Gladiators

Individual figure rules for action in the Roman arena. Miniatures rules that reflect the combat styles and rules of the various rigid types of warriors allowed in the Gladiatorial Games.

Gladiators was designed as a system for single figure miniatures combat. But it is more like a role-playing game's combat system than a traditional miniatures system. Combat takes place on a hex grid making Gladiators similar in nature to Steve Jackson's Melee system. Of course, the rules are a bit more specialized than Melee in that they focus on the gladiator combat of ancient Rome.

Gladiators took two years of play-testing and conceptual development to create. A set of playable yet detailed and realistic rules for simulating gladiatorial combat. Players will be able to move their gladiators, feint, and dodge about as they prepare to lunge at their adversaries. They can slash or jab at their chosen targets, and must parry the return blows of their opponent. Shields can be used to bash opponents off guard. Accidents also have a place in this simulated universe. Men can trip or stumble, weapons or shields can be dropped, or nets cut to shreds. In short, an imaginative player can momentarily enter the arena and prepare himself for a contest which will be won or lost by the same elements that brought victory or defeat, fame and wealth or sudden death to a gladiator. Skills, cleverness, foresight, and luck all play their respective roles.

– catalog listing

Designer: Hugh T. McGowan
Publisher: Fantasy Games Unlimited
Year Published: 1975
Status: In Print
Contents: 35-page booklet
Basing: Individual