TEXT: MECHATON
  MECHATON
  GIANT FIGHTY ROBOTS
  
  CREDIT
  and thanks ::
  This is the Autumn ’06 Moderately Limited Edition.
  I designed the core of the game on Labor Day 2002 
  with my brother Glen and my son Sebastian (who gave 
  it its name). Big thanks to my wife Meguey, my sister 
  Esther, and my son Elliot for indulging us.
  I developed the game into its current full form with 
  the help and insistence of Joshua A.C. Newman. Big 
  thanks to Meguey, Sebastian, Elliot, my son Tovey, 
  and Joshua’s wife Carrie Bernstein for indulging us.
  I probably would never have made the game except I 
  played Heavy Gear, Up Front, and his Gundam game 
  with Scott DiBerardino all those times. Big thanks to 
  Meguey and Emily Care Boss for indulging us.
  I published a version of this very book at GenCon ’06 
  – the GenCon ’06 Very Limited Edition. Big thanks to 
  the Forge booth and to everyone who bought a copy. 
  Thanks to all the people who’ve played the game in 
  all its states of finish and unfinish. Of them, thanks 
  especially to Larry Pieniazek and to the guy who beat 
  my mech to death with a shovel back at Gen Con ’03. 
  Also thanks to my brother Drew for getting me to that 
  event in time.
  Thanks to Carl Rigney for last-minute editing.
  Thanks as always to the fine folk at Collective Copies. 
  Down with the man.
  And thanks at last to Bricklink for accomodating the 
  sale of many Lego bricks. Visit www.bricklink.com.
  MECHATON
  GIANT FIGHTY ROBOTS
  A TABLETOP GAME BY D. VINCENT BAKER
  Mechaton. ©2006 by D. Vincent Baker. A lumpley game.
  
  OVERVIEW
  :: and table of contents
  BEFORE YOU PLAY 
  create your mech army :: 4
  SET UP THE TABLE 
  build the battlefield :: 7
  field your mechs and stations in turn :: 8
  set the doomsday clock :: 8
  PLAY THE GAME 
  take turns :: 9
  go in initiative order or combat order :: 10
  resolve attacks :: 12
  destroy your enemies’ mechs :: 13
  seize their stations :: 14
  tick down the doomsday clock :: 14
  WIN OR LOSE 
  keep score as you go :: 16
  at doomsday, win or lose :: 16
  THE SHORT GAME :: 16
  THE FIELD GUIDE :: 18
  BRICKLINKING :: 26
  
  4 ::
  How much is an army?
  If you’ve got 2 players, an army is 3 stations and 4-8 
  mechs.
  If you’ve got 3 players, an army is 2 stations and 3-6 
  mechs.
  If you’ve got 4 or 5 players, an army is 1 station and 
  2-4 mechs.
  What’s rules for a station?
  A station must a) be stationary, hence the name; b) 
  be distinct from the local terrain, so nobody will get 
  confused about what is and what isn’t; and c) have a 
  place to clip on a little flag.
  A station might be a supply, command or observation 
  station, it might be a crashed satellite, it might be an 
  ammo dump, it might be a jeep with a flat tire and a 
  load of fresh peaches. Whatever: it’s something worth 
  fighting over.
  What’s rules for a mech?
  Any given mech can have up to 4 attachments.
  All mechs get 2 white dice.
  A movement attachment – 4 legs, jumpjets, swim 
  fins, wings, wheels – is worth 1 green die. You may 
  have up to two movement attachments.
  A surveillance/communications attachment – a 
  radio, a laser pointer, spotlights, radar, a night-vision 
  scope – is worth 1 yellow die. You may have up to two 
  surveillance/communications attachments.
  A defensive attachment – armor, a shield, camoflage, 
  stealth composite surfacing, ECM – is worth 1 blue die. 
  You may have up to two defensive attachments.
  A weapon – a chainsaw, a chaingun, a flamethrower, 
  a laser blaster, an assault rifle, rocket pods – is worth 
  2 red dice at a particular range (but notice the optional 
  rule about this). You may have up to 3 weapons – 1 for 
  each range.
  One single weapon attachment might include 
  symmetrical parts. “All these rocket pods,” like “both 
  these wings,” is just one weapon.
  A hand to hand weapon is worth 2 red dice at hand 
  to hand range only. A direct fire weapon is worth 2 
  red dice at direct fire range only. And an artillery 
  weapon is worth 2 red dice at artillery range only.
  If you take fewer than 4 attachments, you get bonus 
  initiative dice, 1 for 1 with the attachments you didn’t 
  BEFORE YOU PLAY
  create your mech army ::
  
