Rookspell merges the tactical depth of chess with the chaotic energy of a card game roguelike. You play on a real chess board, commanding pieces that move exactly as you'd expect - but then your hand of spell cards changes everything. Freeze a bishop mid-advance, summon a pawn army, or teleport your queen across the board in a single turn. No two runs play the same way.
Each run starts with a standard chess setup and a starting deck. As you win matches, you draft new cards from a rotating pool, building synergies between your pieces and your spells. Lose a piece, and you might lose it for the rest of the run - so every exchange matters. Survive long enough and you'll face increasingly dangerous opponents with their own powerful decks.
Victory comes from threading the needle between chess fundamentals and card-fuelled chaos. You can outplay your opponent on the board, overwhelm them with a powerful combo, or assemble a deck so broken it bends the rules of chess entirely.
Key features:
Draft and deckbuild - construct your spell deck run-by-run from cards with unique board effects
Real chess movement - every piece moves according to standard rules until your cards say otherwise
Roguelike progression - piece loss, escalating opponents, and randomised card pools keep every run fresh
Multiple play modes - solo PvE runs, or online PvP via Steam
Steam Workshop support - create and share custom cards, rulesets, and board variants
Full controller support - plays great on couch with Xbox or PlayStation controllers, including Remote Play Together
Chess knowledge is helpful but not required. If you can move a knight, you can play Rookspell. We also have a tutorial to help teach you along the way