Ave Caesar

About this board game

Ave Caesar is a light, card-driven chariot racing game for 2–6 players, with races lasting around 30 minutes. Set in Rome’s Circus Maximus, it challenges players to complete three laps while navigating a track filled with bottlenecks and lane-changing restrictions.

Each player has a deck of 24 movement cards, made up of four sets numbered from one to six. Players begin with three cards in hand. On each turn, a player chooses and plays one card, moves their chariot the indicated number of spaces, then draws a replacement to return their hand to three cards.

The track’s changing width is central to the race. In several places, two lanes narrow into one, and a chariot stopping at a narrowing can block the chariots immediately behind it. Those trapped teams miss a turn, making position and timing important throughout the three-lap contest.

• Players: 2–6
• Playing time: approximately 30 minutes
• Setting: the Roman Circus Maximus
• Core play: card-based movement, lane restrictions, and blocking

Before a chariot can finish, it must stop to “Hail Caesar”, functioning like a mandatory pit stop. Players must also consider the movement cost of taking longer outside routes around corners: waste too much movement there, and a chariot may not have enough left to complete the race.

The first charioteer to complete all three laps after fulfilling the Caesar requirement wins. Originally released in 1989, Ave Caesar combines simple card play with crowded-track tactics, creating a race where bottlenecks and carefully timed movement can quickly change the standings.