Jeff Offringa’s Journal

I had a lot of fun Saturday for one simple fact, and that is because I got to do something I haven’t done in a long time: I got to play Battletech all day.

For those of you who don’t know about the game, a little info. Battletech is a game with a history going back twenty-five years – literally, for the Twenty-Fifth anniversary “Art of Battletech” book is sitting on my coffetable right now.

But I digress. Battletech is a science fiction game set in the 31st century, and is about giant “robots” who fight the battles of the day across the thousand – plus worlds of explored human space (or, as it’s known, the Inner Sphere). I’ve always liked this universe for several reasons. First, of all the many game worlds I’ve played in, it has a history, published in source books and novels over the whole history of the game, both IRL, and in the in-game timeline. Second, it is complex, with many factions and nations. It isn’t a utopia like Star Trek, but one where people have the same problems and blessings as today. And third, almost unique among major science fiction universes, there are no aliens.

It was only after several years of playing the game that I realized just how unique that last point is. Star Trek has the Vulcans and Klingons and more. Babylon Five has the Narns and Centuari and more as well. In fact, it seems that alien cultures are almost a pre-requisite for science fiction worlds and universes.

But not Battletech. No, in that universe, despite the fact that mankind has explored literally thousands of worlds, many of them very earthlike, we are alone. And as we explored the galaxy, we brought our problems with us – war, mainly. But others as well, if you read the fiction.

And that is what has always drawn me to the game. It is a rich universe. You can play the boardgame, where your armies duke it out on planets of many types. Or you can play the RPG, piloting a ‘mech, or sneaking into an enemy base as a spy, or any number of other things. Then, there are the computer games, of which there are at least six major ones, as well as more – with a new one of the way for, IIRC, 2011 (which I wait for with baited breath….).

But the fiction is the most interesting. For example, I once attended a seminar given by one of the main battletech fiction authors. He writes great battle scenes, and has a fairly good understanding of politics as well. The novels he writes are good “brain candy,” and well written beyond that. Yet, when he said what people asked him about the most was not about galaxy shattering events, or even what a particular faction was going to do next in the story arc. Nope. It was “When are these two characters going to get together?”

That thought amused me greatly. Here we have a multi-author series of novels, with a timeline covering years, and what are the people most interested in? Who is dating who! I guess that speaks to the human condition – we are, at our center, social animals. I find that reassuring, after a fashion. Despite all the problems in the world, people still find the need for love.

But back to the point. Saturday was billed as a “Worldwide Battletech Event.” In other words, people in hobbyshops around the world (the game is also very big in the UK, Germany, and the Netherlands) were playing the same scenario. I found that to be interesting. Here we were, ten guys playing the same game as people around the world. I’ve never played a game for Worldwide D&D game day, but I imagine that is what that must have been like as well.

Yet even more than the fun of the game is the camaraderie. Ten guys who gave up their day to play a game. One of the guys, in fact, was on leave from the air force. I guess the only difference between men and boys really is the price of their toys.

So yeah, I had fun. And if your looking for a good game, or are a fan of science fiction in general, give the game a try. It’s undergoing a resurgence in the last few years, so there has never been a better time to get in on the ground floor. And if you want to know more? Either ask me, or follow the link from our site here to Catalyst Game Labs website on out own links page.

And have fun!!!!