FASA Battletech Second Edition.

2nd edition w/earlier era (3025 pre-clan) is the best era of Battletech. The robotech mechs are all super cool and iconic, and the shitty weaponry fits the setting better.

If you dig the game, pick up this book:
www.sarna.net/wiki/BattleTech_Record_Sheets:_3025_%26_3026

It's a couple hundred record sheets, as was mentioned, using the proper models isn't a necessary.

For another supply of mechs the Reaper Cav kickstarter just went live. Starting out at 32 mechs in Bones plastic (white or grey) for $100.

www.kickstarter.com/projects/1513061270/...av-strike-operations

Thanks for all of the replies.

We played a few rounds and enjoyed battling with giant robots. This is a fun game! My son enjoyed the robot specs and learning about the Battletech backstory for the factions chosen for our game using the limited descriptions in the FASA second edition ruleset. After working with this ruleset and looking at the newer versions available via PDF from Catalyst for newbies, you guys were absolutely correct that the FASA second edition ruleset for Battletech is more than adequate. I may still purchase the Introductory Box Set simply to get the plastic miniatures since the price point is cheap enough. I may look into some of these other suggestions too. Other than investing in some mech miniatures, this FASA set is more than enough to explore Battletech. For maps, I think that I'll just use my 3D Heroscape landscape/terrain in place of using a map.

Heroscape terrain is perfect for Battletech. There were some big games at Gencon a few years back using the terrain. Nothing like a Death from Above from a six high mountain.

I recall Advanced Squad Leader maps working real well with Battletech (especially the Red Barricades map. Stalingrad is an excellent proxy for war-ravaged 3025), and you can buy them ala carte now.

Minis for Battletech are strictly optional since all the action takes place on the record sheets. You can use pennies or whatever. There's a bunch of places online that have nice print-'em-yourself standups available as free pdfs. There was also a 2nd ed. supplement called 'Reinforcements' that had additional 'official' stand-ups (64 of 'em, maybe?) that is usually readily available on eBay.

I ended up purchasing the Catalyst Battletech Introductory Box Set. It's impressive to be sure. The box set feels like one of those enormous gilded coffee-table-books that people purchase but never actually read. It feels like the embroidered set of fancy hand-towels placed in your guest bathroom that are never meant to be used. I do appreciate the effort spent for this reboot. I plan to play it though, and bend its pages.

Having had some time to immerse myself in the world of Battletech, I must say that it is a gaming system that appears to have everything: tabletop miniature warfare, cool miniatures, a colorful and well-developed backstory for the Battletech Universe, novels, faction histories, technical readouts, a complete ruleset, and a companion RPG environment to expand gameplay. What else would one expect after the three decades of creative energy that have been invested in it?

I've been truly impressed by the enormity of it all! It's been worth exploring so far and I have so much more to discover.

However, discovering Battletech is also like viewing the Egyptian Pyramids for the first time and then opening King Tut's tomb. Battletech feels ancient in the gaming world, a gaming world that worships at the altar of the new. I feel like an archaeologist viewing lost wonders and ancient tech. I can't help but ask where is the living creative culture that built Battletech? Where are its Mech Warriors? There aren't any in my area--they don't play this game at the two game stores in my town. Are there really any new players? Who's buying up all of these new box sets? Collectors? Die-hard fans? Are there many pockets of new players, like myself, who've discovered Battletech for the first time? Is it safe to say that Battletech is experiencing a rebirth based upon the Catalyst reboot? Based upon what I've seen so far, I can't imagine why it isn't more popular than it is. I'm hooked, but, then again, I'm old school. I plan to purchase the upcoming lance packs and plunge deeper into Battletech.

Man, I would really love to get into Battletech someday even if it's just to shoot down some robots with a friend from time to time.

I know at least one FLGS in my area that has a regular Battletech crew, so the game is still alive in some corners of the world.

Catalyst also has Alpha Strike for a quicker playing game.

There's also a CCG, some pretty good computer games(I haven't tried the current Mechwarrior Online though), and the books based on Nova's Ace of Aces series.