Let's Review: Battletech - A Game of Armored Combat
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 17 ก.พ. 2022
- Today I finally get to bring you a video I have been DESPERATE to make for over 6 months! A Dive inside the Battletech Starter Box; A Game of Armored (Armoured) Combat.
I got my copy from The Games Shop, Aldershot: / gamesshopaldershot
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A great big thank you from everyone here at The games shop Aldershot for the shout out, we now only have 3 left! Really good to see you enjoying the product! If you or anyone is interested we are hosting a BATTLE TECH DEMO DAY!
Eek! I had a feeling they'd sell fast. I know a couple of my Patrons ordered from you as soon as they heard where I'd got mine. Glad to boost the signal though.
"the wolverine is very popular"
*distant clanner screeches*
The best way to use record sheets is to put them in plastic sheet protectors and mark them with dry-erase markers. Have been doing that since I started playing BT in the early 90's
As an old Mechwarrior it does my heart good to see all the love Battletech has been getting lately. I hated to see my beloved game on life support for about 15 years and watching it grow again...well I'm so damned happy.
A random FYI:
There's now a "reinforcements box" that comes with about 200 cardboard stand-in mechs, and it's on sale for 30 bucks because no one's buying it. Great if you like to mess with a lot of units but don't always want to spend the money on plastic.
As a Battletech vet. That hard card reference sheet is a huge plus.
I use mine all the time
Me and my husband have gotten into Battletech the last few months and have been playing with the beginner's box. We have been anting to get the game of armored combat for a while and just haven't yet. My favorite mechs so far is Light - Raven, Medum - Griffin, and Assault - Awesome. This is such a fun game to play, even for people you would think would not like taple top games!
I'm really hoping you're right! My partner isn't a wargamer but she loves Aristeia by Corvus Belli, so I'm hoping she'll enjoy Battletech
@That MrShy I like table top games but could not get into war gaming, but battletech has been such a great Introduction into it. My husband was trying to start me with Zona Alpha and I just could not get the grasp of it without getting my whole crew killed, so battletech has been a great breakdown on how to calculate damage and plays without feeling overwhelmed
This gives me great hope! ❤️
I bought the Beginner Box, and was instantly interested in the full version. Found out that Barnes and Noble carries this game, and purchased it! Now I am so stoked to introduce this game to my local community! I really hope I am able to generate interest.
should I start out with the beginner box or just jump right into this version?
@@qw3rty829 I think you could get away with getting right into AGoAC. The beginner box is really good about easing you into the game, but if you have some experience with wargaming, you can probably digest AGoAC just fine.
While you're at it, get the quick start rules for Alpha Strike. Pretty sure they're free, but gives you a great alternative to Classic Battletech if you and your mates are looking for a game that plays quicker.
Either/or, really. The beginner box doesn't give you quite the full CBT rules, whereas AGOAC does, so personally I'd go with the latter.
I played back in 1998, big German conventions, one round about an hour and only nerds capable of crunching all the numbers of the rulebooks. But painting mechs was a nice Hobby
Nice unboxing video! I've loved Battletech since I was a kid! I grew up on the cartoon and Mechwarrior 2 PC game! I love to win this box, because it brings back my childhood memories. It looks like a great gateway/box to get into the miniatures games.
Nice haul man! Battletech's probably the fastest I've ever gotten into a tabletop game, in the span of a month and a half I already bought a full Lance and a Star. My brother and I are really into mechs too, so he was more than willing to get into this than Warhammer. here's to hoping for everyone's Armored Combat box to come!
I'd love to get my hands on one of those boxes, they are practically impossible to find outside of the US :-/
Love battletech since 1994. The game is so good and enjoy playing it. Hope it continues to grow. Nice video can't wait to see some game play of you battling it out on the table
The only real downside to Battletech I have found as a new player is that once you get into it, you need a rule book spread sheet to find many of the rules. Total Warfare is the core reference book for just about everything including infantry, aerospace, and even naval unit rules, and the Tech Manual has all the custom mech rules and also pilot stat adjustment rules. So far so simple.
