Plebeian Games
Ludi Plebeii • Games Deluxe
A Tabletop Version of the Roman Games Festival
About Plebeian Games
Plebeian Games revives the spirit of the Ludi Plebeii, a Roman festival that celebrated the city’s working-class citizens with games and public feasts. This modern version swaps the bloodsport for board games, turning your dining table into an arena for cutthroat Monopoly deals, high-stakes Dungeons & Dragons quests, and marathon card battles that test both strategy and stamina. It’s a day for friendly rivalry, calculated betrayals, and the pure joy of trouncing your loved ones in a contest that ultimately means nothing, and therefore everything. And when the stakes are this low, it’s practically a sacred tradition to gloat about your win for years to come. The Romans knew how to party, so don’t skimp on snacks or the crown for the day’s ultimate champion.
Ways to observe
(A) Low effort
Grab a deck of cards or your favorite board game and challenge someone to a single match. The winner gets to claim the honorary title of Game Gladiator for the day.
(B) Recommended
Gather a group of friends for a tabletop game marathon. Choose a mix of lighthearted games like Codenames and heavier strategy games like Terraforming Mars. Keep a leaderboard and crown the day’s winner with a dramatic ceremony.
(C) High effort
Recreate the grandeur of the Roman Games in your home. Host an all-day tournament featuring multiple board games and a handmade laurel crown for the ultimate champions. Designate an emperor to oversee the proceedings and enforce over-the-top penalties for rule violations.
Inspiration
I love ancient Rome, and wherever possible I’ve tried to weave Roman holidays into 120 Days of Christmas. This is the first such reference, and possibly the best (though Roman Christmas, basically a toga party with gifts, comes in a close second). The Ludi Plebeii, first held in 220 BCE, were one of several public games in ancient Rome, but these were dedicated specifically to the plebeians, the backbone of Roman society. Held each November, the festival featured theater performances, athletic competitions, and chariot races in the Circus Flaminius. While other Roman festivals honored gods or patricians, the Ludi Plebeii were a rare civic acknowledgment of ordinary people. The games underscored the plebeians’ claim to public life, insisting that festivals and spectacle belonged to them as much as to the elite. This mix of communal identity and political spectacle makes the Ludi Plebeii an ideal ancestor for a modern-day feast of tabletop mayhem. Today’s version trades horses for dice rolls and oratory for rule-lawyering, but the spirit remains: a celebration of play and the human need to win meaningless contests and exact revenge for last year’s losses.
Adornments
Watch
Mind Game (2004)
A psychedelic Japanese animation that defies narrative convention and genre. Watching it feels like playing a board game made from the leftover pieces of other board games. Chaotic, rule-breaking, and full of abrupt reversals and wild invention.
The Great Ecstasy of Woodcarver Steiner (1974)
Werner Herzog’s haunting short documentary about a Swiss ski jumper captures the fragile line between mastery and collapse. It elevates sport into something metaphysical. Perfect for a day that turns play into theater.
Listen
A More Perfect Union by Titus Andronicus
Starts with a Lincoln quote and detonates into punk chaos. Rousing, ragged, and ideal for charging into your fifth round of Settlers of Catan.
Uno by Muse
Muse’s early hit drips with paranoia and the tension of head-to-head combat. It’s about self-doubt and surveillance, yes, but it also feels like the soundtrack to a sudden-death showdown in Connect Four.
Read
Homo Ludens by Johan Huizinga
A dense but charming work exploring the idea that play is the foundation of all culture. Essential reading for anyone wanting to intellectualize their Monopoly rage or justify a six-hour D&D session as cultural anthropology.
Play Matters by Miguel Sicart
A slim philosophical treatise that takes games seriously, not just as fun but as moral and creative acts. It’s the kind of book that might make you rethink your next game night as a ritual of profound (and occasionally petty) expression.
Eat
Sourdough Starter Roll Roulette
Bake a batch of mini rolls, each filled with something unexpected: sharp cheese, dark chocolate, anchovy paste. Serve blindly. It’s Russian roulette by way of Paul Hollywood.