BattleTech Bootcamp: Overcoming Common Beginner Obstacles
If you’ve even been tangentially interested in tabletop wargaming, science fiction or any related hobbies and pastimes there is a little doubt you’ve been seeing BattleTech pop up all over the place lately. There’s a good reason for that: this venerable IP has come roaring back from relative obscurity in recent years with the runaway hit that was the Clan Invasion Kickstarter, and now a second one, Mercenaries, is just about $50,000 shy of the 6 million dollar mark as of press time.
The gaming public has certainly responded positively to BattleTech’s resurgence and there’s been a big bump in new player interest accordingly. I have been very active in the game and active online in the player base for several years now, and I noticed the same questions, even complaints, pop up over and over again among newcomers. However they were articulated, with few exceptions all of these queries pointed to one thing: This is a game that is so huge, so deep and has so many moving parts that it can easily swamp beginners with seemingly countless choices and variables, and overload is the inevitable result.
When your mental crankcase starts to smoke and spark like a ruptured reactor casing, enjoyment swifty ends and interest usually wanes very shortly thereafter. If you are one of those confused and reeling new players, I’ve got the cure for those newcomer blues. I’ve identified what I think are the three biggest snags for beginners in the game generally, and to crush them I’ll provide some hard-earned guidance that will turn that infamous BattleTech learning cliff into a gentle, negotiable learning curve.
BattleTech is One of the Best, and also Most Immense Wargames Out There
BattleTech’s single biggest strength is also a pretty big hurdle for new players: this is a game and universe that is absolutely immense. It has been going continuously, though not always going strong, since the mid-1980s. There’s a ton of fiction, sourcebooks, rulesets and more out there.
But when any dense, deep-dish, mega-crunchy sci-fi property like this has run for so long, basically unchanged, it accumulates quite a baggage train, and that can make it intimidating and hard to navigate for newcomers. But let’s say you just don’t care about all that lore and what came before. You think giant robots are rad in games like this, and you just want to hurl yours against your opponent’s until they or the people inside them break. I like your style, reader! But now all you have to do is choose what books and resources you think you’ll need.
But it is just a boardgame, how hard can it be!? Concerning the basic rules themselves, nowhere near as hard as some people make it out to be. The rules are mostly logical, the phases in a turn are simple, and all the arithmetic needed to calculate target numbers is easy. Everything is just D6s, usually two, sometimes one. If you knew nothing else and bought only the Beginner Box or A Game of Armored Combat box, read the manual and extorted a pal into playing with you, you’ll be well on your way.
The troubles start when it is time to figure out all of the things surrounding and facilitating the mayhem on the board.
The Biggest Beginner Obstacles in BattleTech
Obstacle #1: Poor Onboarding for New Players
BattleTech is an easy game to enter, but not an easy game to navigate and grow with. Yes, the Beginner Box is clearly labeled as the on-ramp, and it is a good one; an ideal entry point for anyone that is new to the series. The A Game of Armored Combat Box (or AGOAC) box, is a great taste of proper, Classic BattleTech (Classic is a term you’ll see often, referring to the original, highly detailed ruleset as opposed to the simpler, abstracted Alpha Strike ruleset). But neither box does much to prepare players on where to go from there if they want to grow their collection.
What mechs go with what faction? Does it even matter? What is the “standard” pickup game of BT you could expect to play in a tournament or at your local shop? What is BV or battle value? Where can I find record sheets and other resources for the mechs I want to field?
Putting together a game of BattleTech is easy once you know what the important factors are, but unfortunately there’s really no such thing as a “standard” game of BattleTech, and neither of the entry point boxes really explain these concepts to you adequately. That also leads neatly into the next hurdle.
Obstacle #2: Little to No Guidance on Faction Selection or Force-Building
BattleTech is very unlike all of our other tabletop war games on the market in one fundamental regard: making your faction selection clear and providing players with a list of units to choose from to build their force.
In 40K, your faction choices are blazing neon-bright and clear from the outset: you can choose from the Space Marines, the Astra Militarum, the Tau, the Necrons, or whatever, and then buy this book to start building this army. You have clearly delineated army lists with clear options and rules for units, you then pick what you want, tally the cost and go. Yes, I know it’s a little more complex than that, but there are definite “guardrails” for what you can pick and field under what circumstances.