But it doesn't stop there. Some books have campaign rules for linked games, another may have special rules for things like high gravity or vacuum environments. One book is all about special equipment you can add to your mechs like targeting computers and how those work in the game.
It's quite a rabbit hole and that is before we add Technical Read Outs, House Books, and other semi fluff books that add to the universe and to the game
The shadowhawk is great because it has a gun at every range. Its almost heat neutral, and has the armor to slog it out with other mediums, or go and bully smaller mechs.
One weapon of each 3052 weapon class... great for learning how they work but it is a swiss army knife, capable of doing so many things but not a master of any of them.
Welcome to the wonderful world of stompie death robots! I'm commenting to see if I can win a starter box for a kid at my local game shop. Every two weeks they have a Battletech night. There is a 12-13 year old named Noland who has been trying to get a starter box for about 6 months but every time he saves up the game store (and Amazon) runs out. He loves to play but is always given the left overs depending on who shows up or has to watch. I built him a lance from the starter box that he plays with but he really wants his own so he can start painting. This contest is an awesome idea to bring more people into the wonderful world of Battletech.
Love to get a copy. As it's hard to find . And would love to play a game with the boys
I need to learn how to jewel the battlemaster bubble cockpit!
So glad to see you managed to get a hold of the AGOAC box!!! and a good next step for you rules wise after these intro rules would be a "Battlemech Manual" which has all of the rules you need for running mech on mech combat organized nicely. I would love to get another one of these boxes, but not for me. I would be giving it to one of my friends who I have been trying to introduce to the game so he can have his own set of mechs and rules for when he isn't using my collection.
I don't need the box... got all the BattleTech stuff i need. And the hard cover rulebook you were woldering about, it's called "Total Warfare", if you ever look for that.
Anyway, i'm looking forward to how you like the game. Ride the redline, mechwarrior... :)
I'd like that box please. Been looking through every online game store in my country. If you think finding one in the UK is tough try finding one in Sweden!
Welcome to the world of battletech :-) just gotta say the battlemaster is the most ironically named mechs in the world....not really any master of battle...the thunderbolt and wolverine however are pretty definitive mechs for their weight and will make any lance dangerous. Edited to say the awesome does live up to its name lol :-) 3 ppc can kill quick and 1 head hit can lead to dead pilot with critical.
Glad you finally found it.
Goodness, this brings back memories. Somewhere in my parents’ house is my copy of the old Master Rules book from the FASA days
I’m the guy with the photocopier and did appreciate the SSDs (or whatever BT calls the graphic sheets)
I'd like the box as I have the clan invasion box and want something to help get a buddy into it too. Battletech was my first ever wargame back in the depths of 2001, and it's always had a special place in my heart. Would love to pass that on with my friends
Looks amazing just wish it was easier to get hold of
Agreed! Although all signs suggest it's going to start getting easier
As one of the grand daddies of mini gaming , long may battletech live. I highly suggest it to anyone who likes such games, a full experience that has gone the test of time and one we are living in a resurrected golden age for.
I would like this box because it looks totally amazing
Well done on getting hold of a box, had my eyes on this for a while now. I’d love to get a box because I’m really enjoying hex based coffee table games I.e Warhammer Underworlds and also looking to branch out into non GW games. Also Mechwarrior video game series has been so good since the 90s that who wouldn’t love to play the miniature game as well 👌🏻
Great video I have been trying to get my hands on this box for ages. I got in touch with the shop and they are posting me a copy on Monday! Looking forward to seeing where you go with this nsading forwards. Thanks for the heads up
Weirdly, they posted mine same day, second class, but it still came next day!
I've been playing since the game Battletech came out and the AGOAC is the best value ever in BT.
