COLOSSEUM (Days of Wonder, 3-5 players, ages 10 and up, 60-90 minutes; $50)
Wolfgang Kramer is something unusual among the ranks of game designers. Not only
has he created an impressive array of games on his own (Take 6, Big Boss, Expedition, Heimlich &
Co., Midnight Party etc. ) but he has also found success in game design
partnerships with lots of different partners. He has paired up with Michael Kiesling
(Australia, Java, Mexica, Tikal
etc.), Horst- Rainer Rösner (Tycoon etc.), Richard Ulrich
(El Grande, Die
Händler, The Princes of Florence etc.) Andreas Spottag (City) and more! This
time, Kramer goes the partnership route once again and teams up with Markus Lübke to present
Colosseum.
Upon opening the box, the first reaction is "Hey? Where are all the plastic pieces?". Spoiled by the wondrous presentation of previous Days of Wonder releases (Shadows Over Camelot, Cleopatra and the Society of Architects, Battle Lore etc.), you can be forgiven for such a reaction. But not to worry. Colosseum more than makes up for the lack of plastic with an abundance of high quality thick cardboard and four royal figures and more importantly, a well crafted and pleasing design.
Within the box are a host of components. You have a large mounted board representing the Roman arena where great events will be hosted and a variety of pieces involving you in event production.
You have 10 Arena pieces and 10 Arena expansion pieces, season tickets, 2 dice, 4 podiums, 162 event asset tokens, 7 Star Performer Awards, 30 Event programs, 18 Emperor medals, Event summary sheets and 5 wooden pieces representing the Emperor, 2 Consuls and 3 Senators and more.
The object of the game is a bit unusual. Players are grand impresarios putting on events in the Colosseum and are competing to draw the most spectators. The player who puts on the best show will win.
Players begin with a circular arena (available for expansion as the game progresses), an assortment of Asset Tokens (5 to 8 depending on how many players) and are dealt two starting event cards. Asset tokens represent the things needed to produce an event. These include gladiators, musicians, torches, comedians, horses, priests, ships, lions, scenery, decorations, chariots and cages. There are also special tokens: jokers (wild cards that may be used for any resource), Emperor (rewarding the player with an Emperor medal) and additional action tokens (allowing you to exchange it for an Emperor medal OR make 2 investments instead of one during the investment phase of play.) These event tokens go hand in hand with the Event cards.
Each Event card contains certain information: its cost to purchase (the initial events players begin with are fee), assets needed to produce the event, the size of the arena necessary to hold the event, and the earnings such an event will produce depending on how many of the assets are used to produce it.
There are five phases to each game turn: investing, acquiring asset tokens, trading asset tokens, producing an event and closing ceremonies.
Investing allows players, in turn, to improve their ability to attract more spectators to their events. They may buy a new Event Program (with costs varying the more involved a program is), expand their arena to accommodate larger and more lavish events (at a cost of 10 coins), purchase a season ticket to attract 5 more spectators per event (at a cost of 10 coins) or construct an Emperor's loge (at a cost of 5 coins) so that two instead of one die can be rolled before producing an event.
Asset tokens are acquired through a series of auctions. Five markets are located in the center of the board, each able to display three asset tokens. The starting player for the turn chooses which set of tokens to put up for auction with the opening bid a minimum of 8 coins. High bidder wins those tokens and is now out of the bidding for the rest of the round. Should the starting player NOT win the auction, he again chooses a set of tokens and the auction procedure is repeated. Should the starting play win the auction, however, any empty markets are refilled with tokens and the next player chooses which set of tokens will be auctioned. This continues until all players have either won an auction or all players have had a chance to be the starting player (whether they have won an auction or not.).
Now players may trade tokens in order to secure the tokens they need to put on an event. (Having more of some of the token types will make a particular asset a "Star Performer" and increase the drawing power of your event.) When the dust has settled in this phase, the event is produced.
Producing an event involves two actions: moving nobles to try to get them to attend your spectacle and finally producing the event itself.
Noble movement is determined by the roll of one die (two dice if you have built
an Emperor's loge). The dice are six-sided with Roman numerals (a little
atmosphere here). The nobles of the game advance the full amount of the die (or
dice) and if ending on one of the spaces that your arena encompasses, those
nobles will add spectators to your event. The Emperor is worth 7 additional
spectators, Consuls bring in 5 more and Senators will add 3.
Another perk of movement occurs if any of the nobles land on a "resting
area" (one of the noble starting spaces). This grants the player an
Emperor's medal which are useful items indeed. 
An Emperor's medal can be used to add 3 spectators to a produced event. Or it can be used to move any noble 1, 2 or 3 spaces forward OR backward. Or it can be cashed in for 6 coins. Finally, if two medals are played together, a player may make TWO investments instead of one during the investment phase of a turn.
Producing an event means gathering asset tokens you have that match as many of the tokens needed on an event program you have. The interesting thing here is that you can produce an event even if you don't have all of the necessary tokens. But the fewer tokens you have for the event, the fewer spectators you will attract. Then, to the specified amount of spectators, you add any bonuses you have accrued such as 5 more spectators for each previously produced event, 5 for each Season ticket in your arena, 4 for each Star Performer, more for each noble in your arena, 3 for each podium and 3 for each Emperor's medal played. The total of spectators is your score and your scoring marker is moved along the perimeter's scoring track to the proper space. Once everyone has produced, the highest scoring event earns a podium to that player (worth +3 spectators on the next production) while everyone must discard ONE asset token from the just produced event. Finally, as a balancing mechanism, the player with the lowest score gets an asset token from the player with the highest score.
Play continues until the end of the fifth turn when all players have had a chance to produce an event. The player whose scoring token is farthest along the scoring track and has produced the most watched spectacle wins the game!
Several elements differentiate the game and make it stand out. First of all, scoring is NOT cumulative. You score for your productions and that score only goes up. If your production fails to attract the same amount of spectators as a previous production, your score does NOT go down; it simply stays where it was. And you can put on the same production if you so desire. (However, the +5 bonus for previously produced events does not happen if the same event is produced.) So, it is possible to actually win the game on a turn before the game ends if that was the most watched production. Still, most of the time, the game will be decided on the last round as players will have amassed along the way enough gold to buy the more lavish spectacles and accumulated enough Emperor medals to pump up attendance. (In case of a tie, gold coins act as the tie-breaker.) And it's just typical of the quality Days of Wonder customer service that the game has provided a welcome addition to the game in a one page guide to putting the avalanche of cardboard neatly back into the box! And it works! The tray holds everything neatly in place.
There is a danger in the game that threatens its smooth flow and that lies in the trading phase. Like other games where trading plays an important role (from Settlers of Catan to Oltre Mare and others), the game can drag if players try to force a deal where one is not forthcoming. Our suggestion: either make the deal or don't and move on. This will keep the game moving and within the stated 60-90 minute time frame.
Colosseum is a brilliant game of resource management, auctions and timing that challenges would be impresarios to reach for greater and greater extravaganzas for the glory of the Emperor and your own sense of accomplishment. Recommended! - - - - Herb Levy
AGE OF EMPIRES III ARKADIA EDITORIAL FACTORY FUN
FIRE & AXE FLASHBACK: VIKING FURY GEMLOK GUATEMALA CAFE KA-CHING!
PILLARS OF THE EARTH THURN AND TAXIS: POWER AND GLORY VIKINGS WINDS OF PLUNDER