Operation Game Collection 4: The Battletech Edition!

Cuz I am feeling randy (ok, not really..) this one is the all Battletech universe edition of the OGC!

If you don't know what the Battletech universe is, here is a super quick rundown: Its the first and second centuries of the 3000s. Mankind has expanded into space and not actually met any spacemans. However they do continue to fight each other and instead of a new age of enlightenment have turned to religious quackery, warrior culture worship, and varying degrees of hereditary ruled monarchies or constitutional monarchies. Giant robots are the preferred ground weapon of choice as the various factions fight each other for money, power, spare parts, or just because they were brought up thinking its cool to fight people.


Today's RPG selection is:

Mechwarrior

Game Summary: Mechwarrior the RPG is one of two soon to be THREE incompatible rulesets for roleplaying in the Battletech universe. Most are pretty simple ruleswise, though all are rather complex in character generation. My preferred edition is 2nd edition, which is a revised version of the original.

1: Amount I play it.
Low.I ran a very short 2nd edition campaign taking place in the 3020's timeframe that never really progressed much past a Braunstein. In fact we barely even used the characters outside of a reason to generate what robots the PCs had for the core game of Battletech. Also outside of one person I really don't even SEE anyone from that group anymore. (I could but I don't like the RPGs they play.)

2: Desire to play it.
Medium. I really like the Battletech universe and running an RPG in it is right up my alley. Problem is finding the players and everyone having the same RPG edition.

3: Popularity in my area.
Low. The Mechwarrior RPG is barely used in Battletech circles.

4: Amount I own.
Low. I own the 2nd and 3rd edition core rulesbooks. Some rules are in various core Battletech game books but I am not sure if it counts or not.

5: Stuff I may still want to buy.
Low. Not much IS core to just the RPG component.

6: In Print?
No for the edition I like (2nd) and no for the most recent one I do not. (3rd). The new incompatible to both (apparently) 4th edition is due soon and it sort of interests me if nothing else because of the pretty artwork. Maybe if I can get it cheap and opinion is positive on it I will take a looksee. They do have an introductory version up for PDF download. Looks simpler which is good.


My 2nd Boardgame/CCG entry is:

Mechwarrior Dark Age

Game Summary: Its Battletech's universe in the early 3100s using prepainted collectible miniatures and an advanced variant of Wizkid's Clix ruleset. The minis are of a much larger scale than the normal Battletech ones.

1: Amount I play it.
Low. Like not in 5-7 YEARS.

2: Desire to play it.
Low. I would like to play it some to make use of the lovely models, but I would need to download the current rulesbook first.

3: Popularity in my area.
N/A. As far as I can tell nobody plays it anymore, and few played it to begin with. This isn't helped by Battletech players mostly universally rejecting the game. The models CAN be used with each other for Battletech thanks to a supplement book, but most Battletech players prefer to use the smaller scale models designed for Battletech itself. Which is a shame since the models are some of the best prepaints until Rackham's AT 43 and Confrontation lines arrived.

4: Amount I own.
Medium. Got a lot of exclusives, and bought a fair amount of boosters and singles, especially to build up my favorite faction.

5: Stuff I may still want to buy.
Low. If I can get a few of the late era non blind buy Mech sets they made cheaply or supercheap booster I would all over it. But nothing at full price, and by NO means would I be in a rush to buy it.

6: In Print?
Nope. Long dead. Wizkids let it die slowly and then they died. A company is taking over Wizkids' properties but Mechwarrior isn't listed and again, Battletech is run by a seperate group who continue to move it forward.


And finally, this installment's miniatures selection is:

Battletech

Game Summary: A 6mm (ish) scale "Machine Sheet" wargame played either on hex maps or pure tabletop. The core game of the Battletech universe. Its so complete its got RPGs and rules for almost every scale of warfare in some form or another, many of which were standalone games but are now slowly being integrated to directly connect to the original core game.

1: Amount I play it.
Currently low, but was medium.

2: Desire to play it.
Medium. I enjoy the universe, I like the game. The problem is not only finding time, but finding a group of players interested in playing when I can play and wanting the same style of game. When you have an ever evolving universe as long running as Battletech with tons of eras and types of play, getting folks on the same page is rather hard. Some folks want massive endless campaign games, others like pickup games, others want heavy RPG, and so on. Plus Battletech has one of the more... distateful player bases out there in general. My experience with Battletech players has been more negative than positive. My experiences playing Battletech with people I teach the game have been far more satisfying.

3: Popularity in my area.
Medium. The problem is again, the way the Battletech playerbase is in general, and the style of game and availability to play it!

4: Amount I own.
High I think. Battletech was my first miniatures and first wargame, bought back in June 1988. I don't tend to play it actively, but every now and then I pick up more goodies for the game.

5: Stuff I may still want to buy.
Medium to High. If I had more active players of it and got more games in I would probably have way more stuff, and they keep making plenty of interesting things I can make use of. Currently the rules are all being revamped and collated into a series of expensive full color hardbacks which will pretty much end up covering EVERYTHING anyone would probably want to do with Battletech ever. Outside of a new revised edition designed to handle larger scale games anyhow. (Being a Machine Sheet game, Battletech tends to drag when players control more than 1 or 2 robots or a handful of tanks at a time. A game at this year's Connecticon between myself and another semilapsed player took 4-5 HOURS for a 4 on 4 robot game. We just ended up calling it due to being tired and brainhurt thanks to usual lack of con sleep.)

6: In Print?
Yes indeedy. The core Battletech rules are pretty much UNCHANGED from the first starter box ruleset I bought back in 88. The particulars have changed but the core is still there.