#Battletech miniatures pdf#

I’m sure at this point you are asking, “Is this some subpar version of Battletech with rules so streamlined that it’s basically a kid’s game?” Definitely not as there is still plenty for players to sink their teeth into. What’s left is a very accessible skirmish game that seems to capture the essence of Battletech. Battletech veterans will notice that things like heat buildup, critical hits, indirect fire, internal structure, melee attacks, and even torso twisting are stripped from the game. But for this one, they are all about getting you into the actions with the bare minimum of rules. Coming from a root of a skirmish game from the 80s, I expected lots of granular details and pages of charts to have to read through to play the game. Game Experience:Īs I was flipping through the Beginner Box rulebook, I was impressed at how streamlined this game actually was. Combat is easy to jump in to in the Beginner Box.

If both legs, the torso, or the head are destroyed, the mech is turned to scrap.

Once all the circles in a location are filled, that part of the mech is destroyed. For each hit, you mark off a number of circles on that location equal to the damage of a weapon. Hit Location and Damage: Once all hits have been determined, you roll 2d6 for each hit to see where it lands on your target. A roll equal to or greater than your target number is a hit.Ĥ. Once you’ve figured out your target number, you roll 2d6. Medium and Long ranges add +2 and +4, respectively, to your roll. R: Range: Mech weapons have a short, medium, and long range.If your line of sight passes through some trees, the shot is harder to make. In the Beginner Box, it mostly has to do with cover. O: Other Modifiers: A catchall for misc modifiers.T: Target Movement Modifier: The farther your target moved in a round, the harder it is to hit.A: Attacker Movement Value: Your movement mode for the round will determine how much to add to this number.Weapon Attack Phase: Weapon attacks in Battletech center around a target number, and there is a helpful GATOR acronym to help figure out an attack’s target number. Mechs move a specific amount of hexes as either a walk, run, or jump.ģ. Movement phase: Each player, starting with the loser of initiative, can move their mechs. Initiative Phase: roll 2d6 and the player with the higher roll wins initiative.Ģ. For the first scenario in this box, they recommend a Griffen mech and a Wolverine mech in a 1v1 matchup.ġ. Your mech’s loadout will determine which weapons can fire each turn.Įach player will field a group, called a lance, of one or more mechs.

#Battletech miniatures pdf#

If you want the full rundown, you can download a PDF of the rules here. But here is the basic structure of the Beginner Box gameplay. While the Beginner Box does streamline a lot of the original game, it’s also not shy with throwing piles of tables at you. Does it really deliver on the Battletech experience in a package designed for newbies? Let’s find out! Gameplay Overview:īattletech is a game that has a lot going on, so explaining all the rules here would take forever and a day. The thought of giant mechs shooting and destroying each other bit by bit definitely piqued my interest, so I picked up a copy of this entry-level game. The one that intrigued me the most-having never played the game-was the Battletech: Beginner Box. A few years ago they helped celebrate the anniversary of Battletech with a new slate of releases. Today, the current publisher of Battletech is Catalyst Games. I’m guessing at the time, they had no idea it would survive another 35+ years in a variety of different editions. In 1985, a now-defunct publisher created a skirmish game of giant mechs called Battletech: A Game of Armored Combat.