Played the new Spartacus board game at Martin's this week, and it was good, very good. Lots of nice components, all produced to a high finish. Very playable too, concentrating on the intrigue between the Lanesti rather than just repeatedly matching souped up brutes against each other.
Four phases per turn begin on 'upkeep', with players balancing their coffers with accumulated slaves bringing in income, whilst gladiators cost you upkeep. Next phase is 'intrigue' with each player dealt intrigue cards. These can be cashed in for gold or instead some of them may be played to hurt other Lanesti or thwart their schemes. Alternatively you get buffs, or 'guard' cards to try and protect yourself from other player's schemes against you. Players are actively encouraged to bribe each other to divert schemes away and onto other hapless players, which is good fun! Third phase is 'market' with four cards placed face down on the arena and turned up one at a time for players to bid their gold on for slaves, gladiators or kit to upgrade their minions. Finally, you bid to be the 'host', or he who gets to choose who sends gladiators down into the arena.
The final phase is the actual fight. All the show's characters can be brought for your gladiator school. We found Spartacus went down surprisingly easily to Crixus (that would have squished season two!) and Theokeles was the bastard of all bastards to fight - none could face him and expect to live! Before the fights, all players get to bet on the winner and the outcome (death or injury). Its surprising just how much gold you can spend in one round of the game, but it comes back pretty fast if you liquidate some assets and win a fight or two. Overall, all players are competing for influence, which you gain through the intrigue phase, winning 'host', or having your fighter win a bout in the arena. The first to influence '12' wins. We played twice, and I'm left wanting more. When I saw the limited number of figures I had doubts about the scope of this game, but the game play alone could see it run and run and keep the interest for ages, no problem. A brief scout on the web shows there are expansion cards available for more gladiators, whilst the manufacturers plan to release more models to represent the combatants.
Sourced it for a best price of £27 online, overall a winner for the price. If I dont grab a copy over Christmas, then hopefully Martin will let me play with his for a while to come!
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