Classic Battle Tech Quick Start Rules
Classic Battle Tech Quick Start Rules
Classic Battle Tech Quick Start Rules
The introductory game in the Classic BattleTech line, the Classic BattleTech box set hurtles you onto
the battlefields of the thirty-first century.This box contains everything needed to play, including:
• 48 full-color stand-up cardboard playing pieces representing 24 of the most common
BattleMechs used in the Inner Sphere
• The Classic BattleTech Universe, a 48-page full-color book containing universe background and
BattleMech technical data
• One 64-page rulebook
• One 24-page book of pre-generated BattleMech Record Sheets
• Two 22” X 27” full-color mapsheets
• Two six-sided dice
• One full-color poster-sized map of the Inner Sphere circa 3067
Stock Number: 10980 Price: $34.99
DISTRIBUTED BY:
™
Copyright © 2002 WizKids LLC. All Rights Reserved. Classic BattleTech, BattleTech, ’Mech, BattleMech, MechWarrior, and WK Games are
registered trademarks and/or trademarks of WizKids, LLC in the United States and/or other countries. Printed in the USA.
S
trap yourself into the ultimate suit of armor—the and weapons. We have included four special Quick-Start record
BattleMech®. Thirty feet tall and weighing up to a 100 sheets in these rules. On the back of each of these record sheets
tons, this humanoid engine of destruction is a walking are the few important tables that you will refer to during
arsenal, with enough firepower to level a city block. The game play.
Classic BattleTech® game system takes you into the
world of the 31st Century, where war has become a way of life as MAPSHEETS
vast empires and tiny factions battle for control of humankind. In In BattleTech, games are played on 22-by-17 inch map-
command of the most powerful machine on the battlefield, your sheets that are divided into sx-sided areas called hexes, which
MechWarrior® fights to take a planet or end an empire. regulate movement and combat between ’Mechs. Mapsheets
We have specially designed these quick-start rules to hur- can be filled with woods, rivers, lakes, mountains, and more. For
tle you onto the battlefields of the thirty-first century in just ease of play, the mapsheet included in the Quick Start rules only
minutes, with everything you need to play—including a map contains light and heavy woods terrain.
and ’Mech counters—provided. All you need to provide is your
imagination and two six-sided dice! DICE
In BattleTech you will use two six-sided dice, preferably of
two different colors. If the situation requires you to roll one die,
QUICK-START RULES the rules indicate this in shorthand as 1D6. Unless otherwise
The following rules have been specifically created to help noted, the abbreviation 2D6 means that you should roll both
new players get into the action of BattleTech as quickly as possi- dice and add the results together.
ble. In order to make the game more enjoyable and easier to
understand for beginning players, some rules have been simpli- SEQUENCE OF PLAY
fied while others have been left out. Read through these rules A BattleTech game consists of a series of turns. During each
once (it won’t take long), then start by playing the Training sce- turn, all BattleMechs on the map have an opportunity to move
nario. After playing a few games of these quick-start rules you’ll and fire their weapons. Each turn consists of several smaller seg-
be ready to move onto the challenge and excitement of the ments of time, called phases. During each phase you will take
complete rules in the Classic BattleTech box set! one specific type of action, such as movement or combat.
BattleTech is a game for two or more players. For simplici- You will execute the phases of every turn in a specific order.
ty’s sake, beginning players should divide themselves evenly Each turn includes the following phases, performed in the fol-
between two teams, with each player taking charge of only one lowing order:
BattleMech. In your first few games, your only goal will be to
destroy the other team. The last team with at least one func- Initiative Phase
tional BattleMech left on the board wins. As you become more Movement Phase
familiar with these rules, you can begin to operate more than Weapon Attack Phase
one BattleMech at one time and can even come up with your End Phase
own game objectives.
INITIATIVE PHASE
PLAYING PIECES 1. One player from each side rolls 2D6 and adds the results
Classic BattleTech Quick-Start Rules contains four stand-up together to determine his team’s Initiative. The team with the
BattleMech playing pieces that can you can cut out and repre- higher result has the Initiative throughout the turn. Reroll a tied
sent the BattleMechs you are playing. These playing pieces are result.
used to show the position of each ’Mech on the mapsheet and
keep track of its movement during the game. MOVEMENT PHASE
2. The team that lost the Initiative chooses one BattleMech
RECORD SHEETS and moves it first.
