ScrapYard Armory

I am back from Historicon and I had a blast. I only attended on Saturday to take in a few games I was interested in as well as to go shopping in the massive dealer room. In fact, I spent pretty much the entire morning working my way through trying very hard to keep my wallet in my pocket. By the time I got to the Iron Wind Metals booth, I could last no longer.

Here are a few quick pictures of the Battletech miniature display. As always, Iron Wind Metals brought with them some amazingly painted miniatures. Makes my 2nd Freemen (keep reading for more on that…) look like crap on a hex.

Please bear with me for the rest this post as I will be talking about a few game systems that have little to do with Classic Battletech. (You mean their are games out there besides CBT? GASP!)

Painting Contest

Historicon has a bring in painting contest each year to go along with their epic Iron Paintbrush challenge (paint a given mini in one hour using tools on hand!). I decided to toss my hat in the ring in the Single Figure Other category. Other simply means non-historical. Therefore, I was pitted against all the other fantasy and sci-fi minis.

Here is my entry, a Flashman in Second Freemen colors. I am proud to say that I got second place. Keep in mind that there were only five or so entries in my category.

CBT Grinder and Benjamin Take 1

The morning session of games had a Grinder and a big game featuring the Draconis Combine versus the Word of Blake.

I sat down for the Grinder before heading off to lunch. I randomly selected a Cougar A to start off with and I made the most of it. I ended up getting four kills before prematurely ejecting because I was hungry.

Combat!

The crying shame of the convention was that I forgot to take any pictures of this gaming session. I was having so much fun actually playing that I just forgot.

Combat! is a lightweight WWII skirmish game that cares more about the individual soldiers, like Vinny who wants to run a car wash after it’s all over, than the exact specifications of weapons, grenades, and the like.

The system is fast and easy to learn and works using a deck of cards, a system I found very clever. The game itself is being developed and tested and may be available commercially sometime next year. If it does go to print I will be sure to pick up a copy. It is a fun system that you can play with your friends when you need a break from Classic Battletech.

Iron Winds of War – The Peasants are Revolting!

Iron Winds of War is a light weight fantasy and medieval ruleset sponsored by Iron Wind Metals. The rules are based on Rules According to Ral, ala Ral Partha.

The game itself plays very fast while providing a good amount of strategy. In about two and a half hours, we fought a huge battle to an acceptable conclusion.

The scenario we played involved a peasant uprising. Seems the ‘Man’ has been drunk on power and has been spending all his free time oppressing the poor serfs. The ‘Man’, represented by a Bishop looking character is out and about when the peasants, helped by a group of rebel warriors and a mysterious group of black clad knights, finally have enough and decide to do in the Bishop.

The stage is set. The Bishop is caught away from his castle with an imposing group of rebels in his way looking to slit his throat. The battle commenced and casualties started to pile up. Through most of the game, the Bishop was heavily protected by a group of four foot knight units. Near the end of the game, after a series of disastrous personal challenges, the Bishop was forced out of hiding to rally routed units.

In the end, the peasants did not have the lasting power to close in on the Bishop and they fled only to be oppressed some more.

I played on the side of the Bishop’s forces in the scenario. I apologize to my opponents for rolling so damn well. Seriously, I wish I could roll as well during my Battletech games. I’d be getting headshots every other hit. And then there was the single mounted knight that just… wouldn’t… die… It fought off a full strength group of warriors three times!

Good game. Good enough for me to go out and buy a few clamshells from the Iron Wind Metals booth. I am not going to be giving up CBT for anything but this is a fast game that would be easy to buy into once and be able to play with friends for those Battletech breaks.

More CBT, Grand Melee and Benjamin Take 2

My hat goes off to Commando ‘Speck‘ again for a great con. His games are always well attended and he does a fantastic job bringing CBT to the masses. There had to be almost twenty people participating in the two evening events, maybe more. I didn’t end up staying till the wee hours. I had to get back home before it got too unreasonable an hour. All together a great Con. I am looking forward to many more!

