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."