The BattleMech record sheet is used to keep track of the 3. The team that won the Initiative moves one BattleMech.
damage done to a BattleMech during combat. It also shows the Movement alternates between sides until all BattleMechs
capabilities of the BattleMech, including its movement speeds have been moved. Each time a player is required to move a
STACKING
During the Movement Phase, a BattleMech may move
through hexes occupied by other friendly BattleMechs. A
BattleMech may not, however, move through a hex occupied by
an enemy BattleMech, nor may it end its movement in a hex
occupied by another BattleMech.
A player wants to move the BattleMech in the dia-
gram from Hex A to Hex B. The BattleMech is currently COMBAT
facing Hex C, however, and so cannot legally move to After you complete the Movement Phase of the turn, your
Hex B. If the BattleMech changes its facing, as shown in BattleMechs may engage in combat. BattleMechs make weapon
Figure 2, the BattleMech can now legally move into Hex attacks using armaments such as missiles, lasers and
B. This facing change costs 1 MP. autocannons.
If the player wanted to move the BattleMech into In BattleTech, weapon attacks inflict damage on the armor
Hex D (without moving backward), the BattleMech that protects every BattleMech. When an attack or series of
would have to make a two-hexside facing change, at a attacks destroys all of a location’s Armor Points, any remaining
cost of 2 MP. damage affects the next location inward as shown on the
Damage Transfer Diagram on the BattleMech Quick-Start
MOVEMENT MODES Record Sheets.
At the beginning of each BattleMech’s movement, a player
must select one of the following movement modes for his ATTACK DECLARATION
BattleMech. A BattleMech may not combine movement modes As described in Playing the Game, all attacks are declared
during a turn. before any are resolved. Only those weapon attacks that you
declared during the weapon attack declaration are resolved in
STANDING STILL the Weapon Attack Phase. All attacks that are declared must be
If you declare that the BattleMech will stand still, your resolved, even if the intended target is destroyed before all
BattleMech stays in the hex in which it started the turn. It may attacks against it have been made. Likewise, you cannot make
expend no attacks that were not declared. In other words, you must shoot
MP during at the BattleMech you declared an attack upon and you cannot
Mech Data the turn. It
does not
switch targets once you have made an attack declaration.
Type: HBK-4G Hunchback
Tonnage: 50
move at all, LINE OF SIGHT
not even to In order to make an attack against a target, there must be a
Movement Points:
Walking: 4
change fac- clear line of sight (LOS) between the attacker and the intended
Running: 6 ing. Standing target. The LOS between two BattleMechs is defined by a
still gives no straight line running from the center of the attacking
penalty to BattleMech’s hex to the center of the target BattleMech’s hex.
weapons fire, Any hexes that this line passes through are along the LOS, even
and allows attackers to fire on the BattleMech without target if the line barely crosses a hex. If the LOS passes exactly between
movement penalties. two hexes, it is up to the player of the targeted BattleMech to
decide which of the two hexes the LOS passes through.
WALKING The hexes containing the attacking and target BattleMechs
If you declare that the BattleMech will walk, your are not considered in determining LOS, and they never inter-
BattleMech may expend a number of MP up to its walking MP vene or interfere with LOS in any way.
rating. A walking BattleMech suffers a small penalty to its to-hit
number when firing weapons. As a moving target, a walking INTERVENING TERRAIN
BattleMech may also be harder to hit. Terrain along the LOS between the attacker and the target
that is actually in the LOS (not including the hexes occupied by
RUNNING the attacker and target) is called intervening terrain.
A BattleMech can move further in a turn when running Intervening terrain has the following effects on LOS.
than it can walking.You may spend up to the Running MP rating Light Woods: Three or more hexes of intervening Light
AMMUNITION EXPENDITURE
If the weapon fired uses ammunition, the player marks off
one shot of ammunition in the ’Mech Data section of the record
sheet, next to the appropriate type of ammunition. When a
weapon is out of ammunition, it can no longer be fired.
FIRING ARCS
If an attacking BattleMech has LOS to its intended target,
This diagram illustrates some of the principles gov- the attacking player can then check the firing arcs of his
erning line of sight. The BattleMech in Hex A wants to B a t t l e M e c h’s
make an attack this turn. Checking LOS for the weapons to see
BattleMech in Hex A to the other ’Mechs shown, we find which weapons
the following conditions: can hit the target.
