Arena Gladiators is an expandable card game where players pit their gladiators against each other in the arena. The first player to gain 5 victory points (from winning arena matches) wins the game. Gladiator cards come in two varieties: standard and named. The standard gladiators represent authentic gladiator types: hoplomachus, murmillo, retiarius, secutor and thraex. There is a named gladiator (including Spartacus) for each type, which have additional traits to give them an edge in the arena. The fast and easy to learn combat system uses a ‘rock-paper-scissors’ style approach where ability cards determine the attack type (defence, might, speed, and accuracy). They also provide powerful combo effects which can be used by a gladiator with the corresponding speciality (each gladiator type has a unique combination of two specialities). Event cards provide arena variations as well as ways to gain or lose cards, hinder your opponents, influence votes and much more. Players can also negotiate and trade with each other, adding an element of politics when it comes to deciding the fate of defeated gladiators with a ‘thumbs up’ or ‘thumbs down’ vote.