) costs one MP, turning 120° (two hexsides) costs two MP, and so on. In each hex is a particular terrain type such as the clear terrain and water examples mentioned above. Hexes are used like spaces on any board game as well as for determining range for weapons fire.
Using miniature terrain, hexes are replaced with a tape measure. Any general scale can be substituted, such as 3 inches = 1 hex. The tape measure is then used to determine movement and range.
Are BattleMechs the only units availiable?
Nope. BattleTech has almost anything one would ever want, from infantry and tanks to helicopters and airplanes to space-capable Aerospace Fighters and massive transport DropShips. However, BattleMechs are the focal point of the game and have more rules.
BattleMechs have more rules? Why?
BattleMechs can do a lot more than other units. They are articulated like people, so they can walk, run, fall down, get up, roll around, brace for sniping, and hide behind cover. Those equipped with jump jets can jump over obstacles. In combat they have more 'firing arcs,' the arcs that their weapons can fire into. They can twist their torsos and stick out their left or right arms so they can fire to the rear. 'Mechs can also fight hand-to-hand. They can punch, kick, trip, clothesline, grapple, pin, charge, club, hatchet, slice, and even jump on top of each other.
BattleMechs have more complicated tables dealing with the difficulty of determining hits on a humanoid/quadrupedal frame. They have more 'armor locations' and 'internal locations' than vehicles. They have more complicated 'critical damage' rules that can damage or destroy internal components (weapons, engines, etc.).
How does that compare to other units?
Vehicles have only a few hit locations and very simple damage charts. Infantry is no more than rows of boxes to cross off when damaged. Aircraft can be simple or complex depending on the situation and how important they are to the scenario being played.
What keeps players from running as fast as they can and firing everything they've got in the same turn?
Heat. Almost all equipment and actions creates heat, expressed in Heat Points. Running (2 Heat) is hotter than walking (1 Heat) while jumping (4+ Heat) is the hottest movement of all. Some weapons, like autocannons (1 to 7 Heat), only produce a little heat while energy weapons (1 to 15 Heat) create a lot. All of this heat has to be dissipated by heat sinks, which are like big radiators, and each heat sink can flush one Heat Point. Every 'Mech has a certain number of heat sinks and that determines how much heat can be safely produced in one turn. Heat up to the number of heat sinks can be safely dissipated. However, creating more heat than the 'Mech can get rid of can lead to problems, from movement and aiming modifiers to ammo explosions and shutdowns. The problems get progressively worse as more heat is produced.
All this talk of heat and guns! Why do you play such a horrid little game?
'Cause it's fun.
I hope that I've answered all of your questions. If you have any more, e-mail me by clicking on the contact link on the Weirdo Zone index page.