  :: 5
  take. These don’t count as attachments, they don’t 
  count toward your army totals, and you can’t lose 
  them to damage.
  If you have no weapons at direct fire range or artillery 
  range, you get a green d8. This doesn’t count as an 
  attachment, it doesn’t count toward your army totals, 
  and you can’t lose it to damage,
  1-shot missiles and rockets are worth a red d8 at 
  direct fire range. You can fire them as part of any attack 
  at direct fire range. They don’t count as attachments, 
  they don’t count toward your army totals, and you 
  can’t lose them to damage. However, every army must 
  have the same number of 1-shot rockets, so coordinate 
  at the table.
  What’s the optional rule?
  Here’s the optional rule: if a given weapon is 
  plausible at two ranges, you can choose for it to be 
  worth 1 red die each at the two ranges. For instance, 
  you might choose for your submachinegun to be worth 
  1 red die at hand to hand range and 1 red die at direct 
  fire range. You might choose for your sniper rifle to 
  be worth 1 red die at direct fire range and 1 red die at 
  artillery range. If you have both a submachinegun and 
  a sniper rifle, you could, if you wanted, roll 1 red die at 
  hand to hand range, 2 red dice at direct fire range, and 
  1 red die at artillery range.
  You still may never roll more than 2 red dice at any 
  range.
  What’s the other optional rule?
  Normally, you can’t have a second weapon at the 
  same range. Here’s the other optional rule: for a 
  second weapon at the same range, you get to roll a 
  red d8 in your attack.
  This rule works fantastic for 2- or 3-turn demos, but I 
  can’t vouch for it in a whole game. Caveat emptor.
  Some examples maybe?
  I build a mech with a big ol’ crane arm, spotlights, 
  a tough and battered yellow shell, and a manipulator 
  arm holding an assault rifle. It gets 2 white dice for 
  being a mech, 1 yellow die for its spotlights, 1 blue die 
  for its tough shell, 2 red dice at hand to hand range for 
  its bashy crane arm, and 2 red dice at direct fire range 
  for its assault rifle. It rolls 1 initiative die.
  I build another mech with combination wings and 
  rocketpack and a walkie talkie on its back. It gets 2 
  white dice for being a mech, 1 green die for the wings, 
  1 green die for the rocketpack, and 1 yellow die for 
  the walkie talkie. (It also gets a green d8 for having 
  no ranged weapons, but that comes later.) It rolls 2 
  initiative dice.
  I build a third mech with armor plates, a massive 
  back-mounted cannon, and small rocket pods on 
  either shoulder. It gets 2 white dice for being a mech, 
  1 blue die for its armor plates, 2 red dice at artillery 
  range for its cannon, and 2 red dice at direct fire range 
  for its rocket pods. It rolls 2 initiative dice.
  
  6 ::
  I build a fourth mech, and let’s say for this one that 
  we’re playing with the second optional rule. I build it 
  with an ECM pod on one shoulder, a rocket pod on the 
  other, and a ripsaw in each hand. It gets two white dice 
  for being a mech, 1 blue die for its ECM, 2 red dice at 
  direct fire for its rocket pod, and 2 red dice plus a red 
  d8 at hand to hand for its ripsaws. It rolls 1 initiative 
  dice.
  What’s my army worth?
  Count up a) the total number of mechs in your army, 
  and b) the total number of attachments in your 
  army.
  Your victory points per asset held (from now on, 
  “points per”) starts at 5.
  Do you have the most mechs? Bump it down 1.
  Do you have the most attachments? Bump it down 1.
  Do you have the fewest mechs? Bump it up 1.
  Do you have the fewest attachments? Bump it up 1.
  For ties, both people bump.
  An example of that, yeah?
  My army has 3 mechs with a total of 10 
  attachments.
  Let’s say that you build an army of 4 mechs, each 
  fully loaded, for a total of 16 attachments.
  Let’s say that Mitch builds an army of 3 mechs, fully 
  loaded, for a total of 12 attachments.
  My points per starts at 5. Do I have the fewest mechs? 
  Yes, tying with Mitch. I get a +1 bump (and so will he in 
  just a minute). Do I have the fewest attachments? I do, 
  for another +1 bump. My points per is 7.
  You start at 5. Do you have the most mechs? You do, 
  for a -1 bump. Do you have the most attachments? You 
  do, for another -1 bump. Your points per is 3.
  Mitch starts at 5. Does he have the fewest mechs? 
  Yes, he and I tie, so he bumps -1 same as me. Does he 
  have the most or fewest attachments? No, he doesn’t, 
  no bump. Mitch’s points per is 6.
  Now, at the beginning of the game, I hold 5 assets: 
  my 3 mechs and my 2 stations. I start the game with a 
  score of 35(5x7).
  You hold 6 assets: your 4 mechs and your 2 stations. 
  You start the game with a score of 18 (6x3).
  Mitch holds 5 assets: his 3 mechs and his 2 stations. 
  He starts the game with a score of 30 (5x6).
  If the war’s called on account of rain, I win, 35 to 
  30 to 18. If you want to win, here’s what you have 
  to do: you have to blow up my mechs to reduce my 
  score, and you have to seize my stations  – which both 
  reduces my score and increases your own.
  35 to 18! You better get on that.
  
