Spartacus A Game of Blood and Treachery

Product Information

I love the arena phase. It is a fantastic part of this game and the phase I get most hyped up about, particularly if I know I have a strong gladiator to take in there, should I get the chance. Like every phase in the game where all players can engage pretty much all the time, the arena is no exception, In Spartacus: A Game of Blood & Treachery, an exciting game of twisted schemes and bloody combats inspired by the hit STARZ Original series, each player takes on the role of Dominus, head of a rising house in the ancient Roman city of Capua. Each house is competing for Influence to gain the favor of Rome. Through a combination of political schemes and glorious battles on the arena sands your house will rise in fame and stature. As Dominus, you have a variety of resources at your disposal. Guards protect you from schemes launched by rivals. Slaves run your household and earn gold. Gladiators compete to bring glory to themselves and influence to their Dominus. The game is for 3-4 players. Each player is a Dominus of one of four rival houses. You will build your influence, buy slaves and guards and gladiators, and ultimately send them out to fight for you in the arena. The game is mad simple.

Amazingly, the last phase of each turn flings in a solid competitive battle mechanic. Plastic miniatures on a hex board, moving around, rolling dice. The whole deal. Like everything else in this game, the mechanic is simple and streamlined. Each gladiator has three stats, and these tell you how many dice you throw. These dice also act as hit points. As you take hits, you lose dice from your pools. It works brilliantly, and is a fun game in itself. Hitting shelves at your FLGS or favourite online retailer in a matter of weeks... WAVE VIII the latest releases for World of Tanks: Miniature Game. Bring on the Artillery! Whatever readers feel about board game themes of ancient times, it’s undeniable that often the conquest of people external to one’s own group often resulted in their enslavement. The Romans and other contemporaneous civilizations saw other cultures as inferior, and their enslavement was seen as a natural outcome of conflict. Couple this with the Roman fascination with violent gladiatorial games and you have a situation where women and men were used, often violently, for the pleasure and sport of others.Set in the debauched and dangerous city of Capua during the height of the Roman empire, Spartacus has players becoming dominus over their own noble house - with the aim to win gold and glory by pitting their gladiators against those of rival houses. Featuring various characters and factions from the television show, Spartacus has players using their wits and nerve to win competitions and become the most influential house in Capua. The board game that brings the EPIC TV series to life on your very own table top. Betrayal, deception, merciless, honour, glory, legendary. All words that can describe, but not nearly do justice to this incredible boardgame Spartacus. The Intrigue cards are beautifully thematic. You can attempt to poison other gladiators, you can prostitute your slaves for coin, and you can spread ugly rumours about your rivals. Your opponents can try to thwart these cards with cards of their own, or by sending guards out to deal with the problem. (Guards are cards that can be played into your house, and can cancel events with a successful die roll.) One of the best aspects of Spartacus is that certain cards require a particular level of influence to play. And if you don’t have enough, you can ask other players to support you in exchange for… well, pretty much anything. That said, promises aren’t binding. So, it is possible to enrol a player’s support and then direct something unpleasant at all of your opponents. Including your erstwhile supporter. In Spartacus, you control a Domus – an Imperial Roman house - looking to increase its influence at the expense of its rivals. Through dastardly intrigue and through the victory of its gladiators in the arena.

This upcoming board game edition of Spartacus features a brand new art style that focuses on original illustrations rather than images from the television series. One of the houses previously featured in the original edition - House Solonius - has also been replaced by a new house hailing from North Africa, called House Chuma.YES, this means that you can do the whole thumb-up/thumb-down thing at the table, executing an opponent's gladiator. This game is NASTY. You're surprised, right? I know I was. Film and TV tie-in stuff is supposed to be crap. That's the law of gaming. So the minute I saw this thing in the shop, my crap alarm went off.

Spartacus: A Game of Blood and Treachery - the board game adaptation of the television series - is receiving a second edition later this year.The market phase is next. It combines player to player trading but also has three auctions for randomly drawn assets. These might be gladiators themselves, who will fight in the arena. Or equipment for your gladiators to fight with. Or slaves, who affect your domus’ assets. Simple blind-bidding keeps this a pacey and enjoyable competition, with a bit less bite but no less tension. Particularly when a really plum gladiator comes up for auction. Death Or Glory Every player can make bets on the outcome of the battles. You can even make a bet that someone's head will get sliced off. This means, yes, that you could send in a shitty gladiator just to see him get torn to shreds. How Roman is that? The Market Phase is when players buy, sell and trade Assets (Gladiators, Slaves, Equipment and Guards). Players also bid against each other to acquire new Assets at Auction. Wealth is not the only path to success as players bluff and bargain with each other to acquire the Assets they covet. Spartacus: A Game of Blood and Treachery plays out like a series of mini-games. Each phase of the game features its own unique competitive twist. While they don’t always come together for the better benefit of the whole, they are all fun and interesting in their own right.

Spartacus: A Game of Blood and Treachery was designed by Aaron Dill, John Kovaleski and Sean Sweigart - the same creative team behind Firefly: The Game, movie board game Star Trek: Ascendancy and the party board game Family Guy: Stewie’s Sexy Party Game. I'm keen to hear your take on it. Has anyone tried it with less players? Does it help? Do let me know. However, another aspect of combat is the betting which takes place during the Arena phase. Players can not only bet on who wins, but also in what manner. If a player manages to completely decapitate their opponent with a series of high die rolls (no more dice of any type remaining), the winnings for that outcome is double the bet.

The publisher behind Spartacus is Gale Force Nine, a company responsible for releasing the recent reprint of Dune - reviving one of the best board games of the nineteen seventies - and the upcoming board game, Aliens: Another Glorious Day in the Corps! Arena Phase – The host now chooses players (2) to put forward a gladiator to enter the arena phase. This may well include themselves. To reject such an invitation is a huge mark of disrespect and 1 influence point is straight away lost. The arena has to be filled and should so many rejections occur, the host is expected to field a gladiator. Before battle all players have an opportunity to wager on the outcome. Bets are completed. The battle commences between participating players until a gladiator yields, is injured, or is out right killed. The victor gains one influence point. The host determines then if the loser (if not killed outright) deserves to let the gladiator live. A thumbs up/thumbs down moment. It is brutal. The American M7 Priest gives your Americans some long-range fire support. Requesting Fire allows you to draw Line of Sight from any friendly vehicle, allowing your SPGs to hit targets that would otherwise be behind cover. Pair this with your light tanks and keep your SPGs hidden to create a deadly combination! You can also load Burst HE Shells to apply the new Stunned Critical token to all enemy tanks within Close Range and Line of Sight of your target, or load Light HEAT Shells for when damage matters more than critical hits. This should be kept in mind with this game review because, even though it is a game and none of the players are actually doing the things described on the cards or in the rules, this may be unpalatable to a certain game audience. Indeed, if the thought of owning slaves in a game is something distasteful to readers, they should just stop reading this review.