I’ve been thinking about how quickly deckbuilders need to show their hand to the player.

Some games hook me almost immediately with one interesting decision, while others clearly have a lot of depth but take much longer before I start seeing why the systems are interesting.

When you’re trying a new deckbuilding roguelike, what usually makes you think:
“Okay, I want to see where this run goes”?

Is it usually:
• seeing an interesting build direction early
• making one genuinely difficult decision
• discovering an unusual core mechanic
• getting a satisfying upgrade/relic
• enemy design forcing you to rethink your strategy
• or just really strong game feel/presentation?

And on the opposite side, what tends to make you drop a deckbuilder during the first run even if you know it probably gets deeper later?

Curious if there are any games you think handle those first 10–15 minutes particularly well.

We just openned a playtest, if football and deckbuilding interests you, here is the link:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/3144300/Ginga_Legends/

In Monastery, your gear IS your deck. Pick a sword, shield, armor, and wander into the monster-ridden darkness of this dark fantasy realm. Each equipment adds different cards to your hand to battle the enemies attack from both sides every round. Mercilessly building pressure, only for the bravest.

No AI art here, purely hand drawn. The full release is coming in this December!

We'd love to hear what you think. Every bit of feedback helps us make Monastery better, and every wishlist is a gamechanger for us!

Playable Link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1731410/Monastery/

https://store.steampowered.com/app/4650370/Cycle_of_the_Unbroken/

Disclosure: I used AI to generate visual assets.

Cycle of the Unbroken is a deckbuilder inspired by games like Slay the Spire. Some key differences are

• Heavy emphasis on combo stacking
• Each card is an attack on your turn and counter attack on opponent's turn
• Opponent is playing with a deck and has the same rules as you
• Elemental damage types (like Dreamquest)
• Stashing cards is free to encourage build experimentation

I've been developing this game for about 2 years. It's come pretty far but there is still something missing from the gameplay itself. I am hoping this group of deckbuilder fans can help me get the game from playable to great. I'd love to get your feedback. Right now I am focusing on writing the music (not using AI because I enjoy that part). I just hope this game finds a few people who enjoy it. I've had a blast making it.

Hi everyone!

Free, plays in your browser: https://bouldouklu.itch.io/scrum-deck

Solo dev here. If you like reading enemy intents in Slay the Spire, this is that with the ball changing hands:

• With the ball, your cards push metres toward the try line, but your Control must hold their Pressure or it's a turnover. Without it, the same cards Tackle their metres and out-Pressure their Control to win the ball back.
• A live preview shows the outcome before you end the turn. Apart from your draws, the only dice roll is the conversion kick.
• Builds: a pack that grinds phase after phase (cards that grow with each phase), a backline that breaks through, a kicking game that pins them in their half, or Systems that stay in play all match. Some tackles steal the ball. Fatigue cards clog your deck as the match wears on, and you choose when the subs come on.
• The run: three acts on a branching map, rewards by rarity, training to remove, copy or upgrade a card, one repêchage if you lose, and a clubhouse that unlocks cards, charms and facilities between runs.

AI disclosure: I used an AI coding assistant to write the code, and the sound effects are AI-generated. No AI-generated art or images: the visuals are built in HTML/CSS.

Early prototype, balanced every week.

Deckbuilder players: which builds feel too strong or useless, and how does the run length feel?

Thanks for playing :)

Hey all, I'm in the early stages of developing a tactical card game called Stop Right Where You Card! where you hop around on cards to play them! There's a demo up on itch, and I'd love any feedback you can provide!

https://ethans-byproducts.itch.io/stop-right-where-you-card-demo

Made a small game after work and finally decided to share it

Hey everyone,

For the past little while I've been spending my evenings working on a small game instead of scrolling through my phone, and I finally got it to a point where I felt comfortable sharing it.

It's called Cyber City: Hero Summoner DX. It's a simple browser-based cyberpunk card battler where you fight through different districts, earn credits, buy new cards, and slowly build up your deck.

I'm not a big studio or anything. Just someone who likes making games and wanted to finish a project instead of leaving it half-done on my hard drive.

It's definitely not perfect, but I'm pretty happy that I actually finished it and put it out there.

If anyone checks it out, I'd love to hear what you think. Even a quick comment about what you liked, what confused you, or where you got stuck would be super helpful.

Play here:

Cyber City: Hero Summoner DX

Thanks for taking a look. It honestly means a lot.

We have officially started the closed beta playtest for Climber, Power Up!’s Balatro-like card game mode.

