The game is made by Red Republic Games and can be found here. It's a great little game based around combat between opposing cohorts of gladiators in an alternate-history world where the Roman Empire is fractured into a bunch of smaller states and each have their own cohorts to represent them. Ancient Rome, Greece and Egypt are all represented in these ways with their own special rules as well as a traditional gladiator band and a group of combined Vikings and Native Americans which help add to the uniqueness of the setting (America is Atlantis as far as they are concerned). It is also possible to play a cohort of wild animals with their beastmaster or the dreaded Gorgons as their own factions although these have their own playstyles and are somewhat different mechanically to the rest. The miniatures themselves are beautiful boutique resin pieces in roughly 35mm scale, they don't require huge amounts of cleanup or gap filling and for more problematic pieces (mainly spears and whips) they provide metals instead of resin so as to avoid warping or snapping. Below you will find my own Helleniki warband with most of the original models for that faction, which are some of my favourite sculpts in the entire range (I prefer ancient Greece to Rome in general, something reflected in my university studies as well).
In terms of gameplay it is a super simple skirmish ruleset that is based off card count over any specific points system. Cards are incredibly well-balanced and usefulness of certain models tends to come from synergy with others (what may seem like a bad model with one thing may be amazing with another) and they still have a system of having "stronger" models like many of the wild animals and Gorgons by giving them 2-stage cards- this means they count as 2 models for list building so a 3 model Gorgon list is in reality a 6 card list- and these cards reflect how these models get weaker as they get injured (or in some cases angrier and more unruly). The other things of note in the ruleset are the uses of terrain (you don't use huge amounts of terrain, but they are known as "hazards" which fatigue, damage or even outright kill models pushed into them) and the favour and fatigue systems which forces alternating between models in your own cohort but also adds a degree of resource management that all players need to keep an eye on. Fatigue can be gained to boost your own actions (which themselves are limited to set numbers) or to take extra during your turn, while they can also be gained to react to opponents in their turn in a variety of ways. However, fatigued models cannot do as much as fresh models and the opponent gets bonuses against them, while the worse step of exhausted is almost a death sentence in most cases. This is what plays into the resource management of the game as you want to play with fatigue for as many bonuses as you can but you don't want to get caught out with too many exhausted models or else you will suffer, so fatigue management becomes a big thing to learn (mainly when and where to remove fatigue to keep yourself activating for longer). Favour is the other resource to play with, and basically becomes extra dice to add to your attack or defence pools that become extra successes over normal dice or can pay for special abilities on model cards that require favour cost. They are limited in how many you get though, and often the only way to get more is to take damage on your own models so it's another thing to be careful about when and how you're using them.
The combat system in Arena Rex is the biggest part of the
game and encompasses all the rules I have already mentioned. It’s pretty
simple in that attacker rolls their Atk stat in dice, defender rolls Def stat
in dice and each 4+ each player rolls becomes a net success. Defender successes
cancel attacker’s successes, and if the attacker has any left over they consult
their damage tree. Each success is one step down the tree and you can choose to
go any direction down it but you are forced to go down one branch (no jumping
across). There are different results on the tree with different effects but the
main ones can all be seen on the example of Hermes below- numbers are a damage
number, the straight arrow is a push (1” for each result of push, which also
does 1 damage and attacker can then follow), gain a favour with a wreath (same
symbol as on the health track which is also favour gain) and the circular arrow
lets you move and lose fatigue but you must end your activation. Looking at
Hermes he may choose with 4 net successes to start either with 2 damage or a
push, although either one result in 2 damage on the 2nd success that
can then be chosen as either 2 damage or a push, but also optionally to
sacrifice all further successes and gain a favour. If he was to choose the
damage or push he could then use his final success to deal another 2 damage for
a potential 8 (which is then reduced by the defender’s Arm stat). There are some other more advanced rules that can be involved with combat (biggest being counterattack as a reaction) but that is generally the main sequence of the game.
The last thing of note is the way scenarios are played. Most
involve some degree of zone control and are quite simple last man standing type
deals (or rather, first to have uncontested zones so you can wrestle and force
someone out without killing them outright), monster hunts or “bodyguard” type
missions where you have to protect a specific model while your opponent tries
to assassinate them. Games often go for 30-45 minutes and play really smoothly
so it’s a good side game to play when you want to space out longer games during
a games day. In general Arena Rex is a really great game and quite thematic
(you really feel the sense of gladiator combat and every action has an impact)
so I would recommend it to anyone.
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