BattleTech

What is BattleTech

BattleTech is a tabletop wargame of giant robots, published by Catalyst Game Labs. It’s the 32nd century, the star empires of human space are at war, and the wars are fought with BattleMechs: 30-foot-tall humanoid war machines carrying lasers, autocannons and missiles. You command a few of them and the MechWarriors inside.

It’s old. FASA published it in 1984 as BattleDroids, and it became BattleTech the next year. Catalyst now develops and publishes it, and the universe behind it runs to 300+ novels and stories and 4,000+ ‘Mech variants.

There are two ways to play the same miniatures:

Classic BattleTech is the original. It plays on hex maps, lance against lance, and every ‘Mech has a record sheet tracking each point of armor, each weapon and each ton of ammo. Catalyst puts a game at 60 to 180 minutes.
Alpha Strike is the fast version. Unit cards replace record sheets, movement is in inches on an open table, and the forces get bigger. Catalyst pitches it at anyone who wants to command a full company or battalion instead of a single lance. Games run 45 to 90 minutes.

A new Core Rulebook, Starter Box and Core Box were built together and debuted at Gen Con in August 2026, after what Catalyst calls the largest public playtest in the game’s history. The Core Rulebook, over 270 pages, reaches the Catalyst webstore and game stores on 30 September 2026. Catalyst says it stays compatible with 40 years of existing product.

How it plays

Initiative first. Each side rolls 2D6. The loser moves a ‘Mech first, and the winner gets to react.
Hexes and facing. Every ‘Mech faces one hexside. Turning costs 1 MP per hexside, and a ‘Mech can only step straight forward or straight back without turning first.
Walk, run or jump. How you move sets how hard you are to hit and how hard it is for you to shoot: +1 to your own attacks for walking, +2 for running, +3 for jumping. Jumping ignores terrain on the way.
Declare, then shoot. Both sides declare attacks, then resolve them. Roll 2D6 to hit, roll a hit location, and cross off armor on the record sheet.
Punch, kick, charge. Up close, ‘Mechs fight hand to hand. Devastating if it lands, risky if it misses.
Heat. Weapons and movement build heat. Too much and your ‘Mech shuts down or misfires, so managing it is half the game.
End phase. Fallen ‘Mechs try to stand and pilots check whether they’re still conscious.

Alpha Strike keeps the 2D6 and the shape of the turn but squashes each unit onto a card: Point Value, size, armor and structure bubbles, movement in inches, and a damage value at short, medium and long range (+0, +2 and +4 to hit). The Alpha Strike quick start plays small battles on a 3’ × 4’ to 4’ × 4’ table, and bigger ones on up to 4’ × 6’.

The miniatures are about 2” tall. Catalyst works that out to 1” = 6 meters, and says 6mm micro armor terrain suits Alpha Strike.

How to start

Read the free rules. Catalyst’s downloads page has the BattleTech Quick Start Rules and the Alpha Strike quick start, plus free record sheets and maps. No purchase needed.
Get the Beginner Box. $24.99 for two assembled (unpainted) ‘Mechs, a 12-page rulebook, wet-erase record sheets, pilot cards, a double-sided 18” × 22” map, and dice.
Or go bigger for Classic. A Game of Armored Combat is $59.99: eight assembled ‘Mechs, a 56-page rulebook, a record sheet booklet and two maps. Catalyst’s new Core Box is built on it; the tabletop page still lists the Core Box as coming soon.
Or start with Alpha Strike. The Alpha Strike Box Set is $79.99 with 13 ‘Mechs, unit cards, and fold-up cardstock buildings. The full rules are Alpha Strike: Commander’s Edition, $19.99 for the PDF or $39.99 for the book with PDF.
Add units. Force Packs are boxes of 4 or 5 pre-assembled plastic ‘Mechs with free record sheets, like the Kell Hounds Striker Lance at $34.99. The Mercenaries Box Set ($74.99) adds vehicles, aerospace strikes, artillery and a mercenary campaign system.
Look anything up. The free Master Unit List has stats for 4,000+ units.