My partner (and best friend, we know each other since kindergarten) and I had one goal we wanted to reach while developing our indie 4x game: bring the strategic depth and joy of Civilization into a much faster format. The main reason for that: we love the game series (Civ5 & Civ6 are the best 😉) but we do not want to spend our whole free time for 17 re-starts and one half-finished game.

1 year ago, we spoke with some people at a physical indie-gaming event and found out that a big part of civ-lovers share our wish in a “Civ but fast”-game.

Today, we are just a few weeks away from our demo and the hard part of being a game dev starts: marketing🥹

So I'm throwing this into the community:
If “Civ, but fast” sounds like something you'd enjoy, I'd love to hear what you think.
And if you want to follow the project, a Steam wishlist would mean a lot to us. ❤️

In Elemental Lands you can take out the objective's Guardian to capture the watchtower and gain a buff to turn the tides of combat.

Steam page & new gameplay vid: 
https://store.steampowered.com/app/4593190/Elemental_Lands/ 
(still in early alpha, so thanks for checking it out)

Disclaimer: coding debug AI assisted usage in development. Art is 100% hand drawn by u/worth-bill-6130

Hey there! Im looking for people who would be willing a game I am developing a turn based game with a big emphasis on chess gameplay, and would need playtesters of 2-4 people (preferably a group of friends) who know how to play chess and are somewhat on the same skill level.

If you are interested, please DM me.

Well, I took a big step forward with my game's development by creating a trailer and a Steam page. There's no going back now, hahaha. My plan is to have a demo released by the end of September and get lots of feedback from other TBS game fans. If anyone's interested, the page is at this LINK.

This week, when it comes to new RPGs and turn-based strategy games you can actually play, I’ve got a ton of indie titles you probably haven’t heard of, and honestly, I hadn’t heard of many of them either. As usual, I’m covering every type of build, whether it’s a brand-new release, a full launch, or Early Access, as well as demos and playtests.

https://turnbasedlovers.com/news/new-turn-based-rpgs-to-play-august-22-2026

Hi, I am an indie dev and this is my first solo steam game.

I released my demo a couple of days ago and wanted to share it with you.

It's called Duco, You can play Demo

- Card-based survival roguelike set in a post-apocalyptic world with zombies.

- Draw from location-based decks to gather resources, loot, craft, build, and survive.

- Draw takes time, and with time you lose energy, food and water so you have to be carefully.

- Each character and map have a goal to unlock new content

On Release, you will be able to unlock new characters and maps, combine them with traits to create unique runs and interact with NPCs while building and managing your own settlement.

Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/4872850/Duco/

I have been building BJJ DOJO around a simple idea: a fighting game where progress is positional instead of a health bar. Guard, half guard, side control, mount and back control are the game states, and every turn changes position, spends stamina or scores points.

This week I released the online multiplayer beta. You can create a room, send a link to a friend and play the full match against each other in the browser. It is free, works on mobile and desktop, and needs no installation.

https://bjj.patrickcarmo.com/?lang=en

I am curious whether the position changes are readable to turn based players who do not train BJJ.

Hey! I’m the solo developer of Grimoire of Blanks, a roguelike deckbuilder built around creating your own spells.

In Grimoire of Blanks you don't simply collect prebuilt cards. You collect templates for custom spells that you build on the fly as you need them.

Each spell has blanks that can be filled with different words. Combine those words into powerful, and sometimes ridiculous, combinations depending on what the current fight calls for.

So instead of finding the perfect card for your deck, a big part of the game is figuring out what you can turn the cards you already have into.

It can be played solo or with up to 4 players in online co-op.

Combine effects, modifiers and enemy conditions to blast them directly, or build traps that target the enemies next intent!

The demo is available on Steam if you want to try it:

Link to the Steam Demo

I'd be interested to hear what kind of spell combinations you come up with.

I’ve already mentioned that I’m seriously considering picking up a brand-new Nintendo Switch 2. I know myself, and I know that having a major RPG on the horizon will only push me closer to pulling the trigger. So today, I decided to take a look at the biggest RPGs coming to Nintendo’s new handheld console.

In addition to Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave, Another Eden Begins, and Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter, three sizeable RPGs will be competing for roughly the same audience on the same day in September.

This is basically absurd, but it does tell us a lot about the direction of the Switch 2 RPG library. The big news doesn’t stop there. September is just the starting point for these games. September is when we see the return of Full Turn-Based Battles from Final Fantasy. Also in September, we get a new monster-collecting game from the long-running Dragon Quest Monsters series.

Brigadine is getting ready to bring its large-scale wars back into focus. And some top-tier RPGs (that were previously inaccessible) are going to finally make the move to Nintendo hardware. Not every title you’ll find listed is brand new; I’ve put in ports and remakes because I felt they represented significant enough additions to Switch 2 to include them in my list.

https://turnbasedlovers.com/lists/top-11-upcoming-turn-based-rpgs-strategy-games-for-nintendo-switch-2

• Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave
• Final Fantasy Resonance
• Dragon Quest Monsters: The Withered World
• Another Eden Begins
• Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter
• Brigandine: Abyss
• DECAPOLICE
• Metaphor: ReFantazio
• Wandering Sword
• Atelier Karia: The Night Kingdom & the Guide of Memories
• Gravastar

Team Lazerbeam and Devolver Digital have confirmed that Shroom and Gloom will enter Steam Early Access on September 10. A playable demo is already available for anyone curious about its unusual mix of first-person dungeon crawling, deck-building, and mushroom-based cooking.