BattleTech has none of this. It has colossal mountains of lore fleshing out who the major and minor players are in the universe, what they represent and how their military is styled, for lack of a better word, but it does not give you any guidance or hard rules whatsoever on what mechs and other units you could, should or must choose and why. In fact, unless you are playing a strict scenario or you and your opponent have agreed to choose from sharply limited acquisition tables (tables buried way in the back of only a few rule books) you can field literally any unit you want as long as it meets the agreed-upon BV or tonnage cap for the game, and belongs in the era. Even the last constraint is flimsy in pickup games or casual play.
This is certainly great for miniature collectors or players who just like the look or performance of certain mechs but for new players who need and want distinct choices of faction army with equally distinct unit selection that resonate with them, it is a question mark: faction choice basically does not matter unless you learn enough lore to make it matter.
Obstacle #3: Impenetrable Complexity Progression
The single greatest thing about BattleTech is its sheer adaptability and complexity for folks who want to tinker or who desire ever-greater detail. I know there is a distinct trend towards quick, abstracted, smaller-scale war games and skirmish games these days, but Classic BattleTech always was and remains today boldly crunchy, even simulationist, in the face of simplification and abstraction.
If you want to move beyond the simple two-on-two or four-on-four mech fights, you can. You can go so far beyond the basic setup shown in the Beginner Box and AGOAC boxes it is almost unsettling: you can add infantry, vehicles, full rules for pilot and crew progression and injuries, weather and terrain conditions, upkeep, maintenance, logistics, staffing and a whole heck of a lot more. You can go all the way up to planning in minute detail invasions of solar systems, and then play them out one tabletop battle at a time if you want to, calculating budgets and death benefits for dependents of the dearly departed KIA the whole way.
It is nuts- absolutely nuts. And that’s also what makes BattleTech great. But this is an ocean of detail for people who might just want a drink to quench their thirst, if that makes sense. Learning where the game elements you want actually are and then figuring out how to intelligently layer them and how they interact with each other is borderline alchemical for those players who haven’t been at it for years.
Solutions, and Understanding What BattleTech Really Is
BattleTech is, at its nuclear heart, a board game. It is also a 3D terrain tabletop miniatures game. It is also a pretty rad TTRPG, and can even be a galactic military conquest simulator. But BT, in totality, really isn’t any of those things.
BattleTech is a “Build-Your-Own” game. BattleTech is truly a set of ingredients, or rather a set of modular components. It is a set of components used to craft the science-fiction experience that you want to have. Giant, vaguely humanoid war machines going to war will almost invariably but not always be at the center of that experience, but where you go and how you shape that experience is up to you.
Whether you want casual and sporty deathmatches you and a pal can plow through on Saturdays in a couple of hours, a fully-featured tactical- or strategic-level military simulation, a TTRPG or even a collaborative, narrative-driven RPG-lite, BattleTech can deliver, and amazingly it can deliver with any combination of those features and flavor that you want.
A high degree of interoperability with all those expansions, rules and add-ons, even with varying levels of granularity means you can really, truly tailor your game to precisely what scratches your tabletop itch. You and your group might want smaller bands of mechs and pilots on long campaigns with way more RPG elements for growth and progression, making it feel closer to DnD in the way it plays sometimes. You might want huge set-piece engagements with air, arty and reinforcements, but still want it done quick.
Whatever you want, BT can do it. It is incredibly freeing, but also pretty intimidating, even for seasoned hobbyists and gamers. Setting out with that notion in mind, I’ve got four tips that will help you get going in BattleTech quickly while maximizing your enjoyment.
Solution #1: Get the AGOAC or Beginner Box First
BattleTech can be purchased in an ala carte fashion of individual models and rulebooks, but that way lies danger. Your very first stop in BattleTech as a newcomer should be the A Game of Armored Combat box or the Beginner Box. Both are Classic BattleTech- the superior system, says I- and both are easy to get started playing with being completely self-contained experiences. Miniatures, dice, maps, manual, standees: you’re ready to roll with either one.
