tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23852428.post8652216415979490769..comments2023-07-02T08:01:38.043-07:00Comments on The Battletech Reader: Last Playtest and a Missed Opportunity....Steven Satakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03621308678106707775noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23852428.post-14781619344069636792010-03-10T13:53:04.020-08:002010-03-10T13:53:04.020-08:00Funnily enough I recognise all the things you are ...Funnily enough I recognise all the things you are commenting on in the games I played over the last years and the players styles.<br /><br />Cups for rolling dice. Cocked dice go in defenders favour. Dice off the table are a miss. If a disagreement occurs, dice for it. Resolve the issue later. Ashleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13666947574653683678noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23852428.post-52152292340596850772010-03-08T05:52:32.833-08:002010-03-08T05:52:32.833-08:00@Steven, right... I was more thinking of what you ...@Steven, right... I was more thinking of what you could do with your son. I know that my son appreciates the simpler game when all we want to do is just make big stompy bots whack on each other. <br /><br />I try to herd cats myself with my 8 player AD&D games. It can get tough at times. I tend to enforce time limits on strategizing during combat. Can you all agree to some time limit or that if they have to do modifiers, they just shoot at their worst (default) numbers?Michael S/Chgowizhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02052820400496340137noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23852428.post-48719982536131906592010-03-07T19:09:00.926-08:002010-03-07T19:09:00.926-08:00That might apply with Level One, but these guys us...That might apply with Level One, but these guys use more modern stuff as we are in the Jihad track.<br /><br />That said, they know that as soon as they stop moving and their target stops moving, they are to figure their hitting numbers. Some do, some don't, and it gets to wearing on me to see a fellow standing there with his fingers out going 'umm, I have three for gunnery, one for walking, are those trees in the line of sight?"<br /><br />This is the same fellow who just came in from a twelve-minute smoking and bull session, so it's not like he didn't have time to figure this out.<br /><br />Then there's the Deep Blue player who insists on his movement turn in exploring every single possible permutation of movement possible for his machine before settling on the one he wants. There are more than a few of these in my group. You would think that with the time they stand around, they could figure out where they wanted to go next.<br /><br />I have been playing with these guys for six years, but most of them never seem to have gone beyond looking out the cockpit window. <br /><br />SteveSteven Satakhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03621308678106707775noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23852428.post-89517814777223411902010-03-07T18:39:43.253-08:002010-03-07T18:39:43.253-08:00Steven, I'm sure you already know all the litt...Steven, I'm sure you already know all the little ways of simplifying Battletech, but I did want to throw a vote of confidence in using the Quick Start rules combined with heat for Level 1 tech. We played 3025 at WinterWar and I had experienced (CatalystLabs demo team member) players and complete newbies... they all had a great time. I'm sure you know about how to simplify the game for your son, but I wanted to share that little bit - it made me want to continue this sort of quick and dirty beer/pretzels approach.Michael S/Chgowizhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02052820400496340137noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23852428.post-61083165042235156482010-03-07T10:55:33.165-08:002010-03-07T10:55:33.165-08:00I probably exaggerated that a bit, but it does hap...I probably exaggerated that a bit, but it does happen - I am concerned with getting enough turns in, in five hours play, to allow us to resolve the outcome even if the sides have not accomplished all their objectives.<br /><br />I am tired of 'draws'. I spend nearly as much time in the saddle getting to and from Redmond as I do gaming. I game there primarily to hang out with old friends, but tempers naturally fray when we attempt to play to the best of our ability and after five or six hours we've got nothing but a headache, an unresolved game which gets argued about back and forth, and a two-hour drive home.<br /><br />It is especially bad for my son John; I can console myself with jabbering about the game for the next two hours, but meanwhile his quick, young mind has sprung ahead to the next six topics and he has to put up with ol' Dad plodding along, re-living past glories.<br /><br />Small wonder he doesn't want to spend his Saturdays with BattleTech anymore.<br /><br />Of course, it beats the Kitsap BattleTech League all hollow, but that's another story.<br /><br />SteveSteven Satakhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03621308678106707775noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23852428.post-34210100607753622592010-03-07T06:01:51.558-08:002010-03-07T06:01:51.558-08:00Thank you for posting that and kudos to you for lo...Thank you for posting that and kudos to you for looking at yourself honestly. It's hard to do. I don't have any words of wisdom, nor are you looking for any, but I will say this - as a gaming old timer, I have to game with people that I trust AND in games where I'm having fun. If I'm looking at the clock, that's not the game for me.Michael S/Chgowizhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02052820400496340137noreply@blogger.com