The Games: Blood and Spectacles is a set of pay-what-you-want rules for gladiators. The authors write:
The Games: Blood and Spectacles is a campaign based wargame for any number of players that allows you to take the role of the owner of a Gladiator school in ancient Rome. You purchase slaves, equip them, and battle them in the arena to grow your Troupes skills, reputation, and wealth. Gladiators will gain skills, experience, pick-up injuries, fight, and die as you navigate your Troupe through a Gladiatorial season.
The Games: Blood and Spectacles can be used with any scale Gladiator models and is best played between 2 or more Gladiator Troupes. It is a hexless game that uses inches as a base measurement. For combat, it uses a diminishing combat pool system with opposed dice rolls and critical successes that keeps both players constantly making decisions. In addition, it has a variety of Events from one-on-one combat, beast hunts, executions, chariot racing, and spectacles of gladiatorial combat! You can choose different levels of Gladiators skills and equip them as the various historical Gladiator styles such as Murmillo, Retarius, Arbelas, and more!
The Games: Blood and Spectacles can play a series of Games with three Events in about 1 to 2 hours per session. Campaigns typically last 10 Games per campaign, but you can do shorter or longer campaigns if you wish.
Can you lead your Troupe to wealth, glory, and fame or will you lead them into ruin?