Unlike other games it is not about throwing dice and move. It is a game for those who like details and realism. It is not the simpler of games. But it is famous for a reason. It has lots of rules and it does not need a dungeon master, you you can even play alone, pretending to be the enemy if you wish. It is some sort of chess with math. I know parents who use it to keep their kids sharp in math at school and give them some family moments when playing. I can recommend the board game for kids, but Battletech novels have adult content, so I do not advice to buy the novels for kids. Novels are great, but for adults, this tabletop game is good for kids and adults. The only weak spot is that board is made of paper, unlike a Monopoly board that is stronger. It has been the norm since forever for this game. As for the product itself, Battletech a game of armored combat is the standard game with a full set of rules to play combat between robots (they call mechs). It includes 2 light mechs, 2 heavy mechs and 4 medium mechs. It has record sheets for many mechs, including the Griffin that is not included as plastic miniature. I recommend to photocopy the sheets. Also buy pairs of colored dice. Having many pairs of different colors allow you to throw many pairs at once to speed up the game. Also, you need 3 colors of dice per mech, so you can keep track of the 3 types of movement. If you want a set with simplified rules, good for newbies, or you want a Griffin miniature, or another map to play, you may want to buy the Beginner Box. This is what I did. I bought the Beginner Box that has 2 plastic miniature mechs. The rules of this standard game are many more than I expected, for a casual board gamer like me, whose most complex game has been Monopoly or chess (I always lose in chess). The issue is that these rules bring overwhelming realism to the game. And strangely I am bad at chess, but in Battletech moves make sense. This standard box takes place in a time right before the clan invasion, during 4th succession war in the lore. This game does not include any rules to play with vehicles, infantry, dropships (descent vehicles), jumpships, etc. So some mech variants that include flamer or machine gun are diminished in usefullness because of lack of infantry and vehicles. As I said, the rules are overwhelmingly complex for a casual board gamer. What you can do is to search youtube for "battletech fan" that explains rules in a very visual way, like a Lego instruction manual. There are other tutorials, but are not so visual and a bit boring. Playing a single turn takes a lot of time. So those players who are not willing to so much realism and attention to detail, may feel bored. This game was designed for people who love attention to detail. For players who want simplicity, the beginner box will do. For the rest, this standard box will do. The game includes pilot cards with special abilities, but the manual does not explain how to use cards, this is explained in the rules of beginner box. The difference between the beginner box and this standard game is that beginner box does not have internal armor, you cannot damage equipment inside and have machine malfunctions due to damaged hardware, and heat is not a problem. Heat can slow your mech, hurt the pilot, cause ammunition explosion. Also, in the beginner box you cannot conduct physical attacks, like kicking, punching, and many others. The standard game does not allow to jettison ammunition, so when it explodes, it could blow your mech straight to the stars. As casual gamer, be prepared for the steep curve of learning many rules. Normally the order I would recommend to buy is: * Battletech beginner box * Battletech a game of armored combat * "Alpha strike commander's edition" book Alpha strike offers a fast paced game, with alternate rules, so a game that would take one week to play with standard rules, will take 4 hours with Alpha Strike rules. With these 3 products you will have a complete set to play. But if you wanted even more, I would recomment the following products in the following order: * "Total warfare" book. Rules that include aerial, space units, vehicles, infantry * "Tech manual" book. How to create and configure your own unit * Clan invasion expansion boxset. Clan mechs, more maps. It has no rulebook. * "Tactical operations advanced rules" book. Expand your rules with cool new rules. * "Tactical operations advanced units and equipment" book. Add some fancy equipment to your game * "Campaign operations". Plan your campaign with budget and costs. * "Strategic operations". Space combat. * "Interstellar operations" You play as the leader of one of the great houses. The "dungeon master" plays all NPC factions. Basically it is like playing Risk in the Inner Sphere. Aside of these, there are 2 alternate separate game systems to play stories and characters. * "A time of war" RPG game very similar to Dungeons and Dragons but in the Battletech universe. * "Mechwarrior destiny" RPG game more narrative oriented The right price for this game is $59.99. That is the price that the publisher of this game has in its store and every other store in the internet. If you pay more, that is a rip-off by a scalper seller.
