a(S) eae CEAD DAPI hae * UCR BY DAVID ATKINSON & ANDREWSLASKOWSKI1 eS) a GLADIATOR DICE Ludi (literally meaning “The Games”) were the hugely popular public games that took place in Ancient Roman amphitheatres. Part of the entertainment at the games involved fights to the death between gladiators. In this game you will take on the role of a Janista: a trader and promoter of gladiators. Lanistae in Ancient Rome held rather low social status - but perhaps, if you win the right fights, you may earn the respect and admiration of the senate, and gain real social influence. rTEONTENES Oe @=: @:: x13 S x15 x 50HOM Ge) HN The aim of the game is to be the first player to win, or buy, three senators (the white pawns). HOWE TOS Each player starts with five denarii. Place all remaining wooden coins in a pile to one side (this will form the bank). Place all thirteen senators (the white pawns) next to this pile.Each round represents a day of gladiatorial games, with three fights being held in the amphitheatre. Each fight has a certain prize on offer for winning it. Each round consists of a setup phase (this section), a drawing & bidding phase and a fighting phase. To set up the round take three dice from the bag and roll them. It does not matter what colour/type these are, and you should not modify the result on any of the dice. These rolls dictate the prizes available for winning each fight. Put the dice into ascending order: the first fight of the day is worth the least, and the final fight is worth the most. However, there is one exception: a "1" should be counted as the best result.If there is a 1 among the results, then the prize for one of the fights is to win the influence of a senator (one of the white pawns). There should never be more than one senator on offer in each round, though; if you roll more than one 1 then the second and/or third counts as having rolled a six. Consult the following table to find the prize on offer at each fight (S = senator): Place the prizes in three separate piles in the centre of the table, in order from lowest to highest (with the senator, if present, counting as the highest). Return the dice you used to the bag (which should now contain all 18 dice), and start the "drawing & bidding phase".For example: Maximus Decimus Meridius rolls three dice, which show a 1, 1, and 4. This means there is one senator - but there cannot be more than one, so the second counts asa 6. 28 980 He arranges three piles: one with just a white pawn, the next with nine denarii (e.g. a yellow coin and four orange ones), and the last one with seven denarii (e.g. a yellow coin and two orange coins). He now returns the dice to the bag.HEDDANE EG Start with the player who most recently bought or won a senator. If nobody has any senators yet, start with the player who won the third fight in the previous round. At the start of the game randomly decide who starts. On your turn Draw three dice from the bag. Based on how good you feel these are, you now have a choice between two options. Option 1: Pay one denarius (to the bank) to skip your go. Return the dice you drew back to the bag and pass it clockwise. Option 2: Make a bid to purchase these gladiators. This bid can be for any amount of money (if you can afford it), including zero. You cannot retract any bid, nor can you pay with senators.Play passes clockwise to the next player that has not yet bought a team of gladiators. They may choose to raise the bid, or pass. The auction continues until a player has made a winning bid (a bid that no player chooses to raise); that player must now purchase the dice (place their bid, but no other players’ bids, in the bank). Play passes clockwise to the next player after that winning player. Once a player has bought a set of three dice, they are out of the bidding process; they do not draw dice from the bag, and they may not place bids or win any more dice. This process continues until all players have a single set of three dice in front of them. Note that the final player to draw from the bag will receive their gladiators for free (there is no player remaining who might raise their first bid).Each player secretly decides which fight they would like to enter. Select one of your dice (it does not matter which - it will not be modified, lost or weakened in any way). Arrange it such that it is showing a 1, 2 or 3, but keep it covered. “1” means that you would like to enter the fight with the lowest prize; “3” means the fight with the most valuable prize (quite likely a senator). brite Fight 2 BST d tae) This player has chosen to enter Fight 3. This player will enter Fight 2.All players reveal simultaneously which fight they have chosen to enter. Look at each fight in turn: If no player has chosen to enter, that prize money is wasted (put it back into the bank). If only one player has entered, they win that prize immediately. If more than one player has entered, they all roll the dice for their gladiator team. If any of the dice