I just got that box myself such good value
I used to play Battletech back in the day - got more involved with Warhammer and Warhammer 40K - I would love to get this box set to introduce my granddaughter Mia into the Battletech world, she already plays Age of Sigmar with me and has started painting her own models,.
Good Luck everybody
Excited for whoever wins that starter box! It’s a great deal. I’d love to get a copy, mainly for the locust and Shadow Hawk. Two of my favorite mechs!!
Hey! Thank you for that grat review. I posted a comment as usual, but I want to be fair, so: I do not want your box. I already own two of them... I think you box should go to someone who doesn't own one. But I would love to see how you paint them! So do me a favor and stream the painting process and a big show of the final results.
I was lucky and proud to find out the Barnes & Noble close by actually had this box set. I then felt sad because when I asked where they were displaying them, this and the Clan Invasions box set were hidden behind two other board games. Smh
Yesss, let's play!
I just got into the tabletop game after years of Roguetech, so videos like this are great!
Was so tempted by this, since the game is way more affordable
It's a really fun game too!
Great review - I love the contents of A Game of Armored Combat.
Thanks, Shawn! Me too!
I played BT when it first came out. Glad to see it's going strong.
I'd love to get this boxset. I've been playing the computer games for years but only recently learned how fun the game is on tabletop, and the community around this game is pretty great to boot!
Such a great box and great review. I hope it will be the next big game in my area
A good vid - and congrats on getting one box (let alone two)! It took me a long stretch before I was lucky to grab one on ebay at a reasonable price about a year ago.
I would disagree with the notion that the printed record sheets are no longer necessary in box sets, though - a number of players (including myself) have had plenty of difficulty trying to download and print pdfs of the sheets from off their phones or tablets onto a number of wireless printers over the years; fortunately, most modern printers these days are combination printer-scanners (and thus double as photocopiers), so the record sheet booklet can be a godsend in those situations.
And as for the virtual record sheet apps, in our experience, they can be a bit hit or miss (especially if you're stuck using an older generation device that the app isn't necessarily optimised for), though we found the ones that did dice rolling and critical hit results very helpful. Still, we prefer to mark off all those little circles of damage from off the sheet ourselves than let an app do it for us - guess we're just creatures of habit like that! 😅
I would love to get a copy of this here in the UK. I played back in the early 90's and think I still have my old miniatures in the laft somewhere. It would be great to get back into the game and teach the kids about the joys of big stompy robots, head shotting with an AC/20
I’m loving Battletech! My only real complaint is the amount of time it takes, primarily from table lookups.
Yeah it definitely takes a while. I played my first game the other day and after 3 hours we quit because nothing had happened!
When you're learning it's best to play with two Mechs per side OR play with better pilots.
A Gunnery 2, Piloting 3 MechWarrior will make a huge difference in the time to play the game. The big obstacle of course is the Tables. I suggest using sheets from a site called Flechs Sheets, the tables will be in the record sheet itself, minimizing looking for tables on the chart.
Ive been trying to find a good game to just pop up at home on the table and play with family or friends without needing alot of stuff. and whats better than big mechs duking it out?! As always love your videos Stu!
I would love to get a starter like this. I started looking into it yeas ago, since I had an old Archer and Zeus from a friend. It just so happened it was like a month after the clix game came out and I ended up playing that for years. I'd still like to get into the original.
Congratulations on finally obtaining a box my dude that's epic and these look so cool!!!
I would love to win a box as I feel myself losing so much love for my current table top mini games thanks to the ever increasing prices of gw and such and plus who doesn't love mechs it reminds me alot of the old mech assault lone wolf game!!
Love all your videos, especially the painting guides! I am in the UK as well, so know the hardships of finding product, and I would love to win that Game of Armored Combat box!
Thanks so much, Michael!
you can also just put the data sheet into a page protector and use dry-erase markers to mark them.
