Overview
At a glance
Is this game right for my group?
ABG editorial scores on a 1–5 scale.
Harder to teach
High replayability
Highly interactive
Scales well
Deep strategy
How it plays
How does it play?
Hoplomachus [ha-ploh-ma-kuss], or "Hoplo" for short, is a hex-based tactical board game set inside a gladiatorial arena.
Core mechanisms
Key systems that shape the decisions players make.
Deck / Bag Building
Add new pieces during play to improve the cards, tokens, or dice drawn later.
Enclosure
Surround spaces or pieces to claim territory, capture, or score.
Cooperative Game
Players coordinate their actions toward a shared objective and win or lose together.
Dice Rolling
Roll dice to introduce uncertainty into actions, production, movement, or resolution.
Hand Management
Time and sequence a limited hand of cards to preserve future options.
Read the full game description
Hoplomachus [ha-ploh-ma-kuss], or "Hoplo" for short, is a hex-based tactical board game set inside a gladiatorial arena. One to three players, each representing an ancient city/civilization thought to have been lost to the world, are now on Rome's doorstep vying for a place in the prestigious arena games. Players have a very clear objective: Eliminate the opponent's champion. Champions start the game in the arena but are inactive and defenseless. They will not fight until the crowd is behind them. Each player takes turns drawing, playing and moving gladiators from their "hand" and assisting them with tactic chips. Based on opponent's moves and play style, each person will need to adjust their strategies. Defend your champ, take over and hold the crowd favor areas, assault opponent's champion, cover deployment zones, eliminate tacticians to reduce enemy options, fight beasts to gain crowd favor, the list of tactical possibilities is endless. Hoplomachus combines combat, tactics, chip (units) management, level progression (though crowd favor system), team play, player vs board, and so much more.