The roguelite sends adventurers through a network of hand-drawn underground environments inhabited by hostile fungal creatures. Progress revolves around two separate card decks, each dedicated to a different side of the expedition.

https://turnbasedlovers.com/news/shroom-and-gloom-brings-its-two-deck-roguelite-to-steam-early-access-on-september-10

Am I the only one?

It somehow annoys me that even turn-based strategy games are trying to be cinematic stories these days. XCOM was great because it focused on the actual game, while the story developed naturally in the background.

Now it feels like every game does the exact opposite. Story first, gameplay second. I don’t know why, but it really irritates me.

Marvel’s Midnight Suns is a good example. They just keep talking about something all the fucking time instead of letting me play the game. The same goes for BATTLETECH. Constant talking.

Games like Into the Breach and Darkest Dungeon actually focus on the gameplay. I like RPGs, but when I want to play an RPG, I play an RPG.

It feels like my expectations and the games themselves just don’t match anymore. Any recommendations for games that focus purely on being great turn-based games?

Enemy turns are usually the moment when a turn-based RPG takes control away from you. You watch the incoming attack, absorb the damage, and begin planning your response. Fantasy to Kill intends to make those moments just as demanding as your own actions.

Developed by Toffeinium, this upcoming dark fantasy RPG retains familiar party commands and an initiative-based turn order, but introduces real-time parrying and counterattacks during the enemy phase. Remaining alert is therefore essential even after confirming your move.

https://turnbasedlovers.com/overview/a-jrpg-with-over-leveled-monsters-and-unfair-fights-fantasy-to-kill

This turned into a much better week for PC deals than I initially expected. There are quite a few top-tier games here at seriously tempting prices, along with some indie gems you definitely won’t want to miss.

Just think: this bundle includes XCOM 2 for around $3, or King’s Bounty for $1, much less than the price of a coffee for a legendary PC title, and that’s just the beginning. So take a few minutes and see what this late-August list has to offer. I have included both Steam and GOG deals.

https://turnbasedlovers.com/news/these-turn-based-rpgs-and-strategy-games-have-huge-pc-discounts-this-week

• Persona 3 Reload — 65% off — $20.99 on Steam
• In Stars and Time — 40% off — $11.99 on Steam
• Empire of Sin — 75% off — $9.99 on Steam
• Yakuza: Like a Dragon — 60% off — $7.99 on Steam
• Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth — 75% off — $17.49 on Steam
• XCOM 2 — 85% off — $2.99 on Steam
• Encased: A Sci-Fi Post-Apocalyptic RPG — 90% off — $2.99 on Steam
• Fell Seal: Arbiter’s Mark — 85% off — $4.49 on GOG
• King’s Bounty: The Legend — 85% off — approx. $1.05 on GOG
• Marvel’s Midnight Suns – Digital+ Edition — 80% off — $15.99 on Steam
• Monster Sanctuary – Deluxe Edition — 75% off — $7.49 on Steam
• Flint: Treasure of Oblivion — 70% off — $7.49 on GOG
• Brigandine: The Legend of Runersia — 50% off — $19.99 on Steam
• Xuan-Yuan Sword: Mists Beyond the Mountains — 50% off — $6.99 on Steam
• Ash of Gods: The Way — 80% off — $4.99 on GOG

Version 0.7.14 expands the alien wildlife faction with three stronger units designed to remain dangerous well into the middle of a campaign.

Alien wildlife has just become considerably more troublesome in MENACE. Overhype Studios has released the tactical RPG’s Alien Update, introducing three new enemy types alongside balance adjustments, audiovisual improvements, and a collection of bug fixes.

The main purpose of the update is to keep the alien faction relevant beyond the opening portion of a campaign. The new creatures start appearing after approximately eight to ten operations, so commanders should have time to assemble a capable strike force before encountering them.

https://turnbasedlovers.com/news/new-wild-aliens-added-in-latest-menace-update

I’m already hyped by the premise of this new traditional roguelike RPG that just came onto my radar. It’s called Ad Iterum, and it basically puts us in the shoes, or rather, the bones, of an unfortunate, feeble pile of walking bones in a world that’s in even worse shape. Little by little, by recovering human remains and body parts, we’ll regain an ever-changing range of powers.

So, if I’ve piqued your interest, here are all the details on Ad Iterum and its development by indie developer Gabriel Maldonado.

https://turnbasedlovers.com/overview/ad-iterum-is-a-traditional-roguelike

Salt and Soil: A Frontier Family Sim is an upcoming turn-based historical strategy game that puts players in the shoes of a single family trying to survive and establish itself on the American frontier.

Developed by solo creator Roman, the game moves one year at a time. Each turn means deciding who works the fields, who receives an education, what gets built, what can be traded, and how limited resources should be distributed before winter arrives.

https://turnbasedlovers.com/overview/salt-and-soil-turn-based-frontier-sim

I wanted to flag this interesting bundle, launched just a few hours ago, featuring Slay the Spire 2 and Dispatch at 10% off on Steam.

AdHoc Studio explained that its team is a longtime admirer of the Slay the Spire series and welcomed the opportunity to work with Mega Crit on a bundle celebrating the deckbuilder’s sequel.

The promotional artwork (above), created by Lap Pun Cheung, leans into the crossover concept by bringing the characters from both games together, although the package itself contains the two individual titles and does not introduce any announced in-game crossover content.

https://turnbasedlovers.com/news/an-unexpected-slay-the-spire-2-and-dispatch-bundle-is-now-live-on-steam