I had got the gladiators, now I needed the rules, my rules. After some months I founded the name and the game: Ludus Magnus. I was thinking about a system driven by cards, without dices, to obtain more strategical decisions. You had some cards in your hand and you could secretly choose a defensive or an aggressive action. At close combat you played the cards and saw the result. You could play a bluff or hit hard! A set of special event cards randomised the events. A track for each fighter signed the fatigue caused by the suffered hits and gave different possibility to the piece.

ludus magnus

A lot of efforts were made to give a curate aspect to the game. I made a lot of photos of my miniatures for the cards, I bought protective envelopes, I printed them in colours, I created a logo. Wrong move. You cannot give all this to a prototype! After two different test sessions with three friends, I founded the sad true: a lame game, without movement, without balancing, without fun.
I had to do something. I thought, thought and thought. And I discovered the Ganesha Game system, but that is another story…

Share