Looking for a good Gladiator game

[Aethelwulf]

I'm looking for a good Gladiator game, ideally it should have an option for campaigns.

Thanks in advance.

[Hobgoblin]

If you don't mind hexes (and there are workarounds if you do), Steve Jackson's Melee gives a good game - and it's free!

It's a generic/fantasy 'arena combat' game, but it is very much built on a retiarius/secutor model - so lightly armoured characters are quick and nimble while their heavily armoured foes are lumbering but hard to wound. You should be able to stat up all the classic gladiatorial types very easily.

I can't remember if it has advancement (The Fantasy Trip, the RPG built around it, does), but it won't hurt to have a look. In any case, it does work very well as an engrossing wargame for gladiators with different gear.

If you like it but want more complexity, Man to Man, which was the first part of the original GURPS, takes a much more detailed approach to the same system.

[Dolmot]

Many years ago I tested a bunch of rules for club/event/pub gaming. To get straight to the point, I found Sons of Mars possibly the most appealing of them. At least in my view, it has a reasonable balance between detail and playability. It's pretty flexible as you can play a single fight, a festival day with different acts, or a longer campaign where ludus management really starts to play a role.

I posted some initial thoughts to a 2019 thread (kind of hijacking it, sorry) after just reading the rules back then. Thereafter we played a couple of times, although all activities started going downhills soon after that you-know-why. I could post some updated thoughts as well, but maybe that old post manages to explain a little bit where I came from and how it looked like back then.

[SJWi]

Studio Tomahawk's "Jugula" is currently on sale at Gripping beast for £14 rather than £20, with the card deck similarly discounted. I haven't played it myself but it has a good reputation and definitely has a campaign system.  By the way if you want some unpainted Foundry gladiators I have a bag of them going spare!

Regards. 

[Furt]

I have Blood on the Sands still being worked on:

https://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=51608.0

[Rabbitz]

Blood and Sands gets my vote.

[Eric the Shed]

spartacus the board game is great fun - based on TV series

[OSHIROmodels]

I have Blood on the Sands still being worked on:

https://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=51608.0

This is a great game. We never had a duff one out of all the times we played 

[Malamute]

I have Blood on the Sands still being worked on:

https://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=51608.0

And what a great game it is! Loads of fun to play.

[SteveBurt]

Jugula is very good. You have a team of 4 gladiators rather than 1 v 1.
The campaign system is great.
However, although it is a very good game, it is more a deck building game with gladiators. There is a lot of chess-like tactics on the board.
So if you want more game than simulation, definitely Jugula.
I’ve played gladiator games which purpurin to be realistic, and they are often pretty dull, offering few player choices.

[Easy E]

The Games: Blood and Spectacle on the Wargame Vault

Familia Gladiatoria (IIRC) is a free set as well that I think meets your criteria.

Arena Rex is great too, BUT it is fantasy Gladiators. 

[FinnN]

You could take a look at Gladiatori - a board game with hexes and miniatures, I’d imagine it’s fairly easy to eliminate the hexes though. Card driven and has a (very basic) campaign. Full rules are available for free on BGG and game itself is fairly cheap on Amazon: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/118567/gladiatori

[nicknorthstar]

Sons of Mars might be what you're looking for. We enjoy playing it:
https://www.northstarfigures.com/prod.php?prod=12245

[Aethelwulf]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I'm going to try out The Fantasy Trip Melee Rules, and the Sons of Mars Demo rules.

Does anyone know where to find the Blood on The Sands Rules? Or has it not been published yet?

[Cat]

Ah, just popped in to recommend Fantasy Trip : Melee too, I've enjoyed that since the original Micro Game came out in 1977!