The Beginner Box is a significantly stripped-down ruleset, eliminating approximately half of the mechanics that are intrinsic to classic BT. This doesn’t make it any less fun or exciting to play for some folks, and what you do learn in the Beginner Box transfers directly to the rules found in the AGOAC box, and also full Total Warfare-level rules.
And, for well under $100, you can get both if you want to and you’ll have an excellent core collection of material and models starting out.
Solution #2: Figure Out What Experience You Want to Have; Buy Accordingly
Once you are seasoned on the Beginner Box or the AGOAC box rules, it’s time to start drilling down and figuring out what you, or you and your group, want to play. Specifically what you want out of the experience. Don’t get me wrong, you can play either for a long time and have a blast but there’s a lot more to BattleTech than what is in those boxes.
If you are in love with the idea of RPG elements, you might want to look at A Time of War or MechWarrior: Destiny depending on your preferences. Players who want even more units and military action should be looking at Total Warfare for the most complete all-around rulebook. The BattleMech Manual, or BMM, is another good choice and a better at-the-table reference, but you will lose out on all the combined arms stuff found in Total Warfare.
If you love the setting and the aesthetic, but want faster, simpler gameplay, Alpha Strike might be the way. It also has a nice box set, and you’ll be happy to know that Alpha Strike and the Classic system use the same models.
Solution #3: Don’t Let Lore Stop You
I know this is cast iron apostasy to the BattleTech faithful, but I’m standing by it: Don’t let the lore stop you from having a good time and telling the stories you want to tell on the table!
Yes, BT has all the trappings of a historical war game when it comes to time, place, tables of organization and equipment, heraldry and all that jazz. There are incredibly intricate color schemes, unit dispositions, pilot rosters, planetary data all of that. If that’s your jam, dig in and enjoy building one of those forces, completely canon-correct, and nailing every detail when it comes to setting. I do myself sometimes!
But the BattleTech universe is literally and figuratively so vast that there are countless “spaces” in the lore for you to design and build your own force, and play with whatever units you want to play. This is a tremendous opportunity for players who care about their fluff and the stories they tell. Do you want to field a down-on-your luck merc unit full of scrappy men and women living on the edge? Maybe you’ll be a little-heard-of elite regiment in the service of some planetary duke belonging to one of the Great Houses? How about my favorite, a marauding band of ruthless pirates?
You can build a force around any other concept or idea you can think of and justify it, or not, to make it “fit” into the lore in any given era. The point is, you don’t have to care about getting an A+ in Lore on your BT report card. You don’t have to spend days and days studying these door-stopper books before you are ready to embark on building the force you want to build. You don’t have to worry about being canon correct to play and enjoy BT.
The Old Guard will respect you, and if that sort of exercise appeals to you then go for it. But don’t let it roadblock you from getting games underway.
Solution #4: Get in the Social Media Groups
The fact of the matter is that BattleTech is always, to a degree, going to be a little frightening in its breadth and depth until you too become an old veteran. But, I have a solution for this too: get on social media and get in the player groups. BattleTech is thriving right now and you won’t have to look very hard to find a bustling group dedicated to BattleTech, be it Classic or Alpha Strike format, or both. And, I give you my word, you will never find another player base that is more aggressively helpful to beginners.
If I were you, and if me-you was on Facebook, I would check out the groups Battletech 3028, Classic Battletech and Battletech Painting and Customs. Whether you need orientation on the rules, help with planning your next purchases, advice on modeling, building your list or any other question you can think of you are sure to get a ton of good advice and lots of answers faster than you can blink.
I’m active on all of those groups regularly, so make sure you say hello if you stop by, and do let me know if you made your way there from this post.
BattleTech for Beginners Does Not Have to be a Bumpy Ride
I’ve got much more to say about BattleTech, and in particular topics that will help newcomers get going on the right foot, but we’ll wrap it here. Take care to remember the advice I gave you above and your experience is going to be a smooth and happy one, and pretty soon you’ll be blazing a trail across the wreckage-choked battlefield in no time.
