Basic units don't simply have an 'alive' and 'dead' state, with perhaps a weakened state in between - rather, they have multiple sections, each with two sets of Hit Points and internal components that can be damaged once the outer armor is stripped away, impairing a 'Mech's fighting ability in a number of ways. The second is that the game is based heavily around Subsystem Damage rather than Critical Existence Failure.

Because damage is resolved after all attacks go off (nobody 'shoots first'), and details of movement like facing and attack angles are key elements of gameplay, going first is almost always a disadvantage, since it requires acting with lesser knowledge of your opponent's moves than they have of yours. The first is that in each phase of a turn, players alternate movement or attack declarations with the winner of that turn's initiative always going last. Two features make BattleTech's gameplay stand out from most other wargames. Damage is tallied on cards with a simple diagram of the mech, ◊ which has the mech's armor, internal structure, critical systems, and status of the pilot and various equipment. Rolls for accuracy (and Critical Hits) and precarious movement are done using two six sided dice (2D6). Players first declare their movement, then attacks (be it ranged or melee), then calculate their mech's heat buildup, then the other player does the same. BattleTech revolves around (mostly) small battles between groups of 3-10 Humongous Mecha per side, in Turn-Based Combat on (usually) paper ◊ or 3-dimensional hex-based ◊ maps, or for more advanced players, non-hex maps ◊ where movement is calculated in inches and line-of-sight is determined by laserpointers.

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