So, as some of you folks know, I was at I-Con a couple weeks ago. For those who don’t, I-Con is a sci-fi and fantasy con held at the SUNY Stony Brook campus every late March/early April that I like to attend primarily because there’s all of about 2.5 hours of travel involved and because it’s one of the few cons Beckie will actually go to with me.

I plan to blog more about this con (which was even more fun for me because it’s the first one outside of GenCon where I was actually asked to sit on panels) later on, but it was in the middle of this one that I got an even cooler stand-alone blog idea, thanks to a conversation I had with Ken Horner (who happened to be close enough by to visit Beckie, myself, and our friend Renee this time).

So, the gist of it came about when I realized that a new player to this game might easily become bewildered by all the various permutations. Even with the core rulebook line, coupled with the Introductory Boxed Set, we have a dizzying amount of rules, enough to intimidate the typical newcomer, especially one who has never played a tabletop game before. Of course, those of us who have become immersed in the universe know that many aspects of the game are optional, or may not even apply to the situation you’re currently playing…

And that’s when it struck me: Classic BattleTech is not a pre-packaged meal, but a full restaurant menu, complete with an a la carte section. Prepare yourselves for a metaphor that will quickly spiral out of control…with apologies to any CBT vegetarians we have out there.

At its heart, of course, is the basic game, reflected now in Total Warfare. In that book, we have the meat, the ’Mech game. This is the basic ground warfare system, with a simple set of movement rules and weapons. Seasoned by various weapons, it plays well enough by itself that it can satisfy anyone’s tastes, but if you want your potatoes and veggies too, well, Total Warfare does give us vehicles, infantry, and aerospace fighters as well. Right there is your basic Classic BattleTech meal.

Along comes TechManual. I think this could be a good salad. It’s not necessary to enjoy the meal AT ALL, but it comes before it, forms a kind of underlying flavor, gets you ready to go with the means to build those fun toys and units you play with in the CBT meal itself. Like the meal, a salad comes with so many options. Here, you can stick with the simple greens of ’Mech construction, or add other toppings like cucumbers, tomatoes, mushrooms, onions, black olives (if you’re really into those), by delving into the various other units, like vehicles, fighters, ProtoMechs, and so on. And if you’re really needing something to top it off, you have the dressings: Costs and Battle Value (don’t worry, though; we’re working on the BV recipe again, to make it a little less chunky).

Oh, but I don’t feel like “just a steak dinner” today, Herb, one might say. These, of course, are the folks who want a deeper experience. They want artillery, WarShips, maybe even big naval ships. In short, they’re looking at the filet mignon, or maybe even the steak and lobster combos. Yes, for these folks, the extra meal courses are represented by Tactical Operations and Strategic Operations. And, like the meal itself, each can be ordered to suit, with the portions and ingredients the discriminating gamer/diner prefers. Yeah, you don’t need them to enjoy a good dish of BattleTech, but heck if it doesn’t add some real flavor!

And to drink? Well, it’s a stretch here, but I think that is the RPG. You can go with just water (and stick with the Piloting/Gunnery skills of your tabletop warriors, with maybe some backdrop fluff like names, affiliations and even a little story to explain what they’re doing and why), or try the various flavors of drinks offered between the core role-playing book (we’re, of course, starting work on the new and improved formula as we speak) and its expansions.

For dessert, of course, we get to the other sourcebooks: The Tech Readouts, the House Handbooks, the Historicals and Hot Spots books. Needed for play? Not one bit, but they add flavor and fluff to the universe, and some folks are as fanatical about their choices here as any food connoisseur would be about their preference in ice cream flavors.

So, if you’re a new player, don’t be afraid of BattleTech. Don’t look at it as the kind of universe you have to learn everything about to play, investing hundreds of dollars (or whatever your choice currency is) in enjoying one game. Instead, look upon this game as a feast you can order to your liking, and ask yourself “what kind of steak am I in the mood for today?”

“But Herb,” Ken then asked in the middle of this ramble (or one sounding vaguely like it), “what about the Quick Start Rules?”

“Ken,” I told him. “Sometimes, all you really want at the end of the day is a cheeseburger.”

- Herbert Beas

  Classic BattleTech Line Developer

  Catalyst Game Labs