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I've always been infatuated with mechs. Especially Western Style mechs. When I learned about Battletech, I rushed to my Hobby Shop with glee --- only to find that the owners had never heard of it, much less carried any miniatures. Fast Forward 4 Years: I reside in Michigan now and I head to the local gaming shop to see what it's like. Guess what? No Battletech. I can find it online but I can never find it in store. Am I the only one who encounters this?

Heavy Gear is another mech game which can easily be found online but not in shops.

Both games have a lot of history and are pretty widely known, so I am surprised that a shop manager would not be aware of them.

However they may not be commercially viable in a bricks and mortar shop.

It is odd that a store owner doesn't know about Battletech unless they are commited personally to a single game and have blinders on. Not surprised that they are not carried though because they are not huge money makers. But go ont battletech's forum page and you should be able to find a group in your area.

You aren't alone.

Battletech has had a troubled decade. From the death of the game and its shaky resurrection in 2001, to competing for recognition with a collectible miniature off-shoot, and bouncing from license holder to license holder, there have been hiccups in the management and production of the game. Those hiccups caused the delay of products, which coupled with poor advertisement and bad press following the game's original demise, made it difficult for the game to shake off the stigma of "being dead". Besides products being delayed for months at a time there have been product shortages (namely the starter box set which only recently came back in print) and major gaps in the product line (Map Sets are one glaring example). Plus you have the genre defying nature of Battletech. It is not quite a board game, though it is packaged and sold as such, and it is not quite a miniatures game because miniatures are not actually required to play (though there are many hundreds available for sale). The supplements for the game by and large focus more on the board game side of things and ignore the miniature aspects of the game, yet there is the aforementioned HUGE miniature range that a store could potentially stock. But if the game's producer isn't pushing miniatures why should a store invest in the game range?

So, with some of your fan base convinced you are dead, some who want products you either are out of or no longer produce, and some who have stores unable or unwilling to stock your merchandise, you are going to be hard pressed to make an impact on the gaming scene.

And nothing that I typed above addresses the actual game play aspect of Battletech which is rather outdated and clunky next to more contemporary and streamlined game systems. While I enjoy the detail obsessed rules, gamer friends who I have introduced the game to have not been impressed. Never mind the VAST range of the game through it's own history. The sheer number of units available to factions stretched out over numerous historical eras of fictional history leads to a major hurtle for entry into the game.


And just so my negativity towards Battletech is not misconstrued, I am a long time player of the game and an avid collector of Battletech items. But, despite my love for Battletech I can't ignore just how rough the last 10+ years have been for the game and how out of place it is in the general gaming market.

And for what it is worth my LGS tried carrying Battletech for a few years but poor sales prevented them from maintaining their stock. Sucks, because Battletech is awesome if you can get over its quirks.

hmmmm battletech..... checked it out and it seems cool... thanks guys... finding a game in la wont be a problem though i think

I use to love this game back in the late 80s to early 90s. But just like Carwars it has "Flake Armor" syndrome.

1st ed Battletech is what started me into gaming. It's fun but it's dated compared to most newer games and can run slow as hell sometimes. There's tons of material and books and the larger universe is pretty awesome.

I'd dropped out of the game in the mid 90's and got interested in it again when they released the 25th aniversary box. They've expanded a lot of the tech and weaponry in the game which I'm just not a fan of. I think it gets overly complicated and cumbersome and gets in the way of robot stompy action.

IMO the best thing you can do is pick up a 2nd ed box set (or the citytech boxed set) and use those to start with as that's the game in it's most basic and entertaining form. Then add in the 3050 level tech if you like it and work from the blue compendiium whcih you can get nice and cheap off amazon or ebay. The blue compendium is organized, compact and so much easier to use, the newer books by catalyst are horribly organized and take up 3 books to do what the old compendiums do in 1. (plus they are frikkin exspensive)

I agree with the above.

The original edition and the "Rules of War" did very well at presenting battles with up to about 12 mechs a side running one to four mechs per player.

Some of the newer material added slowness and complexity without improving the core tactical options. The high technology additions spoilt the game IMO.

The "Classic Battletech" rulebook is the one to pickup if you can find it.

