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Steel Colosseum is now live on Kickstarter! Steel Colosseum is a competitive team combat arena game for 2-4 players, featuring a series of scraps between two teams of two customisable fighting robots. Designed by Needy Cat Games, Steel Colosseum is also Zatu Games' very first publishing deal.
Steel Colosseum isn't just about customising your robot team with unique skills and upgrades. While they're scrapping in the ring, there's someone behind the scenes guiding their every move. These are the skilled personalities who build and pilot the robots, offering their own special abilities to change up the way you fight.
When you play a game of Steel Colosseum each player takes on the role of one Operator, whether they’re controlling a full team or just a single robot. Each Operator has a unique ability that lets them bend the rules of the game in some way. There are four operator cards included with the base game, and two more in the Signature Moves expansion. This blog will introduce the four operators included in the base game. Stay tuned for more on Signature Moves!
Raul - A.K.A. Whisper
“Lemme tell you why a lot of new Operators screw up. They overthink things! Get in the arena, hit them with everything you’ve got, win. Easy.”
Raul operates on sheer impulse. He never has a plan and he never thinks ahead - when he gets an idea, now is the time to try it out. He's got a huge imagination and loves to try out new tricks, so there's never any shortage of surprises when he's piloting any of the robots in the arena.
Raul's special ability, Innovation, allows him to purchase Trick Cards for a lower cost. With Raul as your operator, you'll always have a few tricks up your sleeve.
“Uh, yeah, I planned that. That was planned. Totally planned.”
Hanna - A.K.A. Vector
“I’ve been trained by experts in all relevant fields. I have a better rig than anyone here. I spend ten hours a day training. I’m history in the making, darling.”
Hanna traded in a lavish life for one made of oil and scrap metal, and she's never been happier. Her wealthy upbringing afforded her some serious tech training, which she puts to good use dragging her found family into the ground during her bouts. No mercy!
Hanna's System Hack ability lets her bring Upgrade Systems online without an Activation Nexus or Manual Activation card, allowing you to strike any time without warning.
“Oh, dear. Weren’t expecting that, were you? Tch, what a shame.”
Lake - A.K.A. Magpie
“I’ve seen some great ideas in the arena, but none of them have really reached their potential. A little bit of genius is all it’ll take to elevate things to the next level.”
Lake often struggles to connect with people, but at the Scrap Circuit they've found their potential. Having a deeply analytical mind, Lake channels their passion through observing the other Operators and then mimicking - and improving upon - their ideas.
Lake's special ability Copycat allows you to swipe Trick Cards from the discard pile. If you pair up with Lake, you're sure to be inspired.
“Oh, that was cool! How did you do that? Wait, I’ve got it…”
Indira - A.K.A. Nitro
“My time on the outland circuit taught me this: it’s not about the machines, it’s not about the other racers. It’s about focus and determination. Oh… and speed!”
Indira is all about speed. Previously a racer on the outland circuit, she's brought both her experience and her fanbase with her to the Steel Colosseum. With the help of old connections, Indira is able to source specialised components to really rev up the competition.
Indira's special ability, Tuned Up, gives your fighters additional movement points during a manoeuvre action.
“Come on, slowpokes. Are your batteries running low, or what?”
In the World of Steel Colosseum
Indira slumped down next to Lake in the dive bar below the arena. Her fellow Operator had positioned their chair looking out over the grease pits, where the lower-league players modded their robots for side fights. Lake had sent up a cloud of little service drones to capture the activity from every angle, and they hovered around their shoulders like a shoal of gently whirring mechanical fish.
‘Haven’t you had enough modding for one day?’ Indira frowned, wearily setting down her wrench on the sticky table.
Lake grinned. ‘You never know what you’re going to pick up. In fact, Johannes is down there working on the arcade punchbots, and he’s just done something pretty interesting with a kinematic chain…’
Indira rubbed her face blearily. Lake thought it best not to mention the amount of grease still on their fellow operator’s hands.
‘Ah,’ Indira waved at a young operator who had just entered the bar. ‘Over here, Raul!’
‘Good game,’ grinned the teen as he took a seat with them. ‘Drinks are on Hanna. You both earned it!’
‘I still can’t believe that stunt Lake pulled,’ Indira shook her head.
‘It was a good stunt, but you won the bout,’ Lake acknowledged.
‘Yes, but you won the most scrap. I’ve had to replace so much!’ Indira slouched wearily onto the table, sending her wrench flying. Lake whizzed one of their drones over to catch it before it did any damage.
‘We’ll have to see if we can take any of that off you at the doubles bout,’ Raul grinned, rubbing his hands. ‘Me and Hanna versus you two! Should be a good game.’
‘If I can get Sentinel’s powertrain rebuilt for then,’ retorted Indira, running her hands through her hair.
Lake and Raul exchanged a glance. Neither wanted to point out quite how much engine grease was now coating her.
‘Hey, I’ll help,’ Lake said. ‘They’ll need more than Hanna’s family bucks and Raul’s showmanship to win against us.’
‘My ears are burning,’ Hanna said as she arrived at the table and set down a tray of drinks. ‘All good, I hope?’ she asked, flourishing an elegant hand.
‘Oh, I was just saying we’re going to defeat these two in the most entertaining way possible.’ winked Raul.
Lake rolled their eyes. ‘So. You two decided what you’re planning to operate?’
Hanna grinned. ‘It’s got to be Insectoid, sweetie.’
‘Ugh.’ Indira said. ‘I know it’s just a robot, but that thing creeps me out.’
Hanna shrugged. ‘That’s the idea. And - ‘she frowned. ‘Indira, what have you got on your face?’
‘What?’ said Indira, squinting round into a reflective wall panel. ‘Oh brilliant. Thanks for telling me,’ she sighed, rubbing at the smears over her forehead.
‘Sorry! So, what about you, Raul?’ Lake asked. ‘Taking out Magnetron, I assume?.’
‘Actually, no.’ Raul grinned. ‘I want to see how it handles as an opponent this time, so I’m planning to take something else out.’
‘Maybe I’ll take Magnetron for a spin then,’ mused Lake. ‘So are you gonna tell us what you’re operating?’
Raul pretended to think for a moment. ‘No,’ he replied with a smirk. ‘I’m going to surprise you.’
Lake raised their eyebrows. ‘It’s on.’
Meet the Robots
If you haven't seen our robot line-up yet, check out the Meet the Robots series. We also have a series of blogs on the team behind Steel Colosseum, which give some insight into how the game was made - and some sneak peeks at what's coming next!
And, of course, you can check out our Kickstarter page to learn everything you need to know about Steel Colosseum.
Editors note: This blog was originally published on March 11th, 2022. Updated on May 17th, 2022 to improve the information available.