Gameplay
BattleTech is a turn-based multiplayer game, typically played on a map divided into hexagonal grids with figurines or counters representing military units. Paper record sheets provide detailed information about each unit, including its armament, armor and equipment, and are used to track damage, heat buildup, ammunition and various other data. Players use two six-sided dice to determine variable results, such as whether a shot strikes its target and the location it hits.
Of the units represented in the game, the most common are BattleMechs, also known as 'Mechs: large, semi-humanoid fighting machines controlled by human pilots. While pre-designed 'Mechs, vehicles, and other military units are provided with the game, a complex system of design rules allows players to create their own custom units even in the introductory boxed set.
Reception
Scott Tanner reviewed BattleTech in Space Gamer/Fantasy Gamer No. 78. [5] Tanner commented that "All in all, the BattleTech system is a very welcome addition to the gaming world, and is a worthwhile investment for those interested in the subject matter." [5]
Stephan Wieck reviewed Battletech in White Wolf #7 (1987), rating it an 8 out of 10 and stated that "if the true test of any game is its playability, then Battletech is a good system. It is extremely easy to gamemaster and fun to play, at an hourly price that eventually beats the movies.." [6]
In 1997, the fourth edition of BattleTech won the Origins Award for Best Graphic Presentation of a Board Game of 1996. [7]
Classic BattleTech won the 2007 Origins Award for Best Miniatures Rules of the Year. [8]
The original BattleTech was inducted into the Origins Hall of Fame. [9]
FASA Corporation was an American publisher of role-playing games, wargames and board games between 1980 and 2001, after which they closed publishing operations for several years, becoming an IP holding company under the name FASA Inc. In 2012, a wholly owned subsidiary called FASA Games Inc. went into operation, using the name and logo under license from the parent company. FASA Games Inc. works alongside Ral Partha Europe, also a subsidiary of FASA Corporation, to bring out new editions of existing properties such as Earthdawn and Demonworld, and to develop new properties within the FASA cosmology.
BattleTech is a wargaming and military science fiction franchise launched by FASA Corporation in 1984, acquired by WizKids in 2001, which was in turn acquired by Topps in 2003; and published since 2007 by Catalyst Game Labs. The trademark is currently owned by Topps and, for video games, Microsoft Gaming; Catalyst Game Studios licenses the franchise from Topps.
NECA/WizKids, LLC is an American company based in New Jersey that produces tabletop games. WizKids is best known for its collectible miniatures games (CMGs) Mage Knight, HeroClix, MechWarrior, and HorrorClix, all of which make use of the company's Clix system, in which the changing combat statistics and abilities of each figure were indicated by a turnable dial inside the base underneath the figure. The company was founded in 2000 by Jordan Weisman, a veteran of the game company FASA. It was purchased by sports-card manufacturer Topps, Inc. in 2003.
Fantasy Productions Medienvertriebsgesellschaft GmbH is a German publishing company based in Erkrath.
MechWarrior: Dark Age was a tabletop wargame by WizKids set in the BattleTech universe that uses the Clix system. The game's miniatures are pre-painted models of infantry squads, vehicles, and giant walking war machines known as BattleMechs or more simply "'mechs".
Jordan Weisman is an American game designer, author, and serial entrepreneur who has founded five game design companies, each in a different game genre and segment of the industry.
BattleForce was originally created by FASA Corporation, a wargame set in the BattleTech universe designed to allow the simulation of larger-scale actions. Units typically represent lances, but there are provisions for allowing the counters to represent larger units/formations, such as companies, battalions, and so forth.
BattleSpace is a science fiction wargame published by FASA Corporation in 1993. Set in the BattleTech universe, it simulates naval warfare in space.
AeroTech is a tabletop wargame published by FASA and set in the BattleTech universe. It simulates combat between aerospace fighters, troop-carrying DropShips, and interstellar JumpShips and WarShips. The name "AeroTech" defines space/air elements of BattleTech universe. There have been five revisions of these rules.
Loren L. Coleman is an American science-fiction writer, born and grew up in Longview, Washington. He is known for having written many books for series such as Star Trek, Battletech/Mechwarrior, Age of Conan, Crimson Skies, Magic: The Gathering and others. He has also written game fiction and source material for such companies as FASA Corporation, TSR, Inc. and Wizards of the Coast. He resides in Washington with his wife Heather and three children.
MechWarrior is a set of role-playing game rules published by FASA Corporation in 1986 that were designed to be used with FASA's previously published mecha wargame BattleTech.
CityTech is a FASA wargame first published in 1986 and set in the BattleTech fictional universe.
MechWarrior: Dark Age is the title of an ongoing series of novels set in the BattleTech Universe. The series was created by WizKids and has a companion game MechWarrior: Dark Age. The Dark Age series of books is intended as a re-launch of the BattleTech book franchise, to create an easy starting point for new readers.
Formed in 1975, Ral Partha Enterprises, Inc. of Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, is now known as Ral Partha Legacy Ltd. and produces miniature figures in 25 mm, 30 mm, 15 mm, and 54 mm scale. The company's products are made by spin-casting metal alloys which depict soldiers, adventurers and creatures that have been inspired by history and fiction. Their miniatures are sold at gaming conventions, in hobby shops, and by internet and mail order for use in role playing games, wargaming, dioramas, competitive painting, and collecting.
MechWarrior Online is a free-to-play vehicle simulation video game, officially launched during September 2013 by Piranha Games for Microsoft Windows. The game takes place within the larger BattleTech universe.
The BattleTech Trading Card Game is an out-of-print collectible card game (CCG) set in the BattleTech universe. The game was developed by Wizards of the Coast (WotC) for FASA and released in 1996. It went out of print after its last expansion, Crusade, in 1998.
Randall N. Bills is an American game designer who has worked primarily on role-playing games.
InMediaRes Productions, LLC is an American game company that produces role-playing games and game supplements.
BattleTech is a mech turn-based strategy video game developed by Harebrained Schemes and published by Paradox Interactive. It was released on macOS and Windows on April 24, 2018, with a Linux release on November 27, 2018. The developers set aside US$1 million to create the game, and turned to Kickstarter to secure funding for additional features, including a single player campaign, an expansion of that campaign, and a player versus player multiplayer mode.