Battletech is really a 'Hall of Fame' game at this point. It's not my favorite (um, see my posts, work for DP9, yeah...) but if it's what you like, go for it. It deserves some respoect as a detailed property that is probably older than a lot of gamers at this point.

The new manager at a local gaming shop in my area is trying to push Battle Tech. His dark nostalgia has sickened most of the local crowd.

I love Battletech, but due to the slowness of play my group has switched (happily) to Battleforce/Quick-Strike. Playing a company v company level game in 2 hours is much more fun

most of the people I game for battletech with are on Mechwarrior online atm

It does not help that the Battletech miniatures are pretty expensive these days.

The amount of background material for Battletech really puts 40K to shame. It is pretty much the most fluff of any game out there.

I got the 25th box set and I noticed the rule set was written kind of wonky. However after almost 15 years out of the game it was a good step back in. I don't find the miniatures that expensive since you get alot more use out of a mech than you do a tactial space marine.

Minis: http://ironwindmetals.com/store/index.php?cPath=16&osCsid=7e2ap65vnhvh4f3t5qor903p66

Books/starter: Your favorite online retailer.

Believe me, it's up to you to get your FLGS interested if you want Battletech and that means work and talking with the owner. Getting them to cooperate and help announce and house events to get people learning and playing. You may have to invest in a few starters (2-3) to get multiple people playing at once. If you want a game you love to be played, you can't just ask people to spend money, you have to sell them on it.

Battletech can be a fun game if you give it some time to grow on you.

Having typed that, all of the "negatives" mentioned above are valid explanations for why it's not played more widely.

Personally, I think a lot of the sculpts are just horrible and believe the company would help itself if they revamped the entire line. Some of the designs are comically terrible.

Anyway, the Anniversary sets are well worth the money if you find that you enjoy the game - I purchased two sets at very discounted prices from my local store. The models within are all that I'll ever need for my collection....

It would help if they hired real artists to design the mechs. The sculpts are almost perfect based on the artwork. It's the western uglymech artstyle that turns it off for most people.

All my models are original "Unseens".

If you want to play it in big scale, Hobby Link Japan have a lot of the "Unseens" in 1/100 or 1/72 scale model kits.

I was actually thinking in terms of for a Store owner to start stocking the miniatures. There are several hundred Sku in that Battletech line and if the buyer for the store is not into Battletech some of it will be on the shelves for years. Battletech tends to be one of the Special order only type of games. A store owner would be better served buying into one of the new popular games with a higher turnover.

 Kilkrazy wrote:
All my models are original "Unseens".

If you want to play it in big scale, Hobby Link Japan have a lot of the "Unseens" in 1/100 or 1/72 scale model kits.

I've got about 2 regiments of mechs and zillions of vehicles and infantry.
I'm not under any illusion that I'd be able to take my minis, maps and books down to the LGS and play games with random people.
I keep my stuff around to play with the friends I've been playing with for the past 20 years. Every once in a while we throw down massive Apoc style games with off board artillery support and drop podded mechs... But mostly they just languish in the ammo cases they've been in for a while.

I think another problem with Battletech is the minis. The 1980s designs have simply not aged well in comparison with more modern mech designs, like Reaper's CAV models and others.

For Battletech to become a success again, it needs a couple of things. First, it needs something to bring it back in the spotlight. A good AAA video game could do wonders for that. I also think it needs to modernize it's appearance. Redo all the mechs with modern aesthetics.

 Tannhauser42 wrote:
I think another problem with Battletech is the minis. The 1980s designs have simply not aged well in comparison with more modern mech designs, like Reaper's CAV models and others.

See, I'm not a fan of CAV's designs. I've got a couple dozen of them so I can try out the rules, and they look okay... But not "Mechy" enough to me.
Opinions, etc.

For Battletech to become a success again, it needs a couple of things. First, it needs something to bring it back in the spotlight. A good AAA video game could do wonders for that. I also think it needs to modernize it's appearance. Redo all the mechs with modern aesthetics.

A good AAA title would bring it back, but if it also requires new art supplanting all the old stuff ill pass.
New art for new mechs? Sure.

Ah yes Battletech.
It was one of my first forays into miniature wargaming back in the early 90's. I found the rules clunky then and my opinion hasn't changed.