No convention is complete in my opinion without a good old fashioned Classic Battletech Grinder!

NJCon08 was no different. My good friend and I were on hand to dish out ‘Mech blasting goodness to the masses. We had two takers on Friday evening. Not a stellar turnout but those that did were very enthusiastic about the game.

The terrain used included a game mat from Hotz ArtWorks with 2 inch hexes. The woods and water were made out of stiff felt available at any arts and craft store. The trees included a mix of pre-made woodland scenics and custom made ones. The hills were made out of pink insulation foam that was cut, shaped, painted, and flocked. Quite a bit of work but worth the effort for terrain that will last several years (hopefully!).

While it wouldn’t make sense to give a play by play like the other CBT events, there are more than a few highlights to mention.

Early on in the game, the new players began to feel out the game and get a sense of movement and how not to open yourself up to back shots.

Once a few of the light ‘Mechs went down, the mediums and an early heavy came out to play. In a two turn sequence, a Thunderbolt sought out partial cover by dipping into the level 1 water in the middle of the board. A Griffin positioned himself carefully and got ready for a bull rush if the Thunderbolt stayed in the water.

Sure enough the Thunderbolt remained stubborn and took his chances in the water. The Griffin ran into position and promptly kicked off the Thunderbolt’s head in the physical attack phase.

A few turns later that feisty Griffin was still on the board when the first Assault ‘Mech started play. It took no more than three or so turns for the Battlemaster to take two head hits. The second one was from a LRM volley by the Griffin for the kill. It was the only time in the game that the Griffin ever hit with the LRM20.

Here are a few pictures from the event. Thanks to all the players for giving it a go. Each walked away with the complete lineup of introductory PDFs on CD.

A recent post on the official Classic Battletech forums got me thinking today. The Click-tech Mechwarior game is on the ropes. No new products have been released at all in 2008. Supported organized play is also coming to an end this July.

Mechwarriors troubles can be to our benefit however as the market floods with cheap miniatures that can be used to play out games with Classic Battletech.

I have personally converted over a battalion worth of Mechwarrior miniatures to use in Grinders. And all of them are ‘Mechs! There is a wealth of infantry and vehicles that can be easily used for a combined arms experience.

Lets look at some of the reasons Mechwarrior figures can be a worthwhile addition to your Classic Battletech collection.

Cheap and Plentiful

The market is flooded. eBay is ripe with good deals and lots of online resellers are flush with unsold Mechwarrior inventory. Flea markets at the last several conventions I have attended all had Mechwarrior figures for sale for pocket change.

When I decided to brew up a Grinder with Mechwarrior figures for NJCon08, I paid out $60 for a full batallion of ‘Mechs from an online reseller. An equivalent number of figures from Iron Wind Metals would cost well above $300.

No offense intended to Iron Wind. Metal miniatures are always going to be of superior quality and detail.

Easy to Throw into a Game

They are already pre-painted and ready to go. If you wanted to get fancy as I did, then you can pop them off their click-base and mount them on a hex base but that is all extra. All you really need are the figures, a 2″ hex map, and your usual Classic Battletech utensils.

A Bridge for Potential New Players

There are going to be disenfranchised Mechwarrior players out there potentially searching for a new game. What better way to get them into Classic Battletech than presenting them with something familiar to wet their appetite?

They are walking around a convention or friendly local gaming store and instantly recognize figures they used to play with, being used in an entirely new way. Their curiosity is piqued, and they ask a few questions. The rest is history. The snowball has started down the hill. Before they know it, they are on the Classic Battletech leap page, then picking up an Introductory Box Set, then Total Warfare. Another gamer joins the ranks!

Mechwarrior figures can be an invaluable tool for the Classic Battletech community. Mechwarriors loss can be our gain if we are conscious enough to take advantage of the opportunity.