Best Roguelike Deckbuilder Games on Steam
Run-based card games where deck choices evolve through encounters and rewards.
Browse all Roguelike Deckbuilder →
1Slay the Spire
- Players say: Climb a shifting tower through turn-based card battles, choosing cards and relics to shape a different deck each run. Players like: Deep Deckbuilding · Distinct Character Styles · Fresh Runs
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We fused card games and roguelikes together to make the best single player deckbuilder we could. Craft a unique deck, encounter bizarre creatures, discover relics of immense power, and Slay the Spire!
Jan 23, 2019
In this game, you can…
- cut your deck down until you can loop actions forever and take turn after turn without running out.
- stack armor so high you can copy a card and turn that defense into a one-hit kill.
- upgrade a key card at a campfire, via an event, or even mid-fight, and have the new version change how every combat plays out.
- build a deck from scratch, choosing one of three new cards after every fight.
- pick a route each act, weighing shops, campfires, mystery events, and elite fights that can define your whole run.
- find a single relic that permanently changes what strategies are even possible for the rest of the run.
- walk into a question-mark event that can hand you a blessing, a curse, or a new rule you have to build around on the spot.
2Balatro
- Players say: Build poker hands, reshape your deck with Jokers and other cards, and chase rising score targets in roguelike runs. Players like: Replayable Runs · Joker Synergies · Easy to Learn
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The poker roguelike. Balatro is a hypnotically satisfying deckbuilder where you play illegal poker hands, discover game-changing jokers, and trigger adrenaline-pumping, outrageous combos.
Feb 20, 2024
In this game, you can…
- reshape your deck until it's 20 Aces or a single suit.
- turn a normal poker hand into an impossible one, like five of a kind.
- stack two effects so one adds a new card every round and the other immediately buffs it, creating a self-feeding deck growth loop.
- make a straight or flush using only four cards.
- reroll the shop until you find the exact upgrade you're missing, burning all your cash to do it.
- start from a basic deck, buy wild upgrades between rounds, and watch one tiny combo turn into billions of points.
- skip early rounds for cash, ride interest, then pivot your whole deck plan and crush a 1M+ blind later.
- keep playing after you "win" in Endless mode, turning runs into a high-score lab for crazier combos.
3ROUNDS
- Players say: A 2D duel shooter where you shoot, block, and jump through rounds, drafting upgrades after losses to counter your rival. Players like: Fun With Friends · Chaotic Card Combos · Modded Replayability
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Rounds is a 1v1 rogue-lite shooter where each round gets more intense. The losing player of each round unlocks clever upgrades to create a better build to counter their opponent.
Apr 1, 2021
In this game, you can…
- steer a bullet with your cursor so it stays airborne, keeps scaling damage, and eventually wipes the screen.
- stack upgrades until you fire 50 bullets in under a second.
- teleport through a wall, then fire a shot that drills back through it to hit someone on the other side.
- stack cards until your shots drill through walls, home in, and ricochet into a maze of projectiles.
- lose a round, grab a new card, and turn that defeat into a comeback build that flips the match.
- turn the map into a weapon by pushing objects, cutting ropes, and collapsing floors onto opponents.
- chain effects so a single trigger pulls in poison clouds, explosions, and even saws spawning midair.
- mod the rules into a 16-player free-for-all where everyone's builds escalate into total mayhem.
49 Kings
- Players say: Choose a king, arrange cards into a synergistic 3×3 kingdom, and withstand rival armies in escalating auto-battles. Players like: Build Synergies · Distinct Kings · Addictive Runs
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A fast-paced roguelike kingdom builder. Grow your empire and fight massive battles against powerful rival kings. Break the game with thousands of insane builds to become the King of Kings.
May 23, 2025
In this game, you can…
- spawn thousands of rats, stack hundreds of buffs on them, and watch their damage scaling spiral until the run can't even keep running.