It must be said though that playing at 3025 level tech is a much more streamlined game

Love the models, love the background. (Have every BT novel and most of the sourcebooks), but most certainly do not love the rules.

judgedoug wrote:I love Battletech, but due to the slowness of play my group has switched (happily) to Battleforce/Quick-Strike. Playing a company v company level game in 2 hours is much more fun

If I could find some folks doing this around me, I'd probably give BT a shot again. I read through the rules and they look nice and streamlined. Last I checked the rulebook "Strategic Operations" that has these rules is only a 10 buck download from Wargames Vault and there are free introductory rules at the BT website.

For now I have "Mech Attack!" for when I get a jones for mech combat. A nice streamlined system clearly aimed at capturing much of the BT elements in a really fast-playing package.
http://armorgridgames.blogspot.com/2010/03/armor-grid-mech-attack.html

Battletech is my first love for miniatures battles games. the rules have not really changed since 1988 (2nd ed). Its an odd duck, it plays more like a historical than todays skirmish games.

if your FLGS doesnt stock it, ask to order a starter box. Tell him you will prepay (get a receipt) this is how i get the FLGS to order oddball stuff for me. the set comes with 24 plastic mechs, rules and 2 maps. learn the mechs provided (all 3025 tech level) run some pick up games at the store to grow interest.

If you are into the game I would advise a rules compendium, Total Warfare is the name of the current in print one. also, maps are scarce these days so look at the rules for playing on terrain. one pointer, the rules say to simply double ranges when converting to inches, this distorts things like letting a mech hit with an axe 2 inches away. I personally just go 1 to 1 hex to inch. this means a 3x3 foot board is plenty for a game, and you can have 2 games going on a stores 4x6 wargaming table.

My FLGS hasn't really stocked battletech for 12 years, only recently with 6th ed 40K a bunch of guys have rage quit 40k and started up regular battletech.

I think because of its age and the older models ( I think the price is pretty baseline vs single infinity or warmachine models) Battletech will have a small following and the crowd tends to be older.

OP, is your hobby store a dedicated gaming hobby one or one of the "everything under the sun" types that stocks as much shelves of lava lamps and novelty gag gifts as gaming minis? I can understand a young employee maybe not hearing about battletech but not the usual 35+ year old store owner types who were likely gaming during the game's heyday. Battletech's look and gameplay style never fit my personal preferences but it's definitely one of a handful of games that basically started a gaming genre.

 aosol wrote:
The new manager at a local gaming shop in my area is trying to push Battle Tech. His dark nostalgia has sickened most of the local crowd.

Battletech is right next to Champions and Starfleet Battles on my list of games that should be fun but just... aren't.

Bah. You just didn't have the right group for Champions. :-)
I love Battletech, but it isn't for everyone. And SFB is just ... Insane.

rigeld2 wrote:

A good AAA title would bring it back, but if it also requires new art supplanting all the old stuff ill pass.
New art for new mechs? Sure.

That's why I've been secretly hoping that Battletech would be relaunched using all the mech art for Mechwarrior Online. The re-imaginings for Mechwarrior Online are my favorite western mech designs of all time and are far, far superior to the crap Loose artwork from TRO 3025.

Honestly my dream is 1/600 scale mechs taken from Mechwarrior Online and Battleforce/Quickstrike launched as it's own game using those miniatures. I'd spend about a billion dollars on that product.

rigeld2 wrote:
Bah. You just didn't have the right group for Champions. :-)
I love Battletech, but it isn't for everyone. And SFB is just ... Insane.

True that... we had folks who looked for every loophole both on the GM and player side. So instead of cool superheroes running around saving the day we got number crunching, lots of number crunching.

And they didn't even let me play Orbit Guy, who sits in orbit with his telescopic x-ray vision and zaps people.

 Kid_Kyoto wrote:

rigeld2 wrote:
Bah. You just didn't have the right group for Champions. :-)
I love Battletech, but it isn't for everyone. And SFB is just ... Insane.

And they didn't even let me play Orbit Guy, who sits in orbit with his telescopic x-ray vision and zaps people.

to be fair, a system that lets you get away with *that* is broken anyway.