23 Knives

About this board game

23 Knives is a political strategy game for 3–8 players, played in about 60 minutes, set in Rome in 44 BCE. As Julius Caesar emerges from civil war with enormous power, fear and suspicion fuel a conspiracy that could end the Roman Republic.

Each player takes the role of a Roman citizen with one of three hidden allegiances: a loyalist devoted to saving Caesar, a liberator committed to killing him, or an opportunist waiting for the right moment to influence his fate. Your allegiance shapes the way you approach the unfolding crisis.

Throughout the game, you travel through Rome, manipulate other citizens, and sway them toward your cause. The struggle culminates in the Curia, where the number of knives determines whether Caesar survives or dies.

• 23 or more knives: Caesar is dead, and the liberator most committed to killing him wins.
• Fewer than 23 knives: Caesar survives, and the loyalist most dedicated to saving him wins.
• Opportunists: If they shift Caesar’s fate at the last moment, they win as a team.

That threshold creates a sharp contest between competing agendas, while opportunists wait to see which side can be pushed over the line. Alliances, manipulation, and commitment all matter as Rome approaches the Ides of March.

With its setting of conspiracy, a republic in ruin, and the birth of an Empire, 23 Knives places every player inside a pivotal moment in Roman history. Decide whom to influence, choose when to commit, and determine whether the Curia receives the wounds that change Rome forever.