AAR: NJCon08 Grinder
No convention is complete in my opinion without a good old fashioned Classic Battletech Grinder!
NJCon08 was no different. My good friend and I were on hand to dish out ‘Mech blasting goodness to the masses. We had two takers on Friday evening. Not a stellar turnout but those that did were very enthusiastic about the game.
The terrain used included a game mat from Hotz ArtWorks with 2 inch hexes. The woods and water were made out of stiff felt available at any arts and craft store. The trees included a mix of pre-made woodland scenics and custom made ones. The hills were made out of pink insulation foam that was cut, shaped, painted, and flocked. Quite a bit of work but worth the effort for terrain that will last several years (hopefully!).
While it wouldn’t make sense to give a play by play like the other CBT events, there are more than a few highlights to mention.
Early on in the game, the new players began to feel out the game and get a sense of movement and how not to open yourself up to back shots.
Once a few of the light ‘Mechs went down, the mediums and an early heavy came out to play. In a two turn sequence, a Thunderbolt sought out partial cover by dipping into the level 1 water in the middle of the board. A Griffin positioned himself carefully and got ready for a bull rush if the Thunderbolt stayed in the water.
Sure enough the Thunderbolt remained stubborn and took his chances in the water. The Griffin ran into position and promptly kicked off the Thunderbolt’s head in the physical attack phase.
A few turns later that feisty Griffin was still on the board when the first Assault ‘Mech started play. It took no more than three or so turns for the Battlemaster to take two head hits. The second one was from a LRM volley by the Griffin for the kill. It was the only time in the game that the Griffin ever hit with the LRM20.
Here are a few pictures from the event. Thanks to all the players for giving it a go. Each walked away with the complete lineup of introductory PDFs on CD.