  :: 7
  What should the battlefield look like?
  Find a good-sized table and fill it. A round table’s 
  best, if you’ve got one.
  You want a good spread of cover and rubble, with 
  some wide avenues/killing grounds and some no-
  man’s-lands and clusters of good cover and places 
  where you’re covered from one direction but totally 
  exposed from another.
  My first choice is to have everyone who’s playing 
  build the battlefield together, but of course that’s not 
  always the best choice. It’s not even always possible!
  What matters is that whoever lays out the battlefield 
  does so without knowing whose army is biggest and 
  best. The relative strengths of your armies determines 
  which order you place your pieces in – so it’s important 
  that everyone agree to the battlefield before anyone 
  knows who’ll place their pieces first.
  What’s in range of what?
  The rules for fielding your armies refer to direct fire 
  range.
  If you’re playing on a hex map, direct fire range is 
  10. 
  If you’re playing with a 9-long ruler, direct fire 
  range is 9, the length of the ruler.
  If you’re playing with only a 6-long ruler, direct fire 
  range is 12, two rulers.
  While you’re laying out your battlefield, you can 
  change direct fire range, as a group, by consensus, if 
  you want to.
  Either way, hand-to-hand range is 1, and artillery 
  range is anywhere in the whole world outside of 
  direct fire range.
  How do we field our armies?
  The person with the highest starting score is the 
  defender. In my example above, that’s me, with the 
  35. The person with the lowest starting score is the 
  primary attacker. That’s you, with the 18. Everyone 
  else is an attacker. That’s Mitch.
  Defender, place your stations on the field, wherever 
  you want. Place two of your mechs. Don’t place them 
  outside of direct fire range from the nearest station. 
  They establish your perimeter, so place them as 
  forward as you can.
  SET UP THE TABLE
  create the battlefield and field your army ::
  
  8 ::
  Primary attacker, place one of your mechs a) outside 
  the defender’s perimeter, b) just within direct fire 
  range of one of the defender’s mechs, and c) exposed 
  to that mech (that is, out of cover).
  All attackers, take turns placing your mechs. Don’t 
  place a mech any closer to one of the defender’s 
  mechs or one of the defender’s stations than the 
  primary attacker’s first mech. Otherwise, place them 
  wherever you want.
  All attackers, place your stations. They must be 
  outside of the defender’s perimmeter and beyond 
  direct fire range of either of the defender’s mechs.
  Once all the attackers’ mechs and stations are on the 
  field, defender, place your remaining mechs. You can 
  place them outside of your established perimeter if 
  you want, but not within direct fire range of any enemy 
  stations.
  What about the doomsday clock?
  Put a distinctive d12 or d20 out on the field 
  somewhere safe. Set it to 11. This is the doomsday 
  clock; when it reaches 0, the game’s over.
  What other dice will I need?
  You’ll need at least 2 white d6, 2 red d6, a red d8, 
  2 green d6, a green d8, a zillion blue d6, half a zillion 
  yellow d6.
  I play with 2 full-size blue d6 and like 20 half-size 
  blue d6, and 2 full-size yellow d6 and like 10 half-size 
  yellow d6. The half-size dice are for putting on the 
  field next to the mechs that they apply to.
  You’ll also need initiative dice for every mech: 1 or 
  2 distinctive d10 for each. I try to match my mechs’ 
  colors, to make it the easier to remember whose 
  initiative is whose.
  And…?
  And that’s it. You’ve gathered your friends, built your 
  armies, laid out the battlefield, fielded your armies, set 
  the doomsday clock, and gathered your dice.
  Start the game!
  
  :: 9
  What happens in a turn?
  1. All mechs roll initiative.
  Every mech gets one or more d10 for initiative.
  If your mech gets more than one initiative die, 
  roll them all. Go on one of them, whichever one you 
  choose.
  2. The turn begins in initiative order.
  Initiative order ascends from 1.
  Resolve ties by rolling off.
  3. On a mech’s go:
  a. Discard your initiative die. You won’t need it again.
  b. Name your target. If you have an artillery weapon 
  you can name a target at artillery range; if you have 
  a direct fire weapon you can name a target at direct 
  fire range. You can name a target at hand to hand 
  even if you’ve got no weapons at all – but of course 
  you’ll have to use a white die to follow through.
  c. If you’re spotting, name your spotting target. You 
  can spot any mech in direct fire range.
  d. Roll and assign your dice.
  •Pick up all your white dice, all your green dice, all 
  your blue dice, your yellow dice if you’re spotting, 
  Play the game
  :: i do to you now the enormous hurt!
  and your red dice according to the range to your 
  target. Roll them.
  •Remember your green d8 if you have no long-range 
  weapons. Remember your red d8 if you’re firing a 
  1-shot rocket.
  •Assign a blue die or a white die to your defense. 
  Subtract 1.
  •Assign a red die or a white die to your attack.
  •Assign a green die or a white die to your move.
  •Assign a yellow die or a white die to your spot. 
  Subtract 1.
  •Discard all the dice you haven’t assigned.
  •The principle is this: red to attack, blue to defend, 
  green to move, yellow to spot, and white to 
  anything.
  e. First, your defense. Put a blue die next to you 
  showing your defense number. This’ll be your 
  defense number for the entire rest of the turn. 
  Remember to subtract 1 from your defense die. 
  If you don’t assign a die to defense, your defense 
  number is zero.
  f. Second, if you have an unresolved attack against 
  you, resolve it now, and wait to continue your go 
  until after your attacker finishes hers.
  
