Designed by: Reiner Knizia
In Colossal Arena players represent gamblers, betting on a kind of fantasy-free-for-all as various mythical creatures have at each other in a deadly arena, cheered on (and sometimes joined) by a bloodthirsty crowd.
Play all happens through cards – there is a large deck and the suits are made up of the creatures you’ll be betting on, shown as an illustration along with a power score (that varies from card to card) and a short description of that creature’s special ability. There are five rounds and during each round players add cards to the growing display on the table – the power score is what defines that creature’s likelihood to survive the round and not be eliminated, so you can play high power cards to creatures you have bet on, and conversely low power cards you either have no vested interest in – or more likely, can see another player is backing. Eliminating a creature other players have bet on, means of course that they won’t pick up any winnings.
Instead of laying a card you can choose to place a bet (earlier bets get bigger returns; additionally, each player is allowed to make a secret bet during round 1 using cards from their hand) and each creature can only be bet on once per round. When placing a bet, if the active player has the most bets on the creature they are betting on, they get to activate its special power, which are varied but not complicated – they just give the game a little extra spice.
Lastly there are also referees and spectators in the deck that surface from time to time – like each creature, these have their own special power described on the cards that allow you to temporarily bend things in your favour.
After the last round players are given their winnings and the richest player is the winner!
Don't be surprised if a creature you have bet heavily on gets targeted by one or more opponents - that's the nature of the game.
Not much - everyone either plays a card or makes a bet, so the game moves quickly.
The rules are simple. What can give pause for thought are guessing at the odds.
After one or two plays Colossal Arena rips along quickly, if you let it. The cards - well shuffled - ensure randomness in every game.
2-5
Players
10+
Years
30-60
Mins
Sam says
If you get a kick out of the theme, you're on to a winner as the gameplay is neat and the thing doesn't outstay its welcome. For me, while it's not a spectacular winner, it's a solid game.