BattleTech Games

This is the game that started it all, though it was originally referred to as BattleDroids before copyright issues with George Lucas forced a change in the name (thank goodness!). The concept of this game revolves around imagination, strategy, and luck. Each player controls one to many BattleMechs, using a stat sheet that summarizes that unit's abilities. Most missions have objectives, or are raids or all out assaults. The game involves a lot of paperwork, keeping each Mech's stats on the paper and including things such as heat, armor, ammunition, critical damage, and the pilot's abilities. This game can also make use of the BattleTech miniatures, which are currently produced by Iron Wind Metals. These require special attention by players, as they are packaged unassembled and unpainted. However painting and configuring the miniatures into unique game pieces can be very fun, and is a hobby in its own right The original game used Mechs borrowed from Japanese anime, but after the rights to the intellectual property use expired BattleTech lost many of its favorite designs.

This is another game that requires a vivid imagination. Using only rulebooks, a pencil, paper, dice, and imagination, players dive into the BattleTech universe in a style different from any other type of BattleTech game. As in most Role Playing Games, or RPGs, a gamemaster controls scenarios and creates a story and environment in which a player's character can act out a variety of situations. Typical scenarios might involve negotiations with shady Non Player Characters, or a fistfight in a dark alley with an unknown assailant. The only limits in Mechwarrior RPG are the imagination of the gamemaster, his or her ability to storytell, and the players' creativity.

This game is intended to put its players into the cockpit of a BattleMech, where all the action in the BattleTech universe usually occurs. Players are able to fight against computer-controlled enemy Mechs and vehicles or against other players using online options. The MechWarrior line has proven very successful, and includes Mechwarrior 1 - 4 and a variety of expansions for the second, third, and fourth games. A prequel game, Mechwarrior (rebooting the series instead of opting to call it Mechwarrior 5) was due to be released in 2009-2010, but copyright issues again proved a problem for BattleTech when Harmony Gold ordered the game's creators (including the creator of BattleTech, Jordan Weisman) to cease and desist. As a result of the creator's choice to use previously-controversial Mech designs, BattleTech and MechWarrior fans everywhere have been let down and cautiously awaiting any word of the game's development.

This game allows players to control many Mechs from outside their cockpits in a real-time based strategy type of play. Most missions revolve around strategy and luck. MechCommander can be quite frustrating at times because pilots do not always obey their commander's orders.

MechAssault is constructed around the X-Box's online play capabilities. It is another game in the vein of MechWarrior, allow players to control a Mech from inside the cockpit. MechAssault offered dazzling graphics at the time it was released, but was often judge too much a "video game" for hardcore fans of its big brother MechWarrior. One example of this type of quality was MechAssault's concept of unlimited ammunition, an option unavailable in the more realistic computer game.

This game holds a special place in the hearts of all the players of Strider's Strikers. This is the game that started it all for us. The Collectible Card Game, or CCG, revolves around strategy and luck - two very common themes in the world of games! Card decks are completely customizable and represent the major factions of the BattleTech fictional storyline and universe. The CCG offers outstanding art that gives BattleTech fans a greater comprehension of the look of the BattleTech universe than most other BattleTech products can. Major characters from the books and primary storyline are represented with Unique and Rare-type cards. Decks built around factions allow unique strategic options for winning, though some factions are limited to what options they have available to them. Some decks use techniques like speed or overwhelm, while others make use of subterfuge and delay tactics.

These three games are based on the original game, BattleTech: A Game of Armored Combat. BattleSpace pits spacecraft such as Jumpships, Warships, and Dropships against one another. Recently Iron Wind Metals has created pewter minatures for this strategy game. AeroTech primarily uses Aerospace Fighters and Dropships. These are also available from Iron Wind recently, though its questionable how many fans will purchase them due to AeroTech's limited popularity. CityTech concentrates on weaker Mechs, infantry platoons, and armor combat.

This game seems to be one of the least successful of all BattleTech games, concentrating on infantry versus infantry combat. The Strider's Strikers have formed their own infantry game as a substitute for this game, which has been named "ArmorTech". Our version allows for Battle Armor such as Elementals to enter the fray, however the gameplay is based on fantasy turn-based games and so its style is very different than most of the BattleTech games seen on this page. For more information on ArmorTech, please visit the link above in the Extras menu.

This game is similar to BattleTech: A Game of Armored Combat, except that it allows players to conduct battles on a larger scale. Using a concept called Battle Values, BattleForce approximates a BattleMech's ability to wage war This game design provides players with a way to control very large battles. Each Mech's Battle Value is representative of its performance, and helps determine which team will win or lose.

The Dark Age game is the newest kind of tabletop strategy play for BattleTech. Dark Age makes use of a relatively new gaming concept called Clix. Each figure is mounted on a circular display that features the unit's abilities in small boxes. This circular display base can then be turned, or clicked, when the unit is damaged or overheated. By clicking the base, the figure is provided with updated abilities, most of which will be lower than its previous values because of the damage the unit has sustained. Clix is also used in games such as Marvel and DC HeroClix, along with the original Clix game called Mage Knight. MechWarrior: Dark Age succeeds in becoming an interesting and new type of strategy game for BattleTech fans. However in its storyline, set far in the future of the BattleTech universe, has proven too radical for many fans of the original BattleTech tabletop games. Despite this dramatic change in the storyline, Dark Age must be acknowledged for its contribution to building a future BattleTech fanbase and thereby ensuring a secure future for the BattleTech Universe. Whether that future is a bright one or not, the path of the BattleTech storyline has been determined and current products are still working towards the Dark Age continuity.