  10 ::
  g. Third, you choose whether to move first, then 
  attack, or attack first, then move.
  If you don’t assign a die to your attack, you can’t 
  attack. If you don’t assign a die to your move, you 
  can’t move.
  WHEN YOU ATTACK
  Does your target already have a defense number?
  •If so, resolve your attack and continue the turn in 
  initiative order.
  •If not, switch to combat order to resolve the 
  attack.
  WHEN YOU MOVE
  •Move a number of hexes equal to your move die, 
  or less.
  •If you rolled any green dice at all, you can move 
  through or stop in a hex containing cover. If you 
  didn’t, you have to go around.
  h. Fourth, your spot. Put a yellow die next to your 
  spotting target showing your spotting number. 
  Remember to subtract 1 from your spotting die. If 
  you don’t assign a die to spotting, you can’t spot.
  i. Finally, seizing a station. If you’re the only mech 
  within HtH range of a station, you seize it. Discard 
  its former owner’s marker, if any, and put your own 
  marker on it.
  4. Once every mech’s had a go, the turn 
  ends.
  •Tidy up the field: remove all defense dice and spot 
  dice.
  •Tick down the doomsday clock.
  What’s initiative order and what’s combat 
  order?
  By default, a turn proceeds in initiative order: by 
  initiative die, counting up from 1.
  When you attack a mech that hasn’t gone yet, that 
  mech needs a defense number, so you switch to 
  combat order.
  Combat order just means that when you’re attacked, 
  it’s your go next. You do half your go right now, up 
  to step f; then your attacker finishes her go, then you 
  finish your go after she’s done.
  Show me an example?
  Sure, here’s an example turn to show initiative order 
  vs combat order. The mechs are Arty, Bashy, and 
  Carver. Arty has initiative 1, Bashy has initiative 4, 
  Carver has initiative 8.
  Arty goes first.
  Arty a. discards his initiative die.
  Arty b. declares his targer: Carver.
  Arty c. isn’t spotting.
  Arty d. rolls his dice.
  Arty assigns a 4 to his defense, subtracting 1 for a 
  defense number of 3.
  Arty assigns a 6 to his attack.
  Arty assigns a 1 to his move.
  Arty assigns no die to spotting.
  Arty e. puts a blue die nearby, showing his defense 
  number: 3.
  
  :: 11
  Arty f. is not under attack.
  Arty g. attacks first, then moves.
  WHEN ARTY ATTACKS
  Carver doesn’t have a defense number, because she 
  hasn’t gone yet.
  So we switch to combat order. Now Carver’s up.
  Carver a. discards her initiative die. She’s going now, 
  not at 8.
  Carver b. declares her target: Arty.
  Carver c. declares her spotting target: Arty.
  Carver d. rolls her dice.
  Carver assigns a 5 to her defense, subtracting 1 for a 
  defense number of 4.
  Carver assigns a 2 to her attack.
  Carver assigns a 6 to her move.
  Carver assigns a 4 to her spot, subtracting 1 for a spot 
  number of 3.
  Carver e. puts a blue die nearby, showing her defense 
  number: 4.
  Carver f. has an unresolved attack against her!
  Arty resolves his attack on Carver.
  ARTY CONTINUES HIS TURN
  Arty moves 1 hex.
  Arty h. isn’t spotting.
  Arty i. doesn’t seize a station.
  Arty’s go is done. Now Carver picks up her turn where 
  she left off.
  Carver g. moves first, then attacks.
  Carver moves 6 hexes.
  Carver resolves her attack on Arty.
  Carver h. puts a yellow die next to Arty, showing her 
  spot number: 3.
  Carver i. seizes a station.
  Carver’s go is done. We revert to initiative order. Bashy 
  goes on 4.
  Bashy a. discards his initiative die.
  Bashy b. declares his target: Arty.
  Bashy c. isn’t spotting.
  Bashy d. rolls his dice.
  Bashy assigns a 2 to his defense, subtracting 1 for a 
  defense number of 1.
  Bashy assigns a 5 to his move.
  Bashy assigns a 5 to his attack.
  Bashy assigns no die to spotting.
  Bashy e. puts a blue die nearby, showing his defense 
  number: 1.
  Bashy f. is not under attack.
  Bashy g. attacks first, then moves.
  Bashy resolves his attack on Arty.
  Bashy moves 5 hexes.
  Bashy h. isn’t spotting.
  Bashy i. doesn’t seize a station.
  Bashy’s go is done.
  The turn’s done.
  We remove the defense and spot dice from the field 
  and tick down the doomsday clock.
  