I absolutely love that box it was so hard to get ahold of
I need a copy that box just for the mechs, they are really common inner sphere mechs but you can't get them in lance packs (and i'm doing several factions that don't have any at the moment, it's just wrong). The maps and tiles are always useful. The standees would go to a mate who drives from Blackpool to Coventry just to run a game. He finds standees convenient for storage and travel.
I’ve been trying to get hold of Battletech here in South Australia, this have been a fruitless endeavour so far. Hopefully I can get a copy soon and join in on the fun.
Great video. From other videos, it looks like the Awesome Alpha Strike card is on the reverse side of the Griffin card (just like the Classic Battletech pilot card shown in the video). Although I can't be sure as it seems like there have been updates on print editions and I am stuck looking at zero stock for nearly everything now.
Great review! That Awesome looks like a Zeus to me, but then I'm more familiar with the PC games. Would love a copy of the game :)
so of course, per usual, I've gone completely bass ackwards and gotten the clan invasion box first, just ordered a copy of armored combat... Good thing hubby doesn't read my YT comments as he's gotta birthday in June and I figure it's finally a game we can play together! He has a lot of older battletech stuff so I know it'll be good
Been playing Battletech since 1986...Barnes and Noble has the beginners and basic game, as well as the Wolf's Dragoons assault star, box of five. But...they also have the Clan Invasion Salvage boxes. First series of individual Mechs. $8 each. Random selection. It is sooo worth it getting the Basic Game, but i fully agree with you on selecting first time purchases.
Barnes and Noble are a US exclusive store. For us in the UK, and those in APAC or EU countries, stock is far far more scarce, typically.
@@TesseractMinis Too true. Mail ordering is an option, but for transatlantic packages? Weeks of not months of ordering. And with the issues of catching up with Kickstarter orders only now happening, it's an even longer wait. Wish I could be of help there. It's a great game.
Interestingly, the US also happens to have one of the worst rates for international shipping and the EU and UK have really high import taxes, so even ordering in overseas hasn't been an option, sadly.
The good news is that CGL are talking about opening UK/EU distro and stock HAS improved recently, too. It's getting better!
@@TesseractMinis Well that is good news then! Ironically I order more stuff from British sources anyways. They tend to actually have it in stock more often then American stores. It's driving me a little buggy, but that's just how it works right now.
Hey Stu, Meria here! I would love to play Battletech with my boyfriend, so that would be a great place to start :3
Excellent and astute observations that the game can be played on a coffee table. That is actually a pretty big deal. I would love to see you play classic battletech. Here's hoping Europe gets better distribution support. I can be painful to get screwed on the import exchange. All the mechs in the box are solid choices, except for the Shadowhawk ironically enough. I'm going to be buying another box of Armored combat, paint it up for my friend since he would love to play, but doesn't have time to play due to being a young dad. Cheers!
I am so glad you were finally able to get a copy of this box!!! I know it has been a struggle for you to find and really dampened your interest in Battletech. Catalyst has sold more Battletech boxes in the past year than they have the past couple of decades. This huge and sustained spike in interest has really thrown them off.
Great video - FYI Record Sheets - There is an official App - Battletech Tactical Simulator from memory it's on iOS and Andriod and it can be used to track heat and damage as far as I know - I haven't played with it too much yet
I live in Brazil, and as you can imagine anything Battletech related here is extremely rare, althought we do have a small community, would love to be able to have the real deal.
Great models! May try to grab some or 3d print some to paint. Hesitant to get into another game system though...
At least with Battletech it's an easy game to pickup and put down. Model collections can be as small as 4-8 models and games can take anything from an hour to several days. It's very much a game that's happy to cater to all levels of engagement.
@@TesseractMinis Tempting...
The problem with all those miniature wargames (Battletech, WH40K, etc) is that the artwork looks terrific, the worldbuilding is great, and they promise tons of furious actions... and then, when we play, it is so underwhelming to be bogged down in bookkeeping and rolling dice on endless tables. It kills the fun and the epic out of it.
The box can be brought from the makers now again in cases any want it.
