Glider-Pit Gladiators (1998)

Glider-Pit Gladiators is a board game of ancient aerial combat. The latest version (2002) is currently available for download from the BoardGameGeek files section below.

Two to six players control primitive gliders descending into a deep, sheer-walled pit. Within this natural arena the glider pilots engage in ritualistic gladiatorial combat. A combination of martial and flying skills is required for victory. Every decision a player makes, from the selection of weapons to the anticipation of fickle air currents, helps determine whether a gladiator is on the road to glory... or disaster.

The object of the game is simply to have the last glider airborne. The game features a variable player turn order (depending on the altitude and speed of each glider), five different types of weapons (including ranged weapons and nets), risky ramming attacks, and up/down drafts. Players have the option of controlling more than one glider (up to three each in a two-player game). The competition may be a "last man flying" free-for-all or the players can form competing teams of gliders.

The experimental Campaign Expansion rules allow you to play a continuing gladiator character. The Expansion includes rules for Character Survival, Experience, and Special Abilities and Advantages. Gladiator characters who survive a match (and aren't crippled in the process) receive experience and a chance to gain special abilities and advantages. Gladiators who are victorious are more likely develop skills that will help them gain future victories in the arena. A procedure for randomly generating experienced gladiator characters is also described.

Glider-Pit Gladiators was originally designed (under a deadline of a month or two) for the online 1998 Microgame Design Contest held via the Yahoo Groups Microgame Mailing List. The game was updated under the name Glider-Pit Gladiators 2002 for the second micro-game design competition. The 2002 update focused on cleaning up the rules and making improvements to the spartan components. The experimental Campaign Expansion Rules were developed to provide added depth, and they were also updated in 2002.