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So in the last 5 years or so, Classic BattleTech has experienced a real resurgence in interest and play. As someone who has loved the game for a long time, I've been curious about what factors have made people much more interested in the game than they were during the relative lull in popularity before this "renaissance." I'm asking here rather than in the Classic BattleTech forums or subreddit because I think this forum might have more players who also play other mini games, rather than long-time BattleTech die-hards, so I think this forum might be a more representative sample of mini wargamers as a whole than BT-specific forums might be.

That could be interesting. I should not vote since I was first introduced back in the 90s, but I wasn't able to play much back then, to say nothing about the 2 decades years in between then till a FLGS opened up and they had good collection of Battletech AND people playing regularly!

That was January of 2021. Even though that store closed last September, we've been trying to get it going at another place on the same night. It's not been easy because of the strong 40K presence on the same night we used to play.

 Charistoph wrote:
That could be interesting. I should not vote since I was first introduced back in the 90s, but I wasn't able to play much back then, to say nothing about the 2 decades years in between then till a FLGS opened up and they had good collection of Battletech AND people playing regularly!

That was January of 2021. Even though that store closed last September, we've been trying to get it going at another place on the same night. It's not been easy because of the strong 40K presence on the same night we used to play.

I feel like that qualifies you to vote fwiw

I am a returning player, but I back since new boxes, new minis. The price is right for what I getting.

But I also think catalyst has been doing a good job with it.
Also the game got me super hype, and I wish there was another one.
Also special mention to the big boxes, they are all really awesome products that have great value straight out of the box.
We have end up with like 9 beginner boxes parted out now.

 willydstyle wrote:

 Charistoph wrote:
That could be interesting. I should not vote since I was first introduced back in the 90s, but I wasn't able to play much back then, to say nothing about the 2 decades years in between then till a FLGS opened up and they had good collection of Battletech AND people playing regularly!

That was January of 2021. Even though that store closed last September, we've been trying to get it going at another place on the same night. It's not been easy because of the strong 40K presence on the same night we used to play.

I feel like that qualifies you to vote fwiw

It was literally my first miniatures game. A friend showed me a painted Atlas model my Sophomore or Junior year in high school. It inspired me, but I didn't know how to get in to it.

In first college year, saw the Jade Phoenix trilogy and started reading it. Soon after, started working overtime and collecting everything I could get my hands on. Only had one friend around to play it, though, and we couldn't meet up often enough for it. As I prepped for a mission, I ended up selling or giving away everything else.

End of the decade later, my fiance got me a 40K box, and I started looking at different game stores as I traveled for work. Found someone selling models, but no one really playing. I started a slow collection up again.

A couple years later, the local demo agent is selling off models to get people interested, so I buy a few, and we play a quick game that evening. Store closed a year or two later, and never could hook back up again.

Moved to the other side of the metropolis, and that's the rest of the story.

So, I can't say what fully got me in to the game. It started with a model and a book, but I absorbed everything else. The only thing that's truly kept me out is the inability to find people to play with.

I even suggested some of the key mechanics of Battletech for 40K, and no one would even consider it.

I am a returning player.
I played back in 1988-1992 or so (I was playing 40k back then, also) but certain players in the local scene put me off the game (and a change in work shifts meant I lost my gaming day a month for the better part of 5 years. ).

Accessibility of the new plastics is a good thing. They have more detail than the lumpen plastech figures I last laid eyes upon.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/cgl/battletech-clan-invasion

In a word, Clan Invasion, which was around 2019. Suddenly dozens of mechs were updated, available in plastic for the first time, and shockingly cheap. And Battletech never changed its rules- I hadn't played since the 90s either, but found a group at my FLGS and slid right back in with very little adjustment, and a huge pile of new mechs.

I think that massive campaign, and the Battletech Renaissance, owes a fair bit to Harebrained Studio's Battletech game as well, which came out in 2018, and suddenly got many people thinking in terms of turn based lance mech combat again. I don't think Catalyst coordinated the 2 release dates, but if they did- brilliant.