BattleDroids
BattleDroids is a 1984 board game published by FASA.
It would be renamed to BattleTech for its second edition in 1985 and spawn the BattleTech/MechWarrior military science fiction gaming franchise and setting with numerous board games, video games, roleplaying games, a collectible card game, comics, magazines, over a hundred novels to date and a television series.
Gameplay
BattleDroids is a board game of giant robot combat, which came in a box including a 40-page slick-paper rulebook, two identical 17" x 22" terrain maps, four sheets of robot miniatures counters, dice and a pair of plastic robot models.[1]
Reception
Trevor Mendham reviewed BattleDroids for White Dwarf #66, giving it an overall rating of 7 out of 10, and stated that "Overall, this is a well-written, easy-to-understand set of rules. Much of the design is clearly specific to robot combat and succeeds in capturing the flavour of this sort of battle. As it stands, Battledroids is a very good robot combat system, but very little in terms of a 'game'. The production quality leads one to expect more."[2]
Aaron Allston reviewed BattleDroids in The Space Gamer No. 75.[1] Allston commented that "My recommendation? Buy Battledroids if you'd like a giant-robots boardgame that has nothing to do with the Japanese cartoons. It's a decent game. You won't throw away any of your other games to play Battledroids full-time, but you'll be adequately entertained."[1]
References
- Allston, Aaron (July–August 1985). "Featured Review: Battledroids". Space Gamer. Steve Jackson Games (75): 16–17.
- Mendham, Trevor (June 1985). "Open Box". White Dwarf. Games Workshop (Issue 66): 6.