- hire 18,000+ mercenaries, then carry that army into endless mode until the battlefield math becomes too big to finish a year.
- choose a king, pick who to fight, and steal cards from the kings you beat so your deck evolves around your rivalries.
- make a unit copy itself to adjacent tiles, then boost a tile based on all adjacent units, and keep looping it until the board jams with bodies.
- stack so many percentage modifiers across units, buildings, and spells that the numbers stop being readable and the game becomes a pure scaling test.
- build a castle that fires map-wide boulders fast enough to fill the screen, then keep scaling it until it's calculating trillions of shots per second.
- aim your wars at the exact king whose card pool completes your next combo, then make peace with kings whose rewards don't fit your plan.
5Monster Train
- Players say: Build a demon deck and position units across a three-floor train to stop Heaven's forces from reaching the pyre above. Players like: Clan Combinations · Multi-Floor Battles · Unit Card Synergies
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Monster Train is a strategic roguelike deck building game with a twist. Set on a train to hell, you’ll use tactical decision making to defend multiple vertical battlegrounds. With real time competitive multiplayer and endless replayability, Monster Train is always on time.
May 21, 2020
In this game, you can…
- dump your entire hand every turn because draw and energy let you chain huge turns instead of rationing
- take a champion down multiple upgrade paths, then keep reviving it so it comes back stronger again and again
- race seven other players in a timed mode where everyone gets the same enemies and rewards, and speed is the tiebreaker
- defend three stacked battlefields on a train while enemies climb floor by floor toward your heart
- see the final boss from the start and build your entire run around its specific threat
- stack upgrades onto one card, duplicate it, and build a deck that plays like a broken machine
- pair two different clans in one run and mash their strengths together into new combos
- play daily or custom challenge runs with weird rule changes, mutators, and friend-made constraints
6Backpack Battles
- Players say: Shop for shaped gear, fit it into a backpack to trigger item synergies, then watch your build auto-battle other players. Players like: Creative Item Combos · Backpack-Packing Puzzle · Relaxed Async Play
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A PvP inventory management auto battler! Buy and craft powerful items, then carefully arrange them in your backpack.
Jun 13, 2025
In this game, you can…
- pause and replay automatic fights, then check a combat log that shows how much damage, healing, and triggers each item produced.
- unlock secret items by experimenting with hidden crafting recipes and weird item combinations.
- park an item next to the right partner for a fight so it upgrades into something stronger later.
- snap up a rat the moment you spot it.
- spend ten minutes packing your bag, then watch everything click and your whole combo chain starts firing at once.
- follow glowing links that tell you exactly which items want to touch, turning your backpack into a visible web of synergies.
- fight clones of other players' builds, testing your setup against another human's ideas with zero real-time pressure.
- get offered a powerful build-defining choice every few rounds, then suddenly pivot into something like poison bows, fire stacks, or trap engines.
- run into opponents with five dragons and have to beat that with whatever you packed.
7Vampire Crawlers: The Turbo Wildcard from Vampire Survivors
- Players say: Explore grid-based dungeons and use mana-cost cards to build escalating combos against monster hordes. Players like: Explosive Card Combos · Addictive Run Loop · Easygoing Difficulty
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From the creators of Vampire Survivors comes a turbo-charged, turn-based roguelite deckbuilder! Deal world-ending combos, blitz through infested dungeons, and master the Turboturn to obliterate hordes of familiar foes with a chaotic hand of cards.
Apr 21, 2026
In this game, you can…
- stack wild cards into a single combo chain 30 cards long.
- accidentally assemble an infinite combo and keep chaining until every fight becomes a one-shot.
- headbutt chests for gems and power-ups, then use the loot to upgrade your cards into run-breaking engines.
- play cards in ascending mana order so each one multiplies the next.
- end a combo with one huge attack that detonates enemies and clears the screen in one cascade.
- play so fast you empty your whole hand almost instantly, even though it's turn-based.
