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BattleTech: A Game of Armored Combat
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Rules assistance for BattleTech: Total Warfare
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 2–6 players
- 120 min
- 14+
- Complexity 3.9/5
Rules assistant for BattleTech: Total Warfare
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
BattleTech: Total Warfare is an expansion for BattleTech: Introductory Box Set released in 2006 for 2–6 players, 120 minutes per game, and ages 14 and up. It was designed by Jordan Weisman, Randall N. Bills, Herbert A. Beas II, Ray Arrastia, Jason Schmetzer, Sam Lewis, L. Ross Babcock, III, Jason Hardy, Kevin Killiany, David L. McCulloch, Steve Mohan, Jr., Phaedra Weldon, Dan C. Duval, and Drew Williams (I) and its main mechanics are Variable Player Powers, Dice Rolling, and Role Playing.
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About the game
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, power armored infantry, aerospace fighters and more, 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! The product of more than twenty years of gaming experience, Total Warfare presents the rules of the Classic BattleTech game system as never before. For the first time, all the rules for various units that have a direct impact on the deadly battlefields of the thirty-first century appear in a unified rules set: from BattleMechs to ProtoMechs, Combat Vehicles to Support Vehicles, infantry to aerospace fighters and DropShips. Interwoven and meticulously updated, Total Warfare provides the most detailed and comprehensive rules set published to date for BattleTech—the perfect companion for standard tournament play. Total Warfare is the single-source rulebook for people who play Classic BattleTech. It is not intended to teach new players the game, but rather to serve as a reference work for people who know the game, while introducing more technologies and expansive rules than appear in the basic box set. The introductory game in the BattleTech line is the Classic BattleTech Introductory Box Set. New players should pick up that product before diving into this one. Construction rules for the various units presented in Total Warfare can be found in Classic BattleTech TechManual. Corrected Second Printing by Catalyst Game Labs. Expands: BattleTech BattleTech: Introductory Box Set
Designers
Publishers
- Ulisses Spiele
- Fanpro
- Catalyst Game Labs
Questions and answers
BattleTech: Total Warfare supports 2–6 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.
The listed playing time for BattleTech: Total Warfare is 120 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists BattleTech: Total Warfare for ages 14 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
BattleTech: Total Warfare has a complexity rating of 3.9 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a heavy game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
BattleTech: Total Warfare belongs to these categories: Fighting, Wargame, and Miniatures. Its main mechanics are Variable Player Powers, Dice Rolling, and Role Playing. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of BattleTech: Total Warfare are: Jordan Weisman, Randall N. Bills, Herbert A. Beas II, Ray Arrastia, Jason Schmetzer, Sam Lewis, L. Ross Babcock, III, Jason Hardy, Kevin Killiany, David L. McCulloch, Steve Mohan, Jr., Phaedra Weldon, Dan C. Duval, and Drew Williams (I). These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists BattleTech: Total Warfare as an expansion for BattleTech: Introductory Box Set. Expansions add new content, rules or scenarios to the base game and usually cannot be played on their own, so you need BattleTech: Introductory Box Set to use it. Check that your edition of BattleTech: Introductory Box Set is compatible, as some expansions were revised between editions.