Originating around about
1984, Battletech is a
game set between 28th and the 32nd centuries (depending on what
era you choose to set your battle in) pitting interstellar powers against each other. The main weapon of choice is the Battlemech: a 6 story tall walking tank ranging in weight from 20 to 100 tons that carry varrying weapons loadouts depending on the mission at hand. Battlemechs come in all different shapes and sizes. Some are built for speed, while others are built for firepower or a combination of both. There are also an assortment of tanks, support vehicles, artillery pieces, battle armor infantry and a myriad of other units that can be used to
play as well. At first the
game was played by moving pewter mechs (some of the really old ones are made of lead) on a
map with the objective of destroying your enemy. Battletech expanded to the Mechwarrior
RPG, the Mechwarrior PC and console gaming series, the now-defunct Battletech Collectable Card
Game, and the more recent Mechwarrior: The Dark Age, which is similar in concept to
Marvel Heroclix.
"I was playin Battletech over at Clint's the other
day, and I blew the head off his
Atlas with one of my Thunder Hawk's Gauss Rifles. He wasn't very
happy, lol."