"Super Slimmed Down Rules for MechWarrior Figs" Topic

Hey people,

My boy and I managed to score an enormous amount of MechWarrior Figs. We've tried using the MechWarrior ruleset, but it's a bit too complicated for my boy and doesn't allow us to use as many figures as we'd like.

Can anyone suggest a slimmed down version of the MechWarrior Rules? I'm also totally happy with giving another ruleset a try.

We want to be able to use about half a dozen mechs, maybe a dozen vehicles and hopefully 20-30 stands of infantry a side. Anything fit that bill or will I need to adjust my expectations?

Cheers!

Just stand back and throw marbles at 'em, that always worked for us as kids.

Mechwarrior: Alpha Strike?

Our club uses two different rules for fast-play games with mechwarrior figs. We've rebased hundreds of them, though they work fine without rebasing.

For big battles "Alpha Strike" is your best bet. It's set in the BT universe, so it's got the right flavor, and it plays really fast. Also, the BT timeline has finally caught up with the Dark Age, so Alpha Strike cards already exist for nearly every Mechwarrior unit. They are free to download here. link
Also, the Alpha Strike ruleset has three levels of complexity, so you can choose how much crunch you want.

For Battletech sized battles (4-9 units per player) we use "Mech Attack" It's got alot of BT'ish elements (heat, multiple weapons, customizable mechs, a damage grid,etc) in a package that plays in about 1/4 the time. We've even run it at conventions in 28mm (1/56) scale and found it works really well.

Lastly, if you want something ridiculously simple and free, that handles ALOT of units give Panzer 8 Sci-Fi a try. It fits on 2 sheets of paper and abstracts everything, but it's a very playable and fun game. You'll find two versions (we used the first one) free here: panzer8.weebly.com/rules.htmlIf
If you like it, let me know and I'll send you our club's version which has a few minor tweaks and an extended unit list.

Enjoy!

There's a few here:

link

Plus:

PDF link

You could give these a go:

link

Here are my slimmed down Mech rules. I've had kids from 10 to 15 playing and have no problems.

link

My boy and I managed to score an enormous amount of MechWarrior Figs. We've tried using the MechWarrior ruleset, but it's a bit too complicated for my boy and doesn't allow us to use as many figures as we'd like.

I assume you are talking about the "Clix" rules, that use the click bases on the pre-painted plastic miniatures?

The current "fast play/mass combat" system for BattleTech (the game the MechWarrior clix game was based on) is called Alpha Strike. The thing is, while Alpha Strike is a slimmed down version of the full BattleTech rules, I think its still more complex that the old MechWarrior rules so I'm not sure you will gain by that change (the AS rulebook is still over 175 pages as opposed to over 300 for the full BT game).

If the MechWarrior clix rules are really too complex for your boys, you best bet would be to check one of the non-BT alternatives others have offered.

We used the Clik values and dice rolls but changed the turn sequence to something like this:

A moves
B fires
A Fires
Close combat
B Moves
A fires
B Fires
Close Combat

Tended to have a little more action. Heat and die rolls remained the same. I always hated the "pushing" rule. We played this with 15+ mechs per side and it flowed well

Mech Attack

Future War Commander might also be an option. I am not sure how the complexity is compared to the mech warrior rules.

Honestly, if your boy isn't dealing with the Clix rules well, I'm not sure there is a simpler game around…