  12 ::
  How do we resolve attacks?
  Did you hit?
  Compare your attack number with your target’s 
  defense number.
  •If your target’s defense number is equal or higher, 
  you miss! That’s it, the attack’s resolved.
  •If your attack number is higher, you hit! Continue.
  Roll damage dice.
  Damage dice are d6s.
  •Normally, you roll a number of damage dice equal 
  to the difference between your attack number 
  and your target’s defense number. If your attack’s 
  a 5, for instance, and my defense is a 3, you roll 2 
  damage dice.
  •If your target has a spot die, however, you can choose 
  to use it instead of rolling your usual damage dice. 
  Roll damage dice equal to the number on the spot 
  die instead. Discard the spot die – a spot die is good 
  for only one use.
  Check cover.
  •If your target’s exposed to you, every damage die 
  that comes up a 5 or a 6 is a hit.
  •If your target’s in cover to you, every damage die 
  that comes up a 6 is a hit. Every damage die that 
  comes up a 5 is a hit to your target’s cover. This 
  is especially cool if your target’s cover is another 
  enemy mech, but not especially cool if your target’s 
  cover is one of your own.
  Your target takes damage.
  •For each hit she takes, your target has to lose one 
  attachment or one white die. She chooses which 
  attachment to lose; when they’re all gone, that’s 
  when she loses a white die instead.
  That’s it, the attack’s resolved.
  Give an example?
  Here’s an example attack. The mechs are Arty and 
  Bashy. Bashy’s attack number is 5, Arty’s defense 
  number is 3. Another mech has previously spotted 
  Arty; he has a spot die showing 3.
  Bashy’s attack is higher than Arty’s defense. Bashy 
  hits!
  Bashy can choose to use the spot die, in which case 
  he rolls 3 damage dice, the number showing on the 
  spot die.
  Or, he can leave the spot where it is, in which case he 
  rolls 2 damage dice: 5 (his attack) - 3 (Arty’s defense) 
  = 2.
  He decides to use the spot. He discards the spot die 
  and rolls 3 damage dice.
  Arty is in cover to Bashy.
  Bashy’s damage dice come up 2, 3, 6.
  Arty takes 1 hit. He pops off his ECM pack; he’s lost 
  its blue die for the rest of the game.
  
  :: 13
  Say again about getting destroyed?
  Whenever you take a hit, lose a whole attachment.
  Lose the die or dice the attachment’s worth. If you 
  lose a weapon, lose both red dice.
  (If you lose all your weapons at direct fire range and 
  artillery range, that means you qualify for a free green 
  d8. Remember to include it in your roll from now on!)
  Once you’ve lost all your attachments, the next two 
  hits cost you your two white dice.
  Once you’ve lost your two white dice, you’re rubble.
  Hold on, what can I do with just white dice?
  With just your white dice, you can move, defend, 
  spot, and attack at hand to hand only. Naturally you’re 
  going to have to decide which to do, case by case.
  What’s up with 1-shot rockets?
  If you’re making an attack at direct fire range, you 
  can launch a 1-shot rocket too. Pop the rocket off your 
  mech and include a red d8 in your roll.
  What’s up with cover?
  Relative to your attacker, you can be exposed or in 
  cover. You’re in cover if there’s something on the field 
  that a) you’re up against and b) is between you and 
  your attacker.
  Draw a line the long way through the cover, extended 
  out onto the field, to determine whether the cover’s 
  between you and your attacker. If your attacker’s on 
  your side of the line, the cover’s not between you. 
  Ambiguous cases go to you, the target.
  Only consider your own cover, not your attacker’s.
  Only consider terrain that’s within 1 of you. If we’re 
  10 apart and there’s a wall at 5 between us, and no 
  other terrain nearby, we’re exposed to one another. In 
  other words, you can’t be “behind” cover that’s more 
  than 1 away. Even if you wish you were.
  Single bricks don’t count as cover.
  Otherwise, when in doubt, be generous to the 
  target.
  A mech - even a destroyed one - counts as cover.
  What about moving through cover?
  If you rolled a green die (including possibly the green 
  d8), you can move through cover with no penalty or 
  grief. You’ve jumped over it, flown over it, scampered 
  over it, zoomed through it, whatever.
  If you didn’t roll a green die, you have to go around.
  What about destroying cover?
  When your target’s in cover, every damage die that 
  comes up a 5 is a hit on the cover, right? For each hit, 
  break off three bricks. Individual bricks don’t count as 
  cover, so you can blast holes through walls and stuff 
  this way. 
  
