Spartacus: A Game of Blood & Treachery

Spartacus is one of the best negotiation games ever made. It’s set in the world of the TV series: Roman houses competing for influence, gladiators fighting in the arena, and schemes hatched and betrayed across the city. It captures that atmosphere unusually well.

It’s also one of the most ruthless games I run. If you enjoy making a deal and then not honouring it, you’ll feel right at home.

How it works

Each player controls a Roman house with an Influence rating, a treasury of gold, and a stable of gladiators and slaves. Each round has three phases:

Intrigue: Players scheme against each other with cards that attack rivals, protect themselves or set up later advantages. Most cards need allies to activate, which means making deals. Whether those deals last the round is another matter.

Market: Houses bid at auction for gladiators, slaves, equipment and other assets. Gold is limited and priorities clash, so alliances form around shared enemies.

Arena: Two gladiators fight, bets go down, and dice decide the outcome, modified by equipment and crowd favour. The winning house gains Influence, and someone’s gladiator dies.

The first player to reach the Influence threshold wins, but the leader becomes a target for everyone else, so the game works against runaway leaders.

Why the negotiation is so good

You can’t win Spartacus alone. You need allies to play intrigue cards, deals to avoid being wiped out while you’re weak, and other players aiming their attacks somewhere else.

Everyone is after the same thing, though, so every alliance is temporary. It makes for real political drama, the kind where you remember specific betrayals long after the session ends.

Important note

Spartacus is based on a mature TV series and the game has the same tone. The content is for adults, and I don’t run this one for groups with anyone under 17.

Best for

Adult groups who want something with more edge and strategic depth. It works best with 4 players. Everyone at the table needs to be stuck in, so it won’t suit anyone who’d rather sit back.