hey,
i would really like to create another mini game and thought about a typical roman gladiator combat game. after checking out BGG, kickstarter and thegamecrafter - i found a few - but none of them suits my taste. maybe we can turn this into a little brainstorm thread how the perfect gladiator game could look like. its currently just an idea after watching "gladiator" again, but i already thought about some basic. maybe somone wants to join - im open for anything:
1. setting
a typical medieval roman setting. i dont want any fantasy components. in addition: this is not a greek game, its roman gladiator combat. but, there could be gladiators of many nations. in addition, there are no magic weapons or stuff like that, its all realistic, bloody and deadly.
2. the game
i would ilke this to be a 2 to 4 (or even more) player game, still perfectly playable with 2 players. i imagine a game with 80/20 ratio (80% battles, 20% management) where each player controls at least one gladiator or later a group of gladiators. it would be primary based around fighting arena battles, but also increasing the stat-line of your gladiators, curing and equipping them, as well as moving from little village arenas to bigger and bigger ones until you reach the legendary arena of rome. i haven't decided yet if a single game would be just one battle, or a series of battles - but there should be a campaign mode that allows you to develop your gladiators.
3. game type/ components
definitely a card game, with the addition of a board, player aids, dice and a few tokens. card games are ideal to represent graphics and information - they are easy to produce as well. i could imagine players draw from a shared deck, or two - then each player has a player aid with gladiator information. a gameboard could also be used to represent distance of the warriors in the arena.
4. gameboard
well, i am against a real square/hex grid board as this is a card game and not a board game. but locations/distance should still play a role. so, the idea is to just track the relative distance of each gladiator instead of a full X/Y position tracking. under this link you can take a look at a cake-style gameboard i am thinking about:
http://www.pleacher.com/mp/mgifs/gifs7/polar2.jpg
now, imagine each one of the "cake-slices" is the distance tracker of a gladiator. so the image would represent enough space for 12 gladiators. as only distances count, the X/Y position of a gladiator does not matter - he can only move closer to the center or away from the center. all gladiators present on the same circle are considered in close combat range, while a difference circle can only be reached by using polearms, charge attacks, jump attacks, throwing weaons or ranged weapons.
5. weapons & equipment
all weapons should be balanced, only very few weapons should be more powerful than others. its the use of the weapon that matters, a trident is used different than a mace, or a sword - and so on. the same is true for armor, of course heavy armor protects you better -but it also makes you slower. there will be no extensive item library, only the most important weapon types and a few pieces of armor. in the beginning, its possible to start with any weapon (depending on card draw), its just the amount and variety of weapons the players are lacking. gold is used to outfit all of your gladiators with the equipment of your choice, instead of relying on the initial card draw. there could also be items, gimmicks and other extras that can be bought.
6. more
i have not even scratched the surface of complexity. but i would like to keep the game at its bare minimum. its not a expandable game, so everything has to fit into the package. but, there are some interesting additions that are worth to be looked at: emperors will, power of the crowd, gambling between battles, wild animals, traps, maybe a betting system on who wins the upcoming fight.
okay, thats all for now - whoever chewed through this wall of text is invited to contribute thoughts. i promise, i will take them all into consideration!
good ideas, thanks!
the turn limit sounds good. like: "150 days of games!" then the richest gladiator stable wins.
i post further thoughts after work, here a a few to begin with:
1. RELATIVE DISTANCE
if we keep the idea of relative distance between gladiators in the arena, we don't even need a board. this would allow us to reduce components to cards, dice and tokens. i think about using a die to represent the distance of the gladiators. just put a die next to each gladiator card, the die face shows his arena position. all gladiators on the same position are able to melee attack. this would tone done position/movement to:
Distance 0 (die shows the same face) = Melee Combat (also martial arts and grappling)
Distance 1 (die difference 1) = Close Combat (Close-Combat-Weapons)
Distance 2 (die difference 2) = Polearm Combat (lances and weapons with reach)
Distance 3 (die difference 3) = Throwing (stones, darts, missile weapons)
Distance 4+ = only Missile weapons can reach thus far
Gladiators can only move in one of two directions: increasing the number on their "distance-die" or decreasing it. a d6 to show distances should be enough.
Example 1:
Titus die shows 1, Cracalla's die shows 3 - the distance is 2 points wich means they are in Polarm Combat Range (only weapons with reach can be used, or throwing weapons or missile weapons)
Example 2:
Both, Geta and Didius dice show 4, the distance is 0 - so they are at Melee Combat range (use martial arts or close-combat-weapons, but no throwing/missile weapons).
Example 3:
Hadrian's die show 6 while Caligula's die shows 2 - the distance is 4. This distance can only be covered by Missile weapons.
2. PAPERWORK
i like to keep paperwork to a minimum, so it would be better to use cards and tokens as often as possible to keep track of gladiator stats. the idea is to have a "gladiator character card" in the middle and put equipment, skills and power-up cards around the character card. we could also use these cards to keep track of body-parts or equipment at the body-parts.
Middle: Character card
Card above: Helmet / Head
Card below: Boots / Legs
Card left: Left Arm / Shield/Net etc.
Card right: Right Arm / Weapon
something like that, more later!