  14 ::
  What’s up with range?
  You’ll probably remember this from setting up your 
  army on the battlefield, but here it is again.
  If you’re playing on a hex map, direct fire range is 
  10. 
  If you’re playing with a 9-long ruler, direct fire 
  range is 9, the length of the ruler.
  If you’re playing with only a 6-long ruler, direct fire 
  range is 12, two rulers.
  While you’re laying out your battlefield, you can 
  change direct fire range, as a group, by consensus, if 
  you want to.
  Either way, hand-to-hand range is 1, and artillery 
  range is anywhere in the whole world outside of 
  direct fire range.
  Remember that you can attack with a weapon only 
  within its listed range - you can’t attack someone 10 
  hexes away with an artillery weapon, for instance.
  What’s up with seizing stations?
  Seizing your opponent’s stations is essential if you’re 
  losing. (If you’re the defender this game, holding on to 
  your stations is what’s essential.)
  If your mech is the only mech within hand to hand 
  range of a station, you seize it. This happens as step i 
  in your turn.
  If someone else has a marker on the station, pop 
  it off and return it to its owner. Put your own marker 
  there in its place.
  So notice how that works. First of all, if two mechs 
  reach the station on the same turn, the one who gets 
  there first - whose step i happens before the other 
  mech arrives - seizes it. Second, you don’t have to 
  stand next to a station to own it; when you seize a 
  station, it’s yours until someone else seizes it, even 
  if you wander away. However, third, nobody else can 
  seize it as long as you’re standing there; they have to 
  blow you up or wait for you to leave. 
  What’s up with the doomsday clock?
  The doomsday clock starts at 11, you’ll remember. 
  At the end of every turn, tick the doomsday clock 
  down 1. Turn to the player with the highest current 
  score and ask “do you want to click the doomsday 
  clock down again?” If so, tick it down another 1. Each 
  player, in descending score order, has the option to 
  tick the doomsday clock down another 1.
  Nobody has the option to tick the doomsday clock 
  back up.
  When the doomsday clock hits zero, the game’s over. 
  The turn you just played was the last turn. The end!
  You have to be a psychic to manipulate the doomsday 
  clock well. Or at least, you have to be able to think a 
  turn ahead. You want to start double-counting it down 
  as soon as you think you might be winning soon, and 
  you want to stop double-counting it down as soon as 
  you think there’s a possibility that you’ll stop winning. 
  It’s nerve wracking fun!
  
  :: 15
  When is it called for to shout out slogans?
  It’s always called for to shout out slogans. Come on, 
  like you had to ask.
  I do to you now the enormous hurt! Eat giant 
  chainsaw! Oh no, I’m a gimping lame-o! Aiiigh! I’m 
  on FIRE! THIS SUCKS!
  Sound effects are called for as well.
  Spackita 
  spackita 
  spackita. 
  Foom 
  kaBOOM! 
  Whooosh!
  And if you want to talk some trash too, hey, bring 
  it.
  What about a soundtrack?
  Absolutely!
  I should tell you though, right now I’m listening 
  to Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong 
  and Cab Calloway, so it’s like, “I do to you now the 
  enormous hurt! You’re just a hurdy-gurdy man!”
  
  16 ::
  How do we keep score?
  Every time you lose a mech, knock your current 
  score down by your points per.
  Every time someone seizes one of your stations, 
  knock your own current score down by your points 
  per, and bump her current score up by her points 
  per.
  How about an example of that?
  Sure. At the start of our example game, my score’s 
  35 and yours is 18.
  Sometime toward the midgame, you smash my poor 
  mech Arty into rubble. He put up good, but in the end 
  you owned his giant fighty robot butt.
  My points per is 7, so when you blow up Arty I lose 7 
  from my score. It goes down from 35 to 28.
  A little later, you wedge your mechs through the hole 
  left by dear Arty and seize one of my stations.
  My points per is 7, so when you take my station away 
  my score goes down from 28 to 21.
  Your points per is 3, so when you take my station 
  your score goes up by 3, from 18 to 21.
  Notice that your score is always simply the number 
  of things you’ve got, mechs plus stations, times your 
  points per.
  Oh and hey! Now we’re tied at 21.
  And at doomsday…?
  At doomsday – that is, when the doomsday clock 
  ticks to 0 – all debts come due, all heads are counted, 
  and the scores become final.
  Whoever has the highest score at doomsday, wins 
  best. Whoever has the lowest, loses worst.
  That’s the game?
  That’s the game.
  There’s a short game too.
  What’s the short game?
  The short game’s 3 players, 21⁄2 hours.
  For each of the three armies: two mechs, fully 
  loaded.
  Win or lose
  that’s the point, after all ::
  
  :: 17
  Set up the world small and round, with cover mostly 
  but not exclusively around the perimeter. Leave a 
  clearing in the middle with only a little cover nearby.
  In the clearing, put a downed satellite.
  Put your mechs behind cover and near each other in 
  your section of the perimeter.
  Set the doomsday clock to 8.
  At doomsday, whoever owns the satellite wins.
  Strategy-wise: Is the only way to win to be the second 
  mech to touch the flag? Can you be the first to the flag 
  and still hold it somehow? Can you hang back and still 
  seize it at the end? I can see trying the fast grab and 
  hold, but hanging back seems like doom to me.
  Is there a campaign game?
  Not just yet!
  At this writing, I’m about to start playtesting 
  a campaign game with my friends. I’m still very 
  open to ideas, though; If you think of something 
  good, please send it my way. You can email me at 
  lumpley@earthlink.net.
  
