Latest news with #Battletech
Forbes
29-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Zeo Genesis Brings Run And Gun Mecha Battles To Tabletop Crowdfunding
Zeo Genesis is a fast playing miniatures game great for brutal mech duels. Big robot battles are a staple of science fiction. Whether you're talking anime like Gundam, movies like Pacific Rim or tabletop games like Battletech, there's nothing like watching a big mech walk onto the battlefield. For fans of smaller, feistier mechs, Zeo Genesis might deliver the action you crave. Best Hobby launched a crowdfunding campaign on April 29th, 2025 to bring a new fighter into the arena. Zeo Genesis is a two player skirmish game made for short battles between one to four mechs, called Zeoforms, and their support crews on the ground. I got a chance to play a demo of the game at Adepticon run by Best Hobby's Daniel Block. The setting features a humanity that's made it to the stars. Unfortunately, the main method of space travel called a slipway collapses, the hundred worlds of humanity start to war with one another. Two main factions arise in opposition: the Hegemony, which believes that all humanity should live under one set of rules and the Accord who believes that each planetary system should choose the way they want to live. This skirmish game centers around zeo unit combat. Each unit features a main robot piloted by a human and a handful of support troops on the battlefield. The main game box comes with several building to be used as terrain to highlight the fast paced urban combat on colony worlds. Play focuses on alternating turns between individual pieces. The game models more of a run and gun style of anime inspired combat where the zeo units can jump onto buildings, dash into melee and retreat to ranged combat in the same turn. This game should appeal to fans of any media where the robots move like people but hit like tanks. FEATURED | Frase ByForbes™ Unscramble The Anagram To Reveal The Phrase Pinpoint By Linkedin Guess The Category Queens By Linkedin Crown Each Region Crossclimb By Linkedin Unlock A Trivia Ladder Three actions per turn really nailed the feel of cinematic combat. The zeo robots are the stars of the show here and my game felt like a climactic action scene at the end of an episode. Being able to leap onto a rooftop, smash an enemy zeo and then watch them fall to the ground defeated felt very satisfying. The game is built to last around 30 minutes per zeo squad involved. I've seen a lot of games focus on shorter, more instense experiences recently which I like. It's a lot easier to play two or three games of something like this then spending an entire day setting up something bigger. The current crowdfunding program reached its goal in less than 40 minutes. Backers can get a traditional boxed set plus expansions. They can also get STL files if they have access to 3d printers to make their own miniatures With the current uncertainty in the tabletop industry due to tariffs, Best Hobby is taking steps to make sure the game comes out regardless of the state of commerce in the next few months. The company owns a plastics manufacturing plant here in the United States. Block told me he started looking into manufacturing during the days of the supply chain disruptions due to COVID and now it looks like it was a very smart move to protect against future disruptions as well. Zeo Genesis is on Gamefound from now until May 21st, 2025. The game is expected to deliver to backers in Q4 for 2025.
Forbes
04-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Battletech Embraces The Multiverse With A Gothic Boxed Set
Space operas like Star Wars and Dune project epic tales across the stars. On the tabletop side, games like Battletech and Warhammer 40,000 take up their own massive stories. The makers of Battletech recently announced an upcoming project that's something of a cover album of the grim dark future where there is only war. Battletech: Gothic was publicly announced last week at Adepticon in Milwaukee, WI. The boxed set features new sculpts and battle maps. More importantly, it offers a darker take on historical events in the Battletech timeline. In this version, humanity's lust for war has turned grim. Not only do grand factions war for dwindling resources on devastated planets but they must also contend against abominations. These twisted fusions of flesh and steel challenge mechwarriors for mastery of the battlefield. 'As a long-time fan of science fiction settings, one of my favorite riffs has long been the 'what if?' possibilities they offer,' said Herbert A. Beas II, author of the Battletech: Gothic setting. "Now, while just about every sci-fi technically asks and answers that very question, what I'm talking about here is the kind of 'what if?' that spawns from a fictional universe that's already steeped in its own deep lore. Be it Star Trek's 'Mirror Universe,' the 'Nightmares of Futures Past' take on the superhero universe of Marvel Comics, DC's 'Injustice' universe, or the 'Shattered Glass' variation on Transformers—so many engaging, altered takes on the characters and stories we enjoyed one way have proven that we can always look at them in a new and different way that are just as compelling, while still enriching our love of their original timelines. As a writer and player of many a Battletech storyline, I have long asked the 'what if?' question about established lore, but it wasn't until I produced 2014's Halloween-themed adventure supplement Empires Aflame that I seriously entertained a deep dive into the realm of alternative Battletech histories. I had an absolute blast on that project, and kind of wanted to do more ever since! [When] The box is the first entry in the Continuum series which will explore different versions of the setting with lternate histories and aesthetics. Each boxed set is a one and done affair though the components will remain compatible with mainline products for players who want to take advantage of the unique looks of the redesigned mechs. Battletech: Gothic will contain record sheets for A Game of Armored Combat and cards for Alpha Strike. 'I've worked on Battletech for thirty years now," said Randall N. Bills, Creative Director for Catalyst Game Labs. "From game creation and development to art direction, writing novels to lore coordination with computer games, to everything in between. Yet Battletech: Gothic was a moment to step into a new space, creating the first official alternate setting for this game I've loved and played now for forty years. Working closely with Marco Mazzoni to hone his stunning art; coordinating with Herb Beas for the creation of this dark universe; meshing with Ray Arrastia to ensure we kept it all within some boundaries; to working alongside our manufacturer, Liya, to take the plastic models to new heights of quality and customization for Battletech fans of every stripe: this was such a creatively challenging and rewarding experience! Can't wait to see these designs on gaming tables everywhere. While we're already starting development of our next Continuum game setting in Rockets & Rayguns, an homage to the golden age of science fiction.' Battletech: Gothic is currently expected for a summer 2025 release.