I love this box set and recommend it to any starting players. No bad mechs in it at all though some do require more skill than others (commando). Been trying to hunt the starter where I can find it as its hard to find in the states too for my game group. As for the Awesome an ancient Awesome 8Q could fight and win against clan mechs.
Been following your dive into Battletech since you explored it after the GW dust up. Super pumped that you found a box and that you've been enjoying all aspects of the BT universe, novels, Shrapnel, video games, etc. It's been my favorite miniatures wargame since I was a kid! As a side note, I have an amazing BT community that is global (some UK fans as well!) and would love to be a resource for any questions or thoughts you might have, called WolfNet Radio Podcast. We're in all the places. ;-) Would love to send a link to the discord if you're interested!
Once again, GREAT review, and super pumped you got the box! Can't wait to see you get the Clan Invasion box and more! (Also give the box to someone else if I'm drawn. )
Thanks for the lovely words of encouragement, very much appreciated! I'm like 99.9% certain I have listened to WolfNet Radio! Feel free to grab me on one of my socials, if you wanna send over a Discord link :)
you can hear the mechwarrior fans screaming "THATS A THUNDERBOLT"
im still looking for this box =(
I'd love to get a copy of this; like you say its damn difficult to find.
Youre not an idiot, the second from the right on the bottom is the griffin so you go it right eventually. The art on the box is a battlemaster its Iconic scene from the fourth succession war when the capital of the federated suns was invaded by "liao" to wreck the New Avalon Institute of Science and the battlemaster there is the first prince of the federated suns beating the snot out of the invaders. There are two hard copy rule books one called the battletech manual which has just battlemech rules and then there is Total warfare which has the rules for combined arms tanks infantry aerospace vtols wet navy all the things... both are good purchases I have both. In the rule book in that box there is a link to the pdfs which contain all the mech sheets for the beginners, AGOAC and Clan invasion as well as all the Kickstarter mechs. I want the AGOAC so I can have a demo set separate from all my individual units. The beginners box is the rare one here in aus AGOAC was rare but now there are a few units available. Clan invasion doesnt seem to have the same problem here. Have you tried sourcing from Ral Partha Europe? And while you might complain that shipping from IWM is expensive IWM won't ship to aus atm.... sadness. Also Check out my battletech channel humantechnical_readout it hasnt got alot on it rn but will do this year.
Shadowhawks are great because they are an all around good choice. They generate almost no excessive heat and can engage at any range. They are fairly tough for a medium mech and they even have jump jets
I remember the Game Shop in Aldershot when I was based there back in 1999/00 :D Is the store still there or is it gone? I got loads of Babylon 5 Wars stuff from them :) Really happy to see you're all excited about this :)
I haven't been down to the actual shop, but there's pics of the store front on their Google listing, so I'm assuming they're still there!
Grab a friend, put a ton limit like 400, pick your mechs, and play a game for a quick and dirty way to go. That should give each of your roughly 3-5 mechs per a force and let you jump in. I'd stick to the basic weapons for the first game so don't have to deal with weird ammunition or modifiers like pulse. Battletech allows you to go as simple or as fiddly as you like rules wise. Advanced games can get pretty crazy, what with terraforming, orbital bombardment, combined arms, and electronic warfare.
Don't worry about visual IDing mechs. With each base model having so many variants that change it's weapons and therefore the profile even veterans have a hard time. We might recognize an Atlas by it's skull face, but not know which model it it is due to it's loadout.
SUPER CHUNKY THICC BOI
Would love to get my hands on a copy of the box set, mostly cos I'm a sucker for MrShy hype, and he has me interested now....
Very cheap and low stress game to collect for, once you've got a start mate. An "army" is 4-12 miniatures, typically.
Love the Wolverine in BT but not the best in Mechwarrior, IMO.
Have you seen the updates this last week from Catalyst? Things are looking up for us Mechwarriors.