  18 ::
  THE FIELD GUIDE
  autumn ’06 edition ::
  Still the classic! Here’s a naked mech, quick and easy 
  to make, wicked adaptable. It’ll take just about any 
  attachments you can imagine.
  Make it out of these parts:
  Along these lines:
  
  :: 19
  I like the optional rule for this mech – 1 red d6 at 
  artillery and 1 red d6 at direct fire for the sniper rifle 
  on its left arm, plus 1 red d6 at direct fire and 1 red 
  d6 at hand to hand for the machine gun with grenade 
  launcher on its right arm. It also gets 1 yellow die for 
  the comms pack on its back and 1 blue die for the ECM 
  on its right shoulder. It rolls 1 die for initiative.
  Here are a few mechs decked out:
  
  20 ::
  This mech gets 2 blue d6 for the shields on its 
  shoulders and back, 2 red d6 at artillery range for its 
  massive over-the-shoulder cannon, and 2 red d6 at 
  direct fire for the machine gun on its left arm. It rolls 
  1die for initiative.
  
  :: 21
  This mech gets 1 yellow d6 for the big radio spotlight 
  things on its right arm, 2 red dice at direct fire for 
  its flamethrower, and 1 blue die for the armor plates 
  on its chest, the struts on its feet, and its blunt-faced 
  cockpit. It rolls 2 dice for initiative.
  
  22 ::
  This mech gets 1 green d6 for its wings plus 1 green 
  d6 for its jump jets. I like the second optional rule for 
  it: it gets 2 red d6 at direct fire for one of its underwing 
  machine guns, plus the fearsome red d8 at direct fire 
  for the other. It rolls 1die for initiative.
  
  :: 23
  Here’s a space marine. They can’t be beat for 
  size and economy – 16 pieces! – but it’s pretty 
  hard to make weapons and attachments their 
  size.
  Still they’re awfully hot, huh?
  Original space marine design by Joshua A.C. Newman.
  
  24 ::
  Here’s a walker. These are a little harder to build 
  than the basic mechs, they aren’t as easy to create 
  attachments for, and they’re a lot more limited, but 
  they look wicked on the battlefield.
  The one on the upper right there is the one on the 
  cover, by the way. 
  
  :: 25
  Here’s some cover:
  Here’s a station:
  Notice the little flag clipped to it to 
  show who owns it.
  Here’s a 9-long ruler:
  The 6-long ruler is just the same, minus the longest piece.
  
  26 ::
  BRICKLINKING
  how i buy mechs ::
  2. Several possible stores
  Let’s start on BrickLink, browsing parts to buy: 
  http://www.bricklink.com/searchBrowse.asp?itemType=P
  Of the parts I’m looking for, one of the hardest to find is this 
  one: 1x Slope 45 2 x 1 (Trans-Dark Blue)
  Let’s find several BrickLink stores we can buy it from.
  See where it says “Trans-Dark Blue” toward the bottom of the 
  page? Click that. Now we’re at a page that says “All Items For 
  Sale: Parts: in Trans-Dark Blue color.” We’re looking at some 
  whip antennas, not the parts we need.
  In the search box, type the description of the part you’re looking 
  for; in this case, “Slope 45 2 x 1.” Before I hit Go I always pull 
  down to show only new parts, 100 per page.
  So now we get a list of stores. Each entry you see is a different 
  store you might buy that part from.
  • I’m in the USA, so I choose stores only in the USA. Sometimes 
  rare pieces are much more inexpensive in Europe – but not for me, 
  who has to pay shipping to get them here.
  • I have a budget in mind, so I choose stores whose minimum 
  order I’m comfy spending.
  • Say I’m putting together 4 mechs. A store that has only 2 of the 
  part I need won’t help me. Also, you’ll notice that some stores list 
  quantities like this: “600 (x10).” That means that you can buy the 
  piece only in multiples of 10; you can’t buy 4 or 11 of them.
  My Lego-buying process for mechs goes like this:
  1. I make a tentative list of parts I want.
  2. I find several possible stores.
  3. I fill parallel shopping carts.
  4. I buy the ones I want!
  1. A tentative list of parts I want
  These days I buy parts for a whole but naked mech, then parts 
  for a variety of attachments.
  For a whole but naked mech, in gray, I buy this list:
  1x Brick, Modified 1 x 1 with Headlight (Dark Bluish Gray)
  2x Hinge, Brick 1 x 2 Locking with 1 Finger on End (Dark Bluish Gray)
  2x Hinge, Brick 1 x 2 Locking with 2 Fingers on End (Dark Bluish Gray)
  1x Plate 1 x 2 (Dark Bluish Gray)
  2x Plate, Modified 1 x 2 with Handle - Type 1 (Dark Bluish Gray)
  2x Plate, Round 1 x 1 (Dark Bluish Gray)
  2x Plate, Modified 1 x 1 with Clip Light - Type 2 (thick ring) (Dark Bluish Gray)
  1x Plate 1 x 1 (Trans-Dark Blue)
  1x Slope 45 2 x 1 (Trans-Dark Blue)
  4x Tile, Modified 1 x 1 with Clip (Light Bluish Gray)
  2x Brick 1 x 1 (Light Bluish Gray)
  2x Plate 2 x 3 (Light Bluish Gray)
  1x Slope, Inverted 45 2 x 1 (Light Bluish Gray)
  2x Slope 45 2 x 1 (Light Bluish Gray)
  
