How to teach?

[GermanSumo]

 8)

So, my 10 year old stepson wants to learn the game from me. (a 5 € reward for every win against me caught his interest  >:D >:D )

Tomorrow will be our first lesson. Until Wave 2 of the Kickstarter, i will have access to the Beginners Box and the A Game of Armored Combat Box, which quite severely limits our choices.

My idea for our very first training match was this:

Flat terrain (basically an arena), he gets the Awesome, i take the Commando.

One of my best battletech friends advised me to let him start with the Shadow Hawk vs my Commando.

After that, we will go from there and gradually introduce more and more. Rules, Maps, Pilots, Variants etc etc

As i am always interested in other peoples advice... which of the 2 setups sounds best for a young total beginner? or should i do another pairing first?

[Colt Ward]

Shadow Hawk I think would be better, he will have the speed to closely match you- or go in reverse to keep the SRMs as far away as possible- and while he will have weapon with min range, he has others that will not have min range.

I have not had the chance to skim through it, but they did release a Chaos Campaign Succession Wars book- free I think?- that was designed to work with the boxes IIRC.

Something else to look at that will work with your boxes would be the House Arano book.  Every scenario I think is set up to use mechs from the beginner boxes though I am not sure about the maps.  IF you let him play the HBS game, it will also give him a tie in to continue the adventures on the table top.

[Ruger]

The Shadow Hawk offers a variety of weapon types, allowing a beginner to gain experience with learning different range bands. It also has jump jets to learn the benefits and penalties to using these systems, and a good armor layout so that you have time to learn. Additionally, unless it takes engine hits (or Infernos), he will not have to worry about tracking heat.

The Awesome is a (great) one-trick pony, but is slow, and can be problematic (after a while) for tracking heat. It can also kill your Commando fast and easily.

I personally would go for the Shadow Hawk vs. Commando for the first go round.

Or you could do like I had to on my first game, a full lance on a full lance.

Ruger

[dgorsman]

First couple of games, use an empty mapsheet to demonstrate basic movement.

Then add a couple of low hills and trees to demonstrate line of sight, partial cover, and how going up/down elevations affects movement.

Then add a depth 1 stream and depth 2 lake, and switch to designs with leg mounted heatsinks to demonstrate water effects on movement and heat.

Finally, have him take a lance of mixed designs onto a larger map with all those features, plus some 3+ level blocking cliffs, bridges over a river, etc. with the goal of getting as many as possible to the other side.  Demonstrate some choices about ideal Mech stats for different situations, covering other units, and planning ahead.

[Paul]

 Awesome is a great choice. Very easy to use, forgiving of mistakes.
Attack him grinder style. After he kills the Commando, spawn a medium. Shadow hask if you want, though its s mediocre mech. Then a heavy. Catapult perhaps? Finally another assault mech. Offer him a full heal prior to that fight.

Should be fun!

[BoyOfSummer]

Did you read this thread

https://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php?topic=67220.msg1554373#msg1554373  ?

It has a lot of suggestions for a beginners game.

[Kovax]

You need to teach three things as priorities: movement and its associated modifiers, weapons fire and its modifiers, and heat.  That might be easier if you take it in stages, such as letting him run a heat-neutral design for his first foray into the game, with a limited selection of weapon types to minimize confusion.  Don't use something with extreme movement, but fast enough to get modifiers that can outweigh the penalties for moving.  5/8 might be ideal for that.  Once he's familiar with getting movement modifiers and calculating to-hit odds over the course of several games, then you can introduce heat, jump capability, and other concepts.  Somewhere along the line, play out an extreme movement versus extreme firepower scenario (such as Locust versus Panther), to show the plusses and minuses of each style of play, and how each 'Mech needs to be run differently for best results.

[idea weenie]

First round:
The 5/8 medium, and attacking a variety of stationary and moving targets.

To simulate the targets, use M&Ms, Reese's Pieces, Skittles, or Hershey kisses.  One-hit kill on each.

Some targets remain stationary, some targets move at different speeds/directions, and he will get to learn the differences.  Color code the candy so you know which is which.

If a piece of candy reaches the edge of a map, have it enter on the opposite side to continue its movement.  Have the pieces react to terrain according to their speed and movement type.  Each one he kills he gets to eat.

[massey]

The third edition boxed set had a group of missions to teach new players.  That's how I learned to play.  Each mission would gradually introduce new rules (like the first mission doesn't use piloting skill rolls, critical hits, physical attacks, heat, etc).  I always found that incredibly helpful.

[Sartris]

one of the most important aspect of teaching the game is to automate some of the key processes of gameplay - movement, firing weapons, and taking damage. with new players i spend a few games just focused on that - which is why i like the grinder. it's a zero stakes game where you can focus on the basics.

once they start showing a knack for the core rules, i focus on more advanced features like tactical movement, optimal ranges, force construction, etc