I have! The new releases seem very exciting, and the talk of UK/EU Distribution is AMAZING
haven't owned a printer in 12 years, they need an app or something for the record sheets
The only mechs hard to remember are the Inner Sphere mechs. Clanner mechs are easy! 🤣
Wouldn't mind getting a starter. Reminded of watching the old cartoon, and doing Mechwarrior Mercs on PC. When there were leagues, and they had star maps, bids, and battles to make it more exciting.
I really, really want to win this because Battletech is so cool, and it's so hard to find this boxed set!
Well I'd love to win it assuming A) I'm not too late to enter and B) I just can't afford to buy a copy right now and it'd be an awesome birthday present for myself...
You're not too late! Entries are being drawn at the end of March :)
Cut the record down the spine place them in the clear plastics binder sheets and use dry erase markers or get them laminated if you can
hi id like to win the set because on my country there is no way to find the games so i had to play them with cardoard cut outs and 1 3d printed piece that i got for my bday
As a House Liao fanboy I need every mech I can get my hands on to hold the line! Having Davion for a neighbor isn't easy.
I'd love to win a copy! Some of my mates have been getting into Battletech recently, and I'd love to join in.
welp you sold me super hard on the rarity and I bought one of the last couple I could find online in canada
I’d love to win this as March is my birthday month and it’s the top of my wish list. Battletech looks really good to play. I like the damage system and it feels a bit like a game I played rifts rpg.
The Griffin is the unique mech for the beginner box. You’re right.
I have just been getting into battletech over the last couple of weeks. Been looking to find this boxset! I have been a warhammer fan for a long time, but games workshop is pricing me out of the hobby now I have a son. I love that battletech has so much lore and history to emerse in. The game seems well balanced, unlike the state of warhammer at the moment.
Theres a warhammer store 5 minutes where i live in Barnet North London however warhammer seems to get expensive so i think i might start either battletech or infinity, unfortunately im not sure i would be able to play it with anyone as warhammer is the only store that plays tabletop games where i live
It's a common problem, but it can be surprisingly easy to find games over the internet. Either by joining national groups and looking for folks in your area, or by playing online with Tabletop Simulator and MegaMek. I say don't be discouraged - if you don't wanna get into the GW ecosystem and it's associated costs, chase a game you think will give you value for money.
@@TesseractMinis I see thanks for the reply. I live in North London (Barnet) and tabletop wise its really only the warhammer store on the high street but i am not sure the guy that runs it is entirely open to playing other board games in the store. I know that theres a shop near me that sells the beginner box for 20 quid so i might pick that up I'm more for looking at my models rather than playing
Warhammer staff aren't allowed to let you play other games in store, so sadly, I suspect you'll have no joy there.
@@TesseractMinis yeah guess so. I think I will get the beginner box theres a store not far from where I live that has "some boxes lying around somewhere" so ill pick one up. Seeing as its 20 pounds ill see what its like. if i like it i guess ill buy more
It’s funny that I just ran across my BATTLETECH bag. All my FASA books. Everything up till the Clans were introduced. Sadly I sold all 50 of my Ral Partha metal mechs years ago.
I hated the Clans. I mean I really HATED the Clans. I thought they were easy mode with too much firepower and double heat sinks. Meh.
You should try to get tech readouts to expand ur knowledge of mech,s by fast co. The original co.that produced the books and others.
Got the box 1.5 years ago. Never got to play it T_T
If you want to play online you got megamek.
I want one so i can force my roommate to learn with me haha
Can you not change your amazon region to US or Canada? They both have have it in stock. In the US I can order from other regions not sure if you can.
I can, but that involves massive import and shipping fees, pretty much doubling the price of the product.
Fortunately I have now managed to find it in the UK!
Whew, why do I want the box? Honestly, I am looking for an alternative to GW games, no loved the original PC games. And it is just not available where I am. Great unboxing
Alternatively you could have bought a copy of total warfare and also the rules are a free download