  :: 27
  I don’t usually wind up buying my list exactly - that’s why I call 
  it tentative. Usually alternatives catch my eye instead.
  Oh and every store you order from, you’re going to play a 
  couple bucks shipping and handling. If you can buy all the parts 
  you need from one store instead of two, you’ll save, even if all the 
  parts there are a little more expensive. It’s pretty rare I find all the 
  parts I need at one store, but sometimes.
  4. Buy!
  Compare your full carts and buy the one or the ones you want.
  • And for our purposes here and now, any of the prices we see 
  listed in the first, oh, 50 stores are reasonable prices. When you’re 
  buying in bulk, like I’ve been recently, your concerns are a little 
  different, but for a half dozen of this particular piece, I figure 8¢ 
  each is basically as good a price as 5¢ each.
  So: look down the list and choose the first four or five stores that 
  meet your criteria, open them each in its own window. I always 
  leave my base BrickLink window open too – I might be back to 
  it.
  3. Parallel shopping carts
  Each of those BrickLink stores looks just the same. In the 
  narrow left-hand column you’ve got navigation, in the big panel 
  you’ve got what you’re currently doing. Click around, check it 
  out. You can browse by piece or by color.
  Your goal is to go through the list of parts you want and find all 
  of them, in the right quantity, in this store. Add them to your cart 
  as you find them.
  Your secondary goal is to learn the names of parts you may want 
  in the future. If you’re already a Lego person, you no doubt have 
  your own names for the parts - like at my house we call part “Plate, 
  Modified 1 x 2 with 1 Stud” a one-bumper. I maintain a reference 
  list, an Excel spreadsheet, matching my names for parts with their 
  BrickLink names.
  Anyway but fill your cart with the pieces you need. Fill your cart 
  at each of the several stores you’re browsing, until you’re satisfied 
  with what you’ve found. Some stores will turn out to be useless 
  to you - they have lots of cheap windshields, but no arms legs or 
  bodies - and if that’s happening a lot you’ll want to go back to your 
  main BrickLink page and add new stores to the mix.
  
  SETUP ::
  Determine army size:
  • 2 players: 3 stations, 4-8 mechs
  • 3 players: 2 stations, 3-6 mechs
  • 4-5 players: 1 station, 2-4 mechs
  build your mechs:
  • up to 4 attachments
  • movement attachment: 1 green d6
  • defense attachment: 1 blue d6
  • comms/surveillance attachment: 1 yellow d6
  • hand weapon: 2 red d6 at hand to hand range
  • direct fire weapon: 2 red d6 at direct fire range
  • artillery weapon: 2 red d6 at artillery range
  • one-shot rockets: 1 red d8 at direct fire range
  • no direct fire or artillery weapons: 1 green d8
  build your stations
  determine your points per:
  • start at 5 points per
  • most mechs? subtract 1
  • most attachments? subtract 1
  • fewest mechs? add 1
  • fewest attachments? add 1
  determine your starting score:
  • mechs plus stations, times points per
  • highest starting score is the defender
  • lowest starting score is the attacker
  lay out the battlefield
  place your armies: defender then attackers then defender
  set the doomsday clock to 11
  PLAY ::
  start the round in initiative order
  on your turn:
  • roll your dice
  • assign blue or white to your defense
  • resolve the outstanding attack, if there is one
  • assign red or white to your attack
  • assign green or white to your move
  • move then attack, or attack then move
  • resolve your attack, switching to combat order
  • assign yellow or white to your spotting
  after everyone’s turn, tick down the doomsday clock
  each player: tick it down an extra tick?
  WINNING ::
  your current score always equals the things you own (mechs 
  plus stations) times your points per
  at doomsday, the game ends
  highest score wins
  SUMMARY
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Deduped  Shit/Mecha & Kaiju/mechaton-1up.pdf