Battletech: Beginners Box

I would love to see a HeroForge online 3d printing service for battle mechs. One where you can pick a mech, customize it with loadouts, pick weapons options, decorate the base, pose it, paint it, and order the final figure either painted or unpainted (or the 3d printing file).

And Catalyst has made a lot of smart choices with Battletech; I do love this game. I like they cater to both eras of players, the Succession and Clan eras, though I wish the figure support for Succession was more robust (and that is where the HeroForge on-demand 3d printing site would step in to keep figures always in supply). I would also like more cardboard pawns for mechs and auxiliary units and structures, just to fill out battles where a figure is unavailable, but the action still needs a stand-in.

The beginner box simplifies the rules (and gives you a unique figure), so it is worth learning the rules and getting the gameplay model in your head. Certain things like heat and internal damage are not present here, so this is a more accessible game to learn than the complete set. On the plus side, you get two plastic miniatures, paper pawns, counters, and maps that all work fine with the whole game, so the components can be reused with the complete rules.

I find it funny that people say you have to play D&D 5 these days; there is plenty to do and fun communities to join. Maybe on the few big virtual tabletop sites, there are a lot of D&D 5 games, but there are so many other things to play that are interesting and cool. I like to branch out and explore since D&D 5 is approaching Atari 2600 levels of popularity, and I feel we are heading for a significant drop in interest and players "here to be with the crowd" when the bubble bursts.

Nothing this famous ever stays this popular forever; just ask World of Warcraft, Stranger Things, Rick & Morty, Pokemon cards, or any other cultural phenomena that got insanely popular, and then mainstream interest evaporated. This is not to say it will disappear; I am just being realistic and feel we will have a decline of interest among those here for the cultural fad. The hardcore and those who genuinely love and cherish the game (myself included, though I don't play) will always be around.

So I like branching out and creating interest in other games, which is good for everyone and the tabletop community. Battletech is one of those great and long-running communities that is a perfect place to start, or in my case, come back to and experience again.