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? I'm keen to hear your take on it. Has anyone tried it with less players? Does it help? Do let me know.

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. 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. 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.

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! 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. 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.

During the Arena Phase, the Host player invites two other players (the Host can also select themselves) one at a time to participate in combat. A player may decline, but then they lose an influence point. If they accept, they offer up a gladiator or slave to fight in the Arena. But let me say this. Whenever I do have some spare time, I want to play some board games with my lovely friends. And now I can play Spartacus: The Board Game. And it's bloody brilliant. I really enjoy the fact that the dice are also the gladiators hit points. As they are wounded, you have to make decisions about which of the dice pool(s) to deplete. And in true cinematic style, many a bout ends with the characteristic thumbs up or down to determine the fate of defeated gladiators. with all participants making wagers to hopefully gain a return. I’ve been known to bet against myself because I can see my contender in the arena has no chance against my opposition, so why not try to cash in on my loss. 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.

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The biggest assault on players here is the playtime caused by the Influence count needed to win. For a shorter game, players can lower this, but that would skew how some of the game content is played. In reality, for the style of game that it is and for the amount of narrative the game presents, this reviewer would expect no more than 90 minutes including setup. When a four-player game hits 3 hours, it really needs to be providing more than it does. Final Thoughts: Outside of the arena, players can also hatch schemes to undermine their rivals and acquire more wealth. Whilst some schemes require very little to pull off, others may even force players to convince an opponent to help them - either through bribes or promises.

If, however, thematic elements are beside the point and readers just want to know if this is a good game, it’s best to first know that Spartacus: A Game of Blood and Treachery (Spartacus) is for the narrow player count of 3-4. In addition, a playtime of 2-3 hours is pretty accurate. Gameplay Overview: 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.

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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. 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. 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 The Soviet SU-76M is an extremely low-cost Tank Destroyer for the budget-conscious commander needing some additional support. It won’t take on the newest, heaviest tanks on it’s own, but alongside a platoon of aggressive tanks you’ll find it very capable of landing crucial blows. We couldn’t skip out an SPG however, so you’ll also find an entire tank card for the Soviet SU-122A in the box. Using the same model, suddenly your little tank-destroyer has a bigger gun, Firepower 7, and is ready to fling shells across the entire battlefield!

A game of Spartacus plays over a series of rounds until the game victory condition is met. The victory condition is for one player (dominus—literally “master” in Latin) to have 12 influence points at the end of one of the game’s main phases: 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. Gameplay is broken down into 4 phases in a turn. I do not want to dwell too long on rules so I will be as brief as possible.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, 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. As is monumentally obvious from the Gameplay Overview, Spartacus is not for everyone. Indeed, even for this reviewer who enjoys a dark theme as much as the next player, Spartacus walks right into the diegesis and settles in cozily. Given the social climate of today, that won’t work for every game group so players should consider this before playing with random people.