’Mech A has clear LOS to the ’Mechs in hexes B and Forward Arc The following dia-
C, as there is no intervening terrain. gram illustrates the
LOS to the ’Mech in hex D passes directly between a boundaries of a
Clear hex and a Light Woods hex. The target player BattleMech’s firing arc.
chooses for the LOS to be affected by the light woods. To determine the exact
This choice does not block LOS, however, because the boundaries of the arc, draw straight
heavy woods in the target hex are not intervening, and lines from the firing unit through Hexes A and B, as shown in the
therefore have no effect on LOS. appropriate diagram. The firing arc includes the hexes between
The LOS to both ’Mechs E and F are blocked because the two lines, as well as the hexes through which these lines
there are at least one Light and one Heavy Woods hexes pass.
intervening. (Note that the following firing arc extends from the firing
You can use the diagram to practice finding LOS BattleMech to the edge of the playing area. The maximum
with the other ’Mechs. Try to determine how many tar- ranges for different weapons are described in the Weapons
gets each ’Mech can see, and compare your results to the Inventory of each record sheet.
correct results that follow: Hex B has 4 targets, Hex C has
3 targets, Hex D has 4 targets and Hex E has 2 targets. FIRING WEAPONS
After a player has determined that a target is within LOS
and has determined the firing arc of his weapons, the
WEAPON ATTACKS BattleMech may make a weapon attack. The player counts the
During the Weapon Attack Phase, players use their range in hexes to the target to determine the base to-hit num-
BattleMechs’ armaments to attempt to inflict damage on tar- ber for the attack. For each weapon he will fire, the player deter-
gets. For one BattleMech to fire at another, the attacking mines if the shot is more or less difficult than normal by factor-
BattleMech must have a clear line of sight to the target and the ing in terrain, movement, and other conditions.These factors will
target must be within the range and firing arc of the weapons add modifiers to the base to-hit number to create a modified to-
the attacking player wishes to use. The attacking player then
Range Modifier
The farther away the target is from the firing BattleMech,
the more difficult it will be to hit. The range modifier for an Terrain Modifiers
attack is determined by the range to the target, which is the dis- Terrain can affect the probability of a successful shot by
tance between the attacking BattleMech and its target. To forcing the attacker to account for intervening land features
determine range, find the shortest path to the target and count and partial cover. Specific terrain modifiers appear below.
the hexes between the attacker and the target, starting with the Light Woods: Add a terrain modifier of +1 if the target
hex adjacent to the attacker’s hex along the line of sight and occupies a Light Woods hex. Additionally, modify the to-hit
including the target’s hex. This total number of hexes between number by +1 per hex of Light Woods intervening between the
attacker and target is the range. attacker and the target. (The woods must be intervening as
The ranges for each ’Mech’s weapons appear in the defined in Line of Sight.)
Weapons Inventory box on the ’Mech’s record sheet. Ranges are Heavy Woods: Add a terrain modifier of +2 if the target
expressed in numbers of hexes. occupies a Heavy Woods hex. Additionally, modify the to-hit
A weapon’s maximum range is divided into three dis- number by +2 per hex of Heavy Woods intervening between
tances: short, medium and long. Find the distance to the target the attacker and its target. (The woods must be intervening as
in the row for the appropriate weapon, and determine if the defined in Line of Sight.) Note that if more than 1 Heavy Woods
TRANSFERRING DAMAGE
BattleMechs can survive the destruction of any body sec-
tion except the head or center torso. If a section is destroyed
and the same location takes another hit, or if excess damage
remains from the shot that destroyed the location, that damage
transfers to (affects) the armor of the next location inward. This
principle is illustrated on the Damage Transfer Diagram at left.
Damage to a missing arm or leg
transfers to the torso on the same
side (left leg or arm damage is
transferred to the left torso, a hit that inflicts 14 or more points of damage, it will be
right arm or leg damage is completely destroyed, which will also completely destroy
transferred to the right the Hermes II.
torso). Additional damage
to a destroyed side torso DESTROYING A BATTLEMECH
location transfers to the If a BattleMech’s head or center torso is destroyed, the
center torso. Damage from a ’Mech is considered destroyed and is out of the game.
destroyed head or center torso
does not transfer.
TRAINING SCENARIO
The training scenario re-creates one of the many simulator
A Hermes II’s left
programs used to train MechWarriors throughout the Inner
arm is hit by an attack
Damage Sphere.
from an Autocannon
Transfer
10 (Damage Value 10),
Diagram
a large laser (Damage
GAME SET-UP
Lay out the map provided with these rules.