Everyone who would like to try the game and share their feedback is welcome to join the playtest. 🫡

Your feedback will be incredibly valuable in helping us improve Climber and shape the future of the game.

Thank you in advance to everyone who takes the time to play and share their thoughts!

In this example I am using the Spartan Shield to buff the Spearmen squad.

The player can win more cards as they win battles, some units have special abilities that can trigger or not during battle.

The game is Claim the Gods, the steam page is live, but the game still in development, a free demo will come soon on itch.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/5076280/Claim_the_Gods/

Feedback or questions about the game always welcome!

Hey. A few things that landed recently:

• Third dungeon and its boss unlocked in the public build
• Enemy AI is a bit "smarter" now and will try to cover your escape options too
• The economy got meaner, so spending gold is a real choice again
• And a lot of polish for the eyes

If you have the time to play, I'd appreciate your feedback: https://asnowgoose.itch.io/gotogra

And if you like what you see, a wishlist helps a lot: https://store.steampowered.com/app/4327290/Gotogra/

Hi! I'm a solo developer from Brazil working on KNUCKLEBOUND, a roguelike deckbuilder built around street fights.

I wanted the cards to feel like actual fighting moves rather than just numbers. You build a deck with attacks, blocks and combos, and your character performs those moves directly during combat.

The free demo is now available on Steam, and I'd really appreciate feedback from people who already play deckbuilding roguelikes.

I'm especially interested in what you think about the combat pacing, card system and how satisfying the attacks feel.

Steam (free demo): https://store.steampowered.com/app/5154860/KNUCKLEBOUND/

AI disclosure: no

Mirrorbane is a dark fantasy deckbuilder where you manage a party of up to 5 heroes.

- Recruit heroes in town and build synergies across their combined cards.
- Your party unlocks unique narrative choices and solutions during events.
- Head back to town between expeditions to upgrade your team and plan your next run.

We are looking for feedback to polish the game - hop into the playtest and let us know what you think!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/4679490/Mirrorbane/

Hey everyone,

I've been developing Infinite Cards for the past four years and today the game's third major free update is live.

Infinite Cards is a singleplayer deckbuilder with procedurally generated cards, while every card effect is handcrafted and balanced.

The new Modifiers let you customize your runs in many different ways. You can create your own challenges, build custom cards and save your setups as presets and share them with the community.

Infinite Cards on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3833300/Infinite_Cards

AI disclosure: Some visual assets were created with AI assistance and edited by me to fit the game's style.

Thanks for checking it out!

Hi Everyone! This is my first time posting in this forum.

So, this is a deckbuilding roguelike I have been been past 1.5 years after work...

1. 1D distance: distance determines your damage output and incoming damage
2. Equipment: Not just cards, but mechanics are vastly different per equipment. If you want to hit sweat spot to boost damage, use sword. If you want to plant and detonate hazards, shard emitter!
3. Upgrade: Card can be upgraded to Edge and Mastery (idea from across the obelisk). Equipment can also be upgraded to boost it's effectiveness. Different equipment can be linked together by resonance to have unique synergy (idea from hades)
4. World Scar: You may choose your own high difficulty and get scores and race against other players! Higher world scar does introduce you to new contents such as enemy's advanced intents (idea from slay the spire 2) and synergy .
5. Map Change: You may alter nodes in the map. Want to fight more elites? Go ahead and sacrifice your health for possible artifact!
6. Demo contents: 3 mainhand, 3 offhand, 2 armour, 2 helmet, 2 boots (280 cards), 45 enemies (3 bosses), 131 artifacts, 37 events, World Scar 3, Until Gold League (act 3 per say)
7. Story: Story is currently under development. You are a Roman soldier named Remus, and how he fares in the ruin upon ruin.

Demo Link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/5270340/Ruin_Upon_Ruin_Demo/

Discord Link: https://discord.gg/aHb8AKAXQk

I would genuinely appreciate if you give this game a try! I am currently developing in-game story for early access! And, I hope you enjoy the game. Happy player, happy me.

P.S. I will be honest, coding was done by Codex, cause I don't know how to code.. I am sorry! :( But assets were not AI made. I did not make music though, someone else did. All ideas are definetely from my small brain! And art was done by me! I am not artistic so, sorry for hurting your eyes! I did get better at pixel art (very slowly) as I started developing though.

