Battling Gladiators
Battling Tops launched in the same year I did, 1968, but it was in 1975 that things got really interesting, when an updated version of the game added an irresistible gladiator theme to the already excellent basic premise. It cost £3.75.
Two to four players each took on the role of a gladiator, represented by a spinning top. The wonderful names — Mean Marcus, Spiteful Spartacus, Terrible Titus and Beastly Brutus — added to the fun, as did the eye-popping artwork on the box and game board.
The board was the major addition to the original Battling Tops game. Players now had to move around the board, which would dictate which opponent they would have to fight in the plastic arena.
Battle consisted of tightly wrapping a length of string around your gladiator top, fixing it into position in our of the four launching bays on the arena and then letting it rip with all your might.
The gladiators, eager to please the watching masses, would then whizz around the bowl of the arena bumping into each other in spectacular fashion. Tops would often be knocked clear out of the arena, while other contests would end with two exhausted gladiators wobbling around trying to be last man standing.
Caesar was most definitely pleased.
Like the first inductee into our Hall of Fame, Sky Battle, Battling Gladiators was made by Ideal, which pretty much closes the debate on ‘best toy company of all time’.
