Massive Mecha Wargame Incoming!

     Paulson Games has a new wargame coming on the market that I'm very, very excited about. Mecha Front. Now, we tried to get you an exclusive interview with Jon Paulson from Adepticon, but we're run into some technical difficulties on that one. So, for now, we're going to focus on where this awesome game is, and what you can do to get in on it.

       Mecha Front plays in a "near now" future where global environmental shifts and political instability have finally eroded the global structure. Populations have shrunk, and wars are now fought by elite cadres in gigantic walking vehicles. When we gigantic... we mean it. look at this comparison shot!

    As far as terrain goes, it's somewhat unlikely that you're going to have massive amounts of 10mm laying around. Some things cross over nicely (small trees and hills) but most won't. Mr. Paulson has politely included a printout to make 10mm buildings. Personally, I'd order the Dropzone Commander terrain kit. This gives you a whole 4x6 table of terrain for $45 as B97 discussed.

     So, how to get into this game: first of all, buy d12's. Seriously you don't have enough. Not nearly enough. Mordin56 literally had one attack where he rolled 22 of them at once. Not to mention one of the *best things* in my opinion in this game is the initiative sequence. At the start of each round, you roll a d12 for each mecha you control, and activate them in descending order. We found it's much easier to just keep the die next to the mecha- not only does it easily remind you of your turn order, it also easily reminds you who already activated (because they have no die next to them). Since you're not going to have enough d12, I recommend swapping out the lower init values for smaller dice-d6s and d10 being readily available.

     So, onto gameplay. The beta rules set shows us where Paulson Games is headed: a system using mecha chassis, with alternatable weaponry, and further buffs by pilot skill. "To hit" and hit location systems resolve well, with possibilities for indirect fire. Scout mecha are actually useful- and damned near necessary- for the first time in a mecha game. Scouts not only allow missiles to fire indirectly, but are very useful for missile defense for larger mecha as well.

     Paulson Games just announced their first Mecha model in actual production for the game- the Nor-Am Locust.  It's up on a pre-order on the Paulson Games website for $25.  This preorder edition is going to be all resin, while the post-production one will have a great deal of white metal to it, so make your decision on when to buy it based on that factor. Personally, my material of choice is usually "anything but metal", so I'm going to try to pick up a few nice and early.  

     There will be a Kickstarter to this, however Paulson Games have decided apparently to wait a bit for it, to make sure they have some models available to showcase during the Kickstarter... which might not be a bad idea.  

     I urge you to look into this one. This will be a solid product with incredible sculpts and an intuitive rules set. If you are a fan of mecha or "superbot" games of any kind, this one will not disappoint. See you on the other side of the table.

The Second Class Elitist.