Are you not entertained? If not, then perhaps Gladius is what you need

The crew here at KN, we like ourselves some games. Be it video games, TTRPGs, or classic tabletop games, we like to play games. I can’t speak for everyone else, but for me that takes the form of playing with my family, and playing over lunch with co-workers. It’s that latter group that seems well-suited to Gladius.

In terms of theme and story, Gladius has you taking one of five roles as a spectator of the gladiator games. Depending on that role, you have the ability to help a team of gladiators, or hinder other teams. Why is that important? Well, you’re betting (secretly) as to which team will actually end up winning (or which one will lose). You go through three rounds of this, and the person with the most money at the end wins.

I like this game because, with a 20-30 minute play time, you can easily get through two playthroughs in a lunch break (allowing folks to try to refine their strategy in rapid succession). Secondly, given that you’re flipping up random scenarios (or events, in game terminology) that change what the win condition is for that round, you’ve got a nice level of replayability going on. Finally, given that you’re changing the state of the teams, and placing these secret bets, you need to try to figure out what people are doing, and work to capitalize that as best as you can. Perhaps that’s just my work group, but that’s the sort of game that seems to go over well.

The artwork for Gladius also looks great, which is what you’re going to want for a $25 card game. Yes, there is a print-and-play tier ($10) if you want to print and sleeve your own cards. Most all of the stretch goals have been unlocked at this point, as the campaign is over 700% funded. Things close out on March 19th with delivery anticipated for Feb 2021 (May 2020 for the print and play). I like the game, and I’m voting with my wallet to support this one, so I can let you know later on how the game actually is. campaign page