BattleTech, as you might expect, is a game about massive mechs stomping around a battlefield, throwing ordnance at one another. But, less obviously, it’s also a game about a small business owner plugging away in an uncaring galaxy, staying one step ahead of payroll, and doing anything they can to keep their spaceship flying.

It’s a brilliant combination.

How Harebrained Schemes adapted a 30-year-old board game to make BattleTech.

The BattleTech Board game has been around for decades but this is the first videogame that can be considered a true adaptation. Previous games, like MechCommander, have approximated parts of the ruleset, while others, such as MechWarrior and MechAssault, have been spin-offs set in the same universe.