The use of gladiators for wargaming has become increasingly popular over the course of the past year. This upsurge in popularity can be directly attributed to the movie Gladiator and the re-release of Spartacus on DVD. Whereas the historical accuracy of the movie Spartacus is way off the mark at best, it nonetheless is a popular movie that most of us have seen. Arena or Gladiatorial combat is becoming increasingly attractive to both the veteran wargamer as well as the new comer to the hobby.
Why is this? Well the reasons I believe are two-fold. On the one hand it provides the veteran gamer with a new or different type of game, where a single figure or two can be controlled, which allows a greater amount of attention to be focused on the game as a whole. It also allows well a brief reprieve from the large-scale games with endless charts to focus on and huge numbers of troops to maneuver on and around the tabletop battlefield. On the other hand it provides for the new gamer a fairly inexpensive way of getting started in the hobby. For all one needs to launch his or her career as a gladiator are two gladiator figures, a rules system and a playing area that is actually quite small as we will discuss shortly.
Gladiatorial combat games are also fast paced. It is conceivable to play several games during the course of an evening or afternoon. Gladiator rule systems by their very nature also lend themselves quite well for use in tournament style matches. So let us move on and see what is available to get started in gladiatorial combat gaming.
The first question a gamer usually asks him or herself when getting started in a new gaming genre is; “what scale or size figure should I use?” In the area of gladiatorial combat this question is a fairly easy one to answer, as the availability of figures is still somewhat limited, but this is changing rapidly. I have endeavored to research this topic thoroughly to give a listing of available figures and scales. This listing of figures may change in the near future as companies add gladiators to their already existing figure ranges. However, before we get to the list it may be helpful if we first give a brief historical description of gladiator fighter classifications along with their names.
This particular gladiator fought with a trident (3-pronged pitchfork), and a net (iaculum) that was used to entangle an opponent. This gladiator wore no helmet and carried no shield and only wore a loincloth (subligaculum) and a metal armguard (galerus) that hung from the left shoulder.
The Samnite: This class of gladiator took his name from those people that were eventually defeated by Rome’s allies in Capua in 312 B.C.E. He carried a large shield (scutum) and wore a metal or boiled leather greave (ocrea) on his left leg. He also wore into combat a visored helmet (galea) that was decorated with a large crest and plume and was armed with a sword.
The Secutor: This gladiators name means “pursuer” and is considered an offspring of the Samnite class of gladiator. He carried a scutum and wore a greave that protected his left leg only. On his right arm he wore leather or metal bands (manicae) that afforded protection for the elbow and wrists. He wore a round or high visored helmet and was armed with a sword, although on occasion he was armed only with a dagger.
The Thracian: This gladiator wore metal or boiled leather armor on his chest and back. His other armor included a small square or sometimes round shield (parma), which was carried in the left hand, a sword belt, a protective leather band (fasciae) wrapped around the left arm, and greaves for his legs. The weapon of this warrior was the scimitar (sica) or a Thracian sword that had an angled bend in the blade.
The Dimachaeri: These particular gladiators fought with a helmet and two swords. The swords were used as both offensive and defensive weapons. They sometimes wore chest and back armor but this was all.
The Velites: These warriors fought with a spear that was attached to a thong, the thong allowed for the retrieval of the spear after an errant throw. These warriors were very lightly armored.
The Essedarii: These gladiators fought from war chariots. It is believed this was a direct result of Gaius Julius Caesar, who witnessed this type of combat while in Briton.
The Equites: Simply these were gladiators that fought from horseback. They carried a small shield and their thighs were protected by metal or leather armor. They fought with a lance.
The Andabates: This class of gladiator was most unusual indeed. He wore a fully visored helmet that allowed no vision at all. This warrior found his opponent by sound and by groping. He wore full metal body armor and his only weakness was at the joints. He was most often armed with a sword or dagger.
The above list of gladiator classes is by no means complete. Part of the problem with historic information on gladiators is the fact that not even the historians or archaeologists know exactly how many classes of gladiator actually did exist. The information that we do have to date is correct, or rather is believed to be correct, as most of it has been verified through texts, records and various mosaics and artworks that were unearthed at sites throughout the Empire. However, these scholars freely admit, that there is probably more that is yet to be discovered. For these reasons some creative license can be used when obtaining gladiators for your arena combat gaming sessions.
The most readily available scale of figures for use with gladiator games is: 20mm, 25mm, 54mm or 1/32 scale and 60mm. A great majority of these figures are manufactured in plastic with some of them made of metal. “Well then what is available, and in what scales, I hear you ask?” All right lets get to it shall we? The lists in this article gives the manufacturer, the class of figures they have available, the various scales they make them in and how to obtain them. To the best of my knowledge this is a complete list of figures and scenery available. I also have included a listing of some very interesting websites for you to peruse in your search for figures as well as historic information.