Value 8), and two medium lasers
(Damage Value of 5 each). Before this turn, the
BattleMech still had its full Armor Value of 11 in that arm.
DEFENDER
The Cicada and Hunchback are the defenders. Cut out their
The Autocannon hit reduces the Armor Value by 10,
stand-up counters and record sheets for use in the game.
so 10 boxes are filled in. The laser hit does 8 points of
damage, but since the Hermes II’s remaining Armor
Deployment
Value in the left arm is 1, that leaves 7 points of damage
The defenders set up first, placing their ’Mechs anywhere
that the hit location cannot absorb; the left arm is com-
within 3 hexes of the south edge (short-end) of the mapsheet.
pletely destroyed.
The remaining 7 points of damage from the large
laser transfers to the armor of the next location inward,
ATTACKER
The Hermes II and an Enforcer are the attackers. Cut out
which would be the left torso and so 7 boxes are filled in
their stand-up counters and record sheets for use in the game.
on left torso location, leaving only 7 boxes out of the
original 14.The next laser hit reduces the left torso Armor
Deployment
Value by 5, so 5 boxes are filled in. The final laser hit does
The attacker’s ’Mechs may be placed on any of the hexes
5 points of damage, but since the Hermes II’s remaining
along the north edge (short-end) of the map.
Armor Value in the left torso is 2, that leaves 3 points of
damage that the hit location cannot absorb; the left
torso is completely destroyed.
VICTORY CONDITIONS
Victory belongs to the first side to destroy both enemy
The remaining 3 points of damage from the medi-
BattleMechs.
um laser transfers to the armor of the next location
inward, which would be the center torso and so 3 boxes
are filled in on the center torso location, leaving 14 boxes
SPECIAL RULES
If a BattleMech exits the map for any reason, that ’Mech is
out of the original 17. If the Hermes II’s center torso takes
considered to be destroyed.
Mech Data
BATTLEMECH RECORD SHEET Type: HER-2S Hermes II
Tonnage: 40
Movement Points:
Left Torso
Head
Right Torso
ARMOR Walking: 6
Running: 9
DIAGRAM
Weapons Inventory
Type Location Damage Short Med. Long
1 Autocannon 5 RT 5 6 12 18
1 Medium Laser RA 5 3 6 9
1 Flamer LA 2 1 2 3
Damage
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Left Right Diagram Copyright © 2002 by WizKids, LLC. All rights reserved.
Leg Leg Permission to photocopy for personal use.
Mech Data
BATTLEMECH RECORD SHEET Type: HBK-4G Hunchback
Tonnage: 50
Movement Points:
Left Torso
Head
Right Torso
ARMOR Walking: 4
Running: 6
DIAGRAM
Weapons Inventory
Type Location Damage Short Med. Long
1 Autocannon 20 RT 20 3 6 9
1 Medium Laser LA 5 3 6 9
1 Medium Laser RA 5 3 6 9
1 Small Laser H 3 1 2 3
Center
Torso Ammo Type Rounds
Left Arm Right Arm
Autocannon 20 10
Damage
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Leg Leg Permission to photocopy for personal use.
Mech Data
BATTLEMECH RECORD SHEET Type: CDA-2A Cicada
Tonnage: 40
Movement Points:
Left Torso
Head
Right Torso
ARMOR Walking: 8
Running: 12
DIAGRAM
Weapons Inventory
Type Location Damage Short Med. Long
1 Medium Laser RT 5 3 6 9
1 Medium Laser LT 5 3 6 9
1 Small Laser CT 3 1 2 3
Damage
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Leg Leg Permission to photocopy for personal use.
Mech Data
BATTLEMECH RECORD SHEET Type: ENF-4R Enforcer
Tonnage: 50
Movement Points:
Left Torso
Head
Right Torso
ARMOR Walking: 4
Running: 6
DIAGRAM
Weapons Inventory
Type Location Damage Short Med. Long
1 Autocannon 10 RA 10 5 10 15
1 Large Laser LA 8 5 10 15
1 Small Laser LT 3 1 2 3
Damage
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Copyright © 2005 WizKids, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Classic BattleTech, BattleTech, ’Mech, BattleMech, MechWarrior, and WK Games are reg-
istered trademarks and/or trademarks of WizKids, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. Printed in the USA.