It is the 31st century, a time of endless wars that rage across human-occupied space. As star empires clash, these epic wars are won and lost by BattleMechs, 30-foot-tall humanoid metal titans bristling with lasers, autocannons and dozens of other lethal weapons; enough firepower to level entire city blocks. Your elite force of MechWarriors drives these juggernauts into battle, proudly holding your faction’s flag high, intent on expanding the power and glory of your realm. At their beck and call are the support units of armored vehicles and power-armored infantry, wielded by a MechWarrior’s skillful command to aid him in ultimate victory. Will they become legends, or forgotten casualties? Only your skill and luck will determine their fate!

Classic BattleTech at its core is a board game; players move pieces on a hex-grid mapsheet, which simulates combat between various military vehicles in the thirty-first century. Unlike tabletop miniatures games, which use three-dimensional (3-D) terrain and rulers to approximate movement and combat, the core Classic BattleTech game rules use specific, codified movement and combat ranges within a mapsheet’s hex grid.

Nevertheless, any game system that uses three-dimensional miniatures (the plastic miniatures found in the Classic BattleTech Introductory Box Set or the complete line of Classic BattleTech metal miniatures sold by Iron Wind Metals) looks better when played on 3-D terrain-hence the photos used in the box set and core rulebooks. Three-dimensional terrain also enhances the feel of the game. When using 3-D terrain, however, players should note that Classic BattleTech requires hex-grids.

Classic BattleTech is much more than a board game as presented in the Classic BattleTech Introductory Box Set. Vibrant, strong and still growing after twenty years, the fictional universe and the valiant struggles of its dynamic human characters, set against a far-future battlefield, has endeared it to millions of fans and will continue to do so into the future.