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Overview

Hot Arena Combat is a card-driven hex-grid gladiator arena game for up to six players, using a D&D-5e-style 6-second round subdivided into finer sub-round timing.

Concept

• Hex-grid arena, up to 6 players.
• Card-driven: a fighter's actions are cards played from a deck.
• Rounds borrow D&D 5e's 6-second round, but break it into finer steps so timing within the round matters — see Rounds and Seconds.
• Played with miniatures that have facing, so position and orientation both matter — see Combat and Facing.
• Two economies: water (survival) and prestige (victory) — see Water and Prestige.

Design pillars

• Every second counts. The round is subdivided and card play consumes that subdivision, so spending time is the core cost.
• Open information over hidden hands. Persistent effects sit face-up on a publicly visible burn-down track — closer to Warhammer Underworlds than to a hidden-hand CCG. See Cards and Deck.
• Physical components. The board is intended to be 3D-printed in 1-inch hexes — see Board and Movement.
• Entertain the crowd, don't die. Prestige is the score and survival is the constraint — and they pull fighters to opposite ends of the arena.