BattleTech Starterbox
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 | Apocryphal Product Although the subject of this article is an official BattleTech product, it does not meet the current criteria for Canon. Its content may or may not be canonical for the BattleTech universe, and for the purpose of the Sarna.net BattleTechWiki is considered apocryphal. |
- This article is about one specific product. For the series of game boxes that served as the core BattleTech product, and its iterations over time, see BattleTech boxed set.
| |
| BattleTech Starterbox | |
|---|---|
| Product information | |
| Type | Core Game Set |
| Development | Randall Bills |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Ulisses Spiele GmbH |
| Product code | US40012 |
| First published | 2017 [1] |
| MSRP | €49,95 |
| Content | |
| Era | Clan Invasion era |
| Preceded by | BattleTech Einsteigerbox (Neuauflage) |
| Followed by | BattleTech: Beginner Box |
Description[edit]
The BattleTech Starterbox (EAN: 426-0-09115-734-2) is a physical game box containing the necessary pieces, papers, and material to play the classic tabletop version of Battletech. An original German product as opposed to a German edition of an existing (English) BattleTech product, it was created by Ulisses Spiele GmbH, the German licensee for BattleTech, in 2017.
According to Ulisses Spiele, they initially wanted to do another production run of their German edition of the BattleTech Introductory Box Set when it had sold out. Having neither the rights nor means to produce the miniatures for the set themselves they needed to source them from their licensor, Catalyst Game Labs, and found that there were none to be had. That would have meant there would be no German entry level product for BattleTech to sell on the German market. To solve this dilemma, Ulisses Spiele decided to make use of a stockpile of old CityTech, 2nd Edition miniatures (holdover stock which they had taken over from FanPro) and build a new box set around these, also adding a pair of all-new mapsheets — the first newly designed BattleTech mapsheets published in fifteen years. The resulting product was the BattleTech Starterbox.
Fan reaction was mixed. Although the general idea was appreciated and the new maps were lauded, the poor quality of the old CityTech miniatures was lambasted as inadequate considering the price of the product; another frequent complaint was that the paper standee 'Mechs were a mix of colored and black & white images which was seen as rushed or sloppy product design. Others observed that the box served its intended purpose as an entry product for new players well; it was never meant to be a miniatures product or collector's item.
From the back cover[edit]
- (translated from German)
| “ | They are up to ten meters high and mass as much as 100 tons — and they dominate the battlefields of the future. BattleMechs are the ultimate war machines. In the 31st century, the most important battles on planets of the Inner Sphere are fought with these titans! But not all BattleMechs are equal! While the powers of the Inner Sphere have been fighting for dominance with obsolete machines for centuries, a new danger arose beyond the Periphery. The Clans! They're assaulting the Inner Sphere with new weapons, and the ruling Houses need to counter an entirely new threat.
The BattleTech Starterbox doesn't only teach you the basic skills to fight tantalizing BattleMech engagements. Here, you can also enter the cockpit of a Clan 'Mech and try out new weapon systems. This box contains: - An 80 page Rulebook, including a mini-campaign centered on the Jade Falcon push against Barcelona and an overview of the new Clan technologies. |
” |
Canonicity[edit]
As a German-only product that was never translated, the BattleTech Starterbox as such does not meet the criteria for canon and its content - particularly the Barcelona campaign - must be considered apocryphal.
Gallery[edit]
Back of box
2017 Starterbox Set Contents
Country Side 3 mapsheet
Mine mapsheet
Notes[edit]
- The maps on the mapsheet flipsides are two classic maps, "City Ruins" and "Open Terrain 1".