The editor who staged the games often rented the gladiators from a lanista and was required to reimburse him for losers executed in response to a “thumbs down” signal. Brutal as these combats had been, most of the gladiators had been free men who volunteered to fight, an obvious signal of intrinsic motivation. Indeed, imperial edicts were needed to discourage the aristocracy’s participation. During the reign of Nero (54–68), feminine gladiators were introduced into the sector. Among the various video games of North Africa was ta kurt om el mahag (“the ball of the pilgrim’s mother”), a Berber bat-and-ball contest …