Description

The original Pentathlon of the ancient Olympic Games were based on the ideal soldier of the time, skilled in running, jumping, wrestling, and throwing (javelin and discus). Thus Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympic games, invented the Modern Pentathlon based on the ideal soldier of his time, recreating the experience of a 19th century cavalry soldier behind enemy lines: running, swimming, riding, and fighting (with pistol and sword). In the vein of Reiner Knizia's Decathlon, this is a collection of dice games loosely based off the real-life events.

The five events capture a wide spectrum dice game mechanics, including push-your-luck, calculated risks, bluffing, and set collection. Players who have read Dr. Knizia's book Dice Games Properly Explained will find the events draw upon various traditional games, but combine and develop their mechanics to place more emphasis on decisions than luck. For example, in the 200m Freestyle Swimming and Pistol Shooting events, players may continually purchase rerolls to mitigate bad luck but should consider the trade-off of how much that would benefit their opponents. In Epee Fencing, players always have exactly 7 points to allocate each round, and so the event is more about bluff and discerning their opponent's actions.