are elite gladiators, apply the relevant dice modification (see “Elite Gladiators’). The highest score wins the prize for that fight. In the event of a tie, all tied players reroll their team to determine the winner. Return all dice to the bag. There should now be no gladiators owned by any player, and no winnings left in the centre of the table.Buying the influence of a senator The object of the game is to win political influence. This can be done by impressing senators in the audience (represented by one of the prizes being a senator). Or it can be achieved by good old fashioned bribery. After each round's three fights have finished, and provided there is not yet a winner of the game, the players may choose to buy a senator if they wish. Start with the player who just won the highest value fight (usually this will be Fight 3), and proceed clockwise. If any purchase results in a player winning the game, the game ends immediately (without later players getting the chance to buy a senator). Buying a senator costs ten denarii. Note, though, that senators can never be given, exchanged or sold, by any player, either with the bank or with anyone else.N BOS The simple blue dice represent basic, untrained gladiators. When these are rolled, do not modify the result. Ban GER DERHORE Some gladiators were destined to die quickly at the games; others were highly trained, effective killing machines. The latter were traded at a high price, and could be lucrative for their owners. In this game the elite gladiators (Retiarius, Murmillo and Dimachaerus) have special dice associated with them. If you own one of these in your team, modify the result after you roll it. Each modifier is designed to reflect the skill set of that particular gladiator type. Remember, though, no die can ever be higher than 6.REAR These gladiators were styled on fishermen, and fought with a large net and a trident. Their tactic was to throw their net, aiming to ensnare their opponent in it. If they trapped their foe they were hard to beat, but if they missed they had only the trident to defend themselves. Purple Dice: should always show either a 3 or a 6; modify their result as follows: Dice result 1 | Modified 3l3\l3lele6le6 result 2/3 /4MEIN MEG) These are the heavyweights of the gladiatorial games. With strong armour and a large shield to defend themselves, they are a force to be reckoned with. However, their armour was heavy and their helmet hard to breathe through easily, so if they were to win, they had to win quickly. (S Bm Gold Dice: when you roll a Murmillo die, spin the result up by one: Dice result Modified 2l3l4alslele6 result 1)/2);3/4)5DE MAGCHIAEREES Not much is known about these gladiators, except that they fought with two swords. This is a very difficult set of weapons to master, so it is assumed they were highly skilled combatants. i Lo Black and White Dice: this is doubled, keeping in mind that it cannot go above 6:If you are playing with two or three players, each player is allowed (and must have exactly) two teams of gladiators per round. Carry out the drafting & bidding phase in the normal way except that, after a player has purchased their first team they may still place bids in later auctions. Once they have bought their second team they are out of the bidding process. There is not a requirement for all players to purchase one team before another player buys their second. The two teams that a player purchases may not be mixed; they are bought as a team, and remain as a team. One player's gladiator teams may enter the same fight, or different ones.EA Denarius/Denarii The wooden coins used as currency in this game. Denarius is the singular; the plural is denarii. Orange tokens (copper) are worth one denarius, yellow ones (gold) are worth five denarii. Murmillo/Retiarius/Dimachaerus Highly trained gladiators, each with their own unique strengths (see the “Elite Gladiators” section). Novicius Basic gladiators; untrained and _ poorly armed. These are the most common gladiator type in the game (the blue dice), and use an unmodified dice roll.Huge thanks to everyone who helped playtest Ludi - we could not have done this without you. Thanks to everyone at game-icons.net. commons We have used icons designed by Skoll, Delapouite, and Lorc. These are distributed under the CC BY 3.0 License. Thanks to Anton at TheNounProject.com, who designed the amphitheatre background on the bottom of the box. This game was designed by David Atkinson and Andrew Laskowski:Te iS) GLADIATOR DICE Ludi (literally meaning “The Games”) were the hugely popular public games that took place in Ancient Roman amphitheatres. Part of the entertainment at the games involved fights to the death between gladiators. In this game you will take on the role of a trader and promoter of gladiators. Your aim is buy the right fighters, win the right prizes and impress the senators who frequent the games, in order to win political favour. [a] % o Age 12+ 2-6 players 30 minutes