Reddit mentions of Catalyst Game Labs BattleTech Beginner Box, Multi-Colored

I've been an avid reader of the Battletech books and played through all the MW games on PC, along with the Mech Assault 1&2 on Xbox. I wanted to try out the tabletop game myself so I recently purchased the Beginner's Box. Check it out. There are a lot of expansions to the tabletop game with more mechs and scenarios.

Battletech Beginner's Box - Amazon

Not sure if this will help with you being in New Zealand, but you can currently get the Beginner Box on Amazon for $20 (Prime Eligible):

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000AZD0U2/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_U_x_.C21Cb86MPN0D

At the very least, if you knew someone trustworthy in the US, you could have them order it and then ship it to you.

Welcome to the game; it’s my favorite, hope you enjoy. The beginner box is a great place to start.

If you end up enjoying that, I’d recommend getting the main rulebook for ‘Mechs, the Battlemech Manual, and a digital copy of the “records sheet 3039 Unabridged” digital copy so you can print them easily.

Then some 3039 miniatures and you’re on your way!

If you have more questions, stop by anytime.

https://www.amazon.com/Circus-Fear-Widescreen-Greeting-Birthday/dp/B000AZD0U2/ref=asc_df_B000AZD0U2/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312031372212&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=8181980107931937863&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9018733&hvtargid=pla-635668195670&psc=1

It's always nice to feel a genuine connection with another fan of something, even when it's in the middle of a salt mine commiserating about the terrible conditions. I also got my start in Battletech through MWO, and I've been a fan of 40K since playing Dawn of War with my brother. They're franchises I love dearly, I've whittled away so many hours looking up lore and discussing them online... but their video game offerings leave so much to be desired.

On the bright side, while video games continue to absolutely suck industry-wide, the Board- and Tabletop-game industry has been experiencing a massive renaissance.

Lately I've been falling hard for 40K's smaller Kill Team rules, allowing me to play pitched battles with a wide variety of teams and units. If you were ever into 40K previously, you probably already have the stuff needed to try out Kill Team. Alternatively, if price has been a factor keeping you out of the hobby, you might want to check out this smaller, faster game. For many factions, you'll need only the one box to start with. You don't even have to invest a lot of time or effort into painting anymore, if you look into Games Workshop's line of "Contrast" paints. If your Tyranids should be tan and purple, you spray-prime them white and apply these tan and purple inks to them and voila! The ink does 90% of the work! You might not win any painting contests with them, but I can absolutely attest that they work quickly with little to no experience, and look a hell of a lot better than bare plastic. They also just released a game called Warcry that basically does the same thing as Kill Team, but for Age of Sigmar Warhammer.

As for Battletech, it looks like the tabletop is making a strong comeback as well: Here's a link to the currently-running Kickstarter. There are already a Beginner Box and a Full Set available to purchase and play using new MWO-style plastic sculpts, cardboard standees, and updated rules. It pretty much takes MWO from our computers and puts it back on the table. If you wanted to get into the game right now, you can pick up the quick-start rules (free) or the full manual, and then Record Sheets for the mechs. All you'd need is some tokens to represent the mechs, and a hex-grid map to play on. Unlike 40K, you don't really need the miniatures in the same way, since Battletech is closer to a board game rules-wise. The more I've looked into it, the more I realize that the old books spread rules across volumes and volumes of books that you can still use; the new stuff just seems to be re-written so that everything's in one place and it's easier to tell which rules are "core" and which are optional. Full disclosure, I'm already a backer of the Kickstarter. I'm clearly not getting my MechWarrior fix here, might as well put my Mech Money into something tangible, like the spiffy Clan and IS minis coming out of this Kickstarter. Hell, the KS even lets you pick up the stuff from the previous two boxes, so I can get all the Battletech in one place and mix-and-match my favorite mechs from my time playing MWO.

Anyways, I hope some of the above has been helpful or interesting. If nothing else, the takeaway is "you're not alone". We can take solace in that, at least. For my part, I'm just shifting my focus to the greener pastures out there and hoping that one day someone makes a game worth playing. In the longer term, I'm actually studying Game Design myself, in the hopes of making the video games I want to see done right. If in the next few years you see legally-distinct indie remakes of X-Wing/TIE Fighter, MechWarrior, Armored Core and/or an actually-good 40K shooter... I'm not saying it's me, but it might be me.