BattleTech Aces: Scouring Sands – Tabletop Game

When the OpFor finally fights back.

(40+ Hours Played)

BattleTech: Alpha Strike has always excelled at delivering fast, cinematic mech combat without some of the flavor of the classic game. With Aces: Scouring Sands, Catalyst Game Labs takes a decisive step forward. They have transformed Alpha Strike from a primarily head to head tabletop experience into something far more flexible, accessible, and solo/co-op friendly. This expansion doesn’t just add content, it fundamentally changes how and who can play.

What is Aces: Scouring Sands? Aces introduces a card-driven artificial intelligence system for Alpha Strike, allowing players to face off against automated enemy forces without the need for a game master or second human opponent. Scouring Sands builds on that system with desert themed scenarios, environments, and mission structures that emphasize attrition, positioning, and tactical restraint. The result is a toolkit that supports solo play, cooperative games, and narrative campaigns. All areas Alpha Strike previously struggled with.

The Aces system is elegant and surprisingly smart for what it is at its core. The heart of this expansion are the Aces AI decks. Instead of dense flowcharts or lookup tables, enemy behavior is determined by cards that dictate movement, target priority, aggression levels, and other tactical decisions. It’s fast, it’s readable, and most importantly, it feels right. Enemy units act believably without becoming predictable, reacting to battlefield conditions in ways that simulate an experienced opponent.

“Special Orders” cards change the dynamic of play at certain points as well. Such things as a forced withdrawal, or indirect fire are covered by these “Special Orders” cards that supersede other cards’ rules. There are also a few sets of cards for the “Commanders” deck. This deck helps determine certain things like priority targets, or how emplacements act, or how the OpFor uses Battlefield Support at the end of the round. The “Commanders” card has the potential to change at the end of each round depending on certain factors. This can alter the whole flow of combat. For example the enemy side could act more aggressively or defensively in response to losing units or destroying opposing units.

The campaign itself is interesting and based off of previous materials published. The scenarios/missions are well written. The whole thing reminds me of those old days with the choose your own adventure style storybooks. “If you choose this option go to mission 2-B, if you choose this other option go to mission 2-C” kind of thing. There are a number of different choices throughout each segment as well, not just before and after the engagements. Options range from sending out scouting parties to help determine what the players are up against in the next mission, to building emplacement guns to fortify locations before they’re attacked. There’s also such choices as which assignment to choose next, or how to deal with certain mission objectives such as capturing or destroying enemy supplies.

The players can also earn certain “Keywords” during play that change certain events, missions, and waypoints later on depending on the choices they make. This ensures no two campaigns will ever be the same. In fact most playthroughs will only have you going through a fraction of the 20+ missions included. None of it is too complicated, but it ends up working very well.

There is also a “Waypoint” system that triggers different story based events at certain times. About a third of these “Waypoints” are in your favor, a third are in the enemies favor, and the rest are more neutral in nature. Various events like taking damage from stepping on a landmine, to the enemy mechs having seen better days and are taking a point of automatic damage due to wear of the desert. Sometimes this feels cheap, sometimes it makes sense or works in your favor enough that it seems balanced to a degree.

One of the biggest successes of Aces: Scouring Sands is how approachable it is. New players can jump in with minimal setup, while veterans will appreciate how easily it slots into existing collections and campaigns. You don’t need anything else to play through the prewritten Aces: Scouring Sands campaign besides the core Battletech: Alpha Strike box set. The mechs that come in the Aces set end up being the enemy OpFor’s Jade Falcons. While the mechs in the core Alpha Strike box act as the mechs you can use yourself, in game, as a mercenary company. This is nice because most people that would be interested should already have the Alpha Strike box set. If you don’t you should go get it now…

After many games, both small and large, I can say that the system scales well. Larger forces don’t bog the game down, which keeps Alpha Strike’s signature speed intact. Even the systems in place for in game bookkeeping, such as training/hiring hero pilots and mech rearmament/maintenance/repairs, are all very simple and light mechanically. But they all work very well for what they are. This system really is a game changer for solo players and those looking to play with friends, not against them.

BattleTech Alpha Strike: Aces Scouring Sands is more than an expansion, it’s a missing puzzle piece. By introducing a smart, flexible AI system and pairing it with thematic, well designed scenarios, Catalyst has dramatically expanded Alpha Strike’s appeal. Whether you’re a solo player, a co-op tactician, or a longtime BattleTech fan looking for ways to get even more mechs on the table, this is an easy recommendation. Aces: Scouring Sands proves that Alpha Strike didn’t need to slow down to go deeper, it just needed an opponent that can fight back.