Gladiators
BGG Average Rating
8.0
community average
Login to vote on your own rating
Players
2-5
Weight
N/A
Playtime
40 min
Age
12+
⚙️ Game Mechanics
How this game works - core systems and player actions
🏢 Publishers
📖 About This Game
Translate
Gladiators is an innovative deck-building game of bloody combat and thrilling gambling. Players use customized decks to play out fast, exciting battles while others bet on the outcome. Winning bets earns you the cash you need to improve your deck.
Players represent gladiators in a Roman arena. Each round they have a chance to buy better weapons, techniques, and armor to help them defeat their foes — with each purchase making a better (and more expensive) version of that card available. Then, they'll challenge one of their opponents to a one-on-one throwdown.
Fights are fast, exciting, and surprisingly tactical. First, players reveal three cards from their deck. Based on this information, all other players bet on the outcome. Players then pick those cards up, draw two more cards, and secretly divide them all into two hands: one hand to be used for its fighting power, the other for the special abilities on the cards. They'll then play out a quick best-of-three combat, simultaneously revealing cards, comparing their powers, and, when necessary, deploying hidden tricks.
When the dust settles, the winning fighter collects a victory chip, and the spectators who bet on him win coins that they can use to improve their decks. Players win the game by besting all of their opponents in combat.