Mobile Frame Hangar

I was finally able to play MF:0 (mostly).

My Game-Bro has zero Legos, and I don't seem to have enough of the right kind of Legos to make 10 Frames, so I adapted the rules for cardboard counter-and-hex-map play. I hope you can all forgive this heresy. I do plan to LEGO-IZE my game in the coming weeks.

<My Hex-Grid Conversion>
Mobile Frame Zero: Super Zeta (tongue in cheek, I assure you).
Ranges are in Hexes, instead of Ruler Units.
Hand-to-Hand Range: Adjacent (or 01 hex)
Direct Range: 02-08 hexes
Artillery: 09-20 hexes

For Movement; moving into woods, into water, or up or down a level cost 1 additional movement pip.

For Spotting; 02 systems has a radius of 20 hexes.

Woods and water count as cover if the frame is in the hex.
LVL 1 terrain or buildings count as cover for adjacent Frames.
LVL 2+ terrain or buildings provide total cover (thus absorbing all attacks) if between the combatants an along a row of hexes (I may need to illustrate that)

Frames and Stations were printed on 2-sided 1 x 1.8 counters held upright by plastic bases. The bases were just anime city scenes, my Frames were VOTOMS, my buddy's were all from Gundam.
</My Hex-Grid Conversion>

We followed the rules as closely as we could, both being 1st timers, there were a few things we hammered out and agreed upon in situ, and we did have to go back to the rules a few times during the first round of battle. We probably made a few mistakes, but we had a good time, so I'll call it a success.

Game time for 5-on-5 frames was 2 hours. Since we are accustomed to Battletech, this was lightning fast. Even acceptable by Alpha Strike standards.
Gundam Units won; 35:25
No Stations changed hands - we just pummeled each other into the dirt (IT WAS GLORIOUS!)

Going Grid-map had a few advantages. It was cheap and making a frame takes a few seconds. It also let us test the game with items we had pretty much on-hand. Unfortunately it lacks the "WOW" factor of Lego Frames. I would never use the paper-frame system for a demo or anything (I run Battletech Demos at local cons - I actually think this would garner more interest though).

Cool game, guys! Glad I stumbled onto it.

Wait... you guys DON'T take this game more seriously than life itself? Well that's actually refreshing. More and more glad I found this gem of a game. Most game-dedicated forums are pretty uptight.

Our take on cover came about from a quick discussion during the game. It was the only way we could see to make the map-sheets work and keep a nice Anime feel.

By the time I realized I needed to go after his Stations, I was just about dead.
I had to get over the Battletech notion of "Kill everything" mind set. I COULD have gone around him...

Faster Frames for going after the Stations, and a couple of slow brute Frames to guard my Stations... We'll see if that works out at all I'll also put my Stations in more interesting terrain. He had his behind water and it worked quite well as a natural barrier.

I do strongly encourage you to play the rules as written at least a few times. The game is better written than it seems at first. There's a ton of tactical depth in what appears to be an oversimplified ruleset. It's a mistake to dismiss any part of this game outright without first trying it.

But don't take that as me telling you how to play! We've got a section of this board that's full of rule variants, most with lively discussion as to their effects and balance. Most of the time, the community improves these variants through discussion. I've got a couple common house rules of my own.

This forum has a strong respect for the rules, but an even stronger respect for creativity. Put simply, imagination is encouraged.

I plan to play by the rules, I just need more Legos in order to do so.

This was a minimal change just give the game a shot without making an emergency run to the Lego store.
I built some ugly frames this week - I'll have to scrounge up pieces for my game-bro and make some ugly frames for him as well.