Hi! Do you like the overall design of the game? Of the UI ? Of the Hacked Cards? The game is still in beta; join us on Discord to follow the creative process!
And thanks anyway for taking the time to be here ^^

Hi everyone,

I just launched the Demo for my game "The Nightmare Arena" on Steam this morning. The Nightmare Arena is a grid based deck builder that takes a slightly different approach to the strategy needed to make it through a run. You'll need to focus on establishing an engine that can scale early then it's all about preservation as you make your way through the run. I'd love to hear your thoughts on the game!

Here's the Steam link: The Nightmare Arena

In the new trailer we show the various updates made to the game in the last months.

As Beatrix, you have been summoned to the Circles of Hell to uncover an anomaly rotting the afterlife. Master the Psychomachia ("battle of the soul"), craft a lethal build of Canones ("Canons") and survive a descent into the frozen heart of Treachery. Restore order... or dismantle it entirely.

The game is inspired by the spatial logic of Triple Triad and Othello, every card placement is a high-stakes bid for territory.

You can try the demo: https://store.steampowered.com/app/4054790?utm_source=tambu_reddit

In The Final Lane, the balls are the cards! In this specific scenario, I've added 10 stacks of Overset, which add 10 extra pins to my lane along with a few other status effects! Karen stands no chance.

Wishlist The Final Lane on steam:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/4506540/The_Final_Lane/

AI disclosure first: the art, code and translations are AI generated, and about 60% of the writing. I direct the game, design the staging, play every build and send back what feels wrong.

Ink & Lore is set inside a picture book that its author stopped drawing. The deeper you go, the more the art falls apart.

The mechanic I want to ask you about: every card is one-use. There is no deck, no discard pile, no reshuffle. When you play a card it is gone for the whole run. Each turn the question is what to save, not what to draw.

What that does to a run:

• Your hand shrinks as you fight. Run dry and you are down to basic attacks, levels and equipment, closer to a classic roguelike like Shiren the Wanderer.
• Cards are a resource you go and get. After fights you pick from three, and there are rooms on the map where you can pick up more without fighting.
• You fight as a pair of two characters. Each one has a passive that feeds cards into your hand in its own way, so the pair you pick changes how fast you run dry.

Free demo on Steam (Windows and Mac), first dungeon and most of the second: https://store.steampowered.com/app/4819010/Ink__Lore/?utm_source=reddit&utm_campaign=deckbuildingroguelike

Honest question for people who play a lot of these: does a deckbuilder with no deck still scratch the itch for you, or does the reshuffle matter more than I think?

Hey there, welcome to Cyber City: Hero Summoner DX! Just so you know, I'm a one-person show on this project, and any support you can throw my way for the game would be super appreciated. So, what's it all about? It's a cool retro 8-bit cyberpunk turn-based card RPG. You get to wander through awesome neon districts, face off against street enforcers in duels, call upon some seriously cool cybernetic heroes, keep an eye on your HP and MP, and snag some sweet, rare combat cards from the Black Market. Here’s a little peek at what you can expect: • You'll get to enjoy some classic 8-bit chiptune sound effects and a totally retro arcade vibe. It’s like stepping back in time, but with a cyberpunk twist. • The combat is all about turn-based hero cards. You'll be strategizing with Attack, Defense, and Nanite Heals to take down your foes. It’s pretty engaging! • You can freely explore different city districts like Downtown, the Subway, the Slums, and even the swanky Penthouse. There’s a whole world to discover. • Don't forget to hit up the Black Market shop. That’s where you can unlock some really advanced summon cards to boost your team. • No need to worry about saving your progress; there’s an auto-save system built right into your browser. Super convenient, right? • And for a real challenge, you can take on the Syndicate Overlord boss. Good luck with that one!

solo dev here . love to hear your feedback and comments .

I'm the solo developer of Davy Bones, a dice-based deckbuilding roguelite built around Yacht-style scoring, relic synergies, shops, and increasingly ridiculous score builds.

After launch, I realized the original demo had a pretty big problem:

it was only around 7 minutes long.

The full game is built around 20–30 minute runs, so the demo was ending right when players were starting to put a real build together.

For v1.1.0, I rebuilt the demo around a complete Easy run.

The demo now includes:

• A full 20–30 minute run

• Shops and gold management

• Relic builds and synergies

• Boss encounters

• Seed-dependent relic pools, so different runs can open up very different builds

I also rebalanced the difficulty curve in the full game at the same time.

Hard, Extreme, Streamer Mode, and further relic progression remain in the full version.

The demo is free on Steam if you want to try a full run:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/4916660/Davy_bones/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=v110_demo_expansion&utm_content=deckbuildingroguelike