The first list (above) gives product that was made primarily for children’s play sets. The scales are all 54mm or 60mm, and they do look nice on the table when they have been painted. If the prices seem somewhat expensive keep in mind that these are very large figures. The complete gladiator schools and Colosseum sets come with spectators, lions, tigers, helpless victims, slaves and of course the gladiators themselves. In the Colosseum set, you even get a figure of the Emperor and the Royal Box, complete with flags and pennants. So it is possible to have even more than you may want or even need in one purchase. The distributors for the above mentioned playsets and figures are as follows:
The next listing (above) is concerned with pewter or white metal castings, resin structures and rule sets. These are actual gaming pieces made especially for the wargame hobby.
It should be stated at this time that the above prices were correct at the time of the research for this article. Prices do frequently change so they may be different when you call or visit them on the web. And the manufacturers and distributors listed honor all major credit cards.
I am familiar with or have used most of the metal and or resin figures and structures available for this genre of gaming. The best value for figures however in my opinion are those from Outland of Ohio. I prefer the larger scale figure for gladiator fights, as they are easier to handle and maneuver on the playing area. The Outland figures paint up nicely and have a good amount of detail. Their price is also reasonable. Some of the other figures in 54mm scale whether they are made of plastic or metal are much more expensive than these fine castings.
If space is an issue then I am sure that you will be happy with any of the 25mm scale castings available on the market. They are all nicely sculpted and some lines offer more than others. It may be your desire to purchase a few figures from each manufacturer so you have a good mix of styles and appearances.
The 25mm resin Colosseum produced by Steve Barber Games is second to none. The model is richly cast with very little, if any flash that requires trimming from the model itself. The details such as the fluting on the columns, doorways, and the bas-relief on the roofline are clean and well detailed; this model would be an excellent forum for your gladiators to pursue their careers. The model is somewhat pricey but it is beautiful. We are told that quantities of this model are extremely limited, so it is best to contact the distributor RLBPS as quickly as possible to get an idea as to availability.
The rules systems for this type of gaming are still somewhat limited. Listings of all of the systems that I could find have been included and as you can see I was only able to find three in print. The only set that I am personally familiar with is Hail Caesar. Although this system only recognizes 10 official gladiator classifications, due to its design, any class of gladiator may be used. This is because each type of gladiator may be armed and armored in any way you wish. There is a listing of various types of armor and weaponry allowed in the arena and their relative strengths and weaknesses. The system is very easy to learn and adapt for all of your particular scenario needs. They also have a website for asking questions or for getting rules clarifications.
I have also included here some websites that will hopefully help in your researching of gladiators and other sources of information. Some of these sites are educational while others are strictly game related, but I think you will find all of them of interest. Also each site has hundreds of links to other related sites, so you should be able to find the answers to just about any question you may have on the subject.
Ludus Gladiatoria www.ludus.org.uk/index.html
Lady Livias Links for Students of Ancient Rome www.realm-of-shade.com/sweetlady/rlinks.html
Gladiators Galore www.lakeorion.k12.mi.us/scripps/introcom/gladi.html
The Roman Gladiator http://ablemedia.com
Rome in Ancient Times and the Gladiatorial Games www.gladiator.hu.htm
The Miniatures Page www.theminiaturespage.com
Also on the web are many web rings dedicated to specific areas of wargaming interests. The following are worth checking out. The Ancient and Medieval Wargames web ring, The Historical Miniatures Wargaming Ring, Wargames Web Ring, and the site Wargames Directory.com for a complete listing of all things related to wargaming, including links to the above mentioned wargames web rings.
There are also some very good books available on the subject of Gladiators. Here are some of which are among my favorites:
Well that’s about all I have. I hope this article and the products and sites listed will be helpful to you. As gladiatorial gaming becomes more popular other sites and product lines will no doubt become available. We hope that you are able to say soon “Hail Caesar, those who are about to die salute you” and hear the roar of the crowd at least in the arena of your imagination.
SCALE and FIGURE AVAILABILTY
The Retiarius:
GLADIATOR RELATED WEBSITES
This site is dedicated to gladiatorial combat and lifestyles.
This site has hundreds of useful links on Roman life and of course the gladiators.
Gladiator site more oriented for younger gamers and students.
Strictly gladiators with other valuable links.
Gladiator site with many links to other educational sites.
Gaming related site with listings of manufacturers and publishers of gaming related material. They also have discussion groups and news on wargaming.
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