- use cards that copy themselves or jump back into your hand to extend a chain even further.
- dig with a shovel to reach the next floor and uncover weird dungeon secrets along the way.
- save mid-run, leave an hour-long floor, and come back to continue a marathon combo build.
8Griftlands
- Players say: In a rough sci-fi world, play three grifters through roguelite campaigns, using separate card decks to fight or negotiate. Players like: Dual-Deck System · Distinct Story Campaigns · Reactive Relationships
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Griftlands is a deck-building roguelite where you negotiate, fight, steal or otherwise persuade others to get your way. Every decision is important, be it the jobs you take, the friends you make, or the cards you collect.
Jun 1, 2021
In this game, you can…
- argue in a full second card game where you attack someone's argument strength instead of their health.
- win a fight without killing anyone, then decide to spare them or finish them off, knowing their friends can remember it later.
- spare someone to recruit them or get intel later, or kill them and trigger reprisals, faction penalties, and lasting banes between encounters.
- build two decks at the same time, so every run is a balancing act between winning fights and winning arguments.
- level up cards by using them, then pick an upgrade that can even turn an early card into a self-destroying tool for your later plan.
- make friends and enemies who keep showing up later as allies, obstacles, or meddling bystanders in your fights and arguments.
- hire temporary allies, mercenaries, pets, or summoned creatures for a battle, including training and upgrading them.
- take a bounty, talk or fight the target, then run into that same person hours later in a new role because your earlier choice reshaped the quest chain.
- get branching stories that let you double-cross a patron late, or forgive an assassination target and ally with them at the last moment.
9Chrono Ark
- Players say: Lead Lucy and a four-person team through card-driven battles and repeated expeditions to gather Time Shades and restart the Clock Tower. Players like: Party Synergies · Distinct Character Builds · Narrative Across Runs
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Chrono Ark is a singleplayer roguelike that combines elements from deckbuilders and party-based RPGs. Recruit, train, and build a team of unique Investigators to restore the Twisted World!
May 2, 2024
In this game, you can…
- beat the final boss on your first run, then get murdered by the tutorial bird and reset to the start.
- fight a casino boss who makes you battle him while you play blackjack at the same time.
- race a visible doom timer in long fights: storms and Black Mist start hurting everyone, block all healing, and force you to win fast.
- get slammed to 1 HP on turn one while a boss starts destroying your cards, so the fight begins as immediate damage control.
- manipulate turn order so healing lands between enemy hits, because healing works best if someone hasn't been hit twice in a row.
- watch damage linger as green health you can erase with the right buffs, while even overhealing still converts into real recovery.
- draft your final party over time: pick two starters, then recruit two more later from a random pool of three.
- restart the current stage after dying with the same team and items, plus a stacking boost that changes how you approach risky fights.
10Luck be a Landlord
- Players say: Build a slot-machine symbol pool, spin for coins to meet rising rent, and combine items and symbols in a roguelite run. Players like: Satisfying Symbol Synergies · Addictive Run Loop · Varied Build Strategies
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Luck be a Landlord is a roguelike deckbuilder about using a slot machine to earn rent money and defeat capitalism. This game does not contain any real-world currency gambling or microtransactions.
Jan 6, 2023
In this game, you can…
- find a loop that goes infinite in a few rounds and keep the run going to round 75 with no end in sight.
- build a Geologist setup that consumes every rock and gem on the board in one sweep, then pays out a massive hit.
- watch a chicken lay an egg that can hatch into another chicken, letting your board start self-replicating.
- start with one coin, buy a slot machine, and keep spinning to pay a landlord who demands more rent every time you survive.
- spin a 5x5 grid, then pick 1 of 3 symbols to permanently add for future spins.
- set a dwarf next to a drink so it consumes it and triggers a big cash payout.
- stack items that turn cats into combo pieces, like making cats pay extra or act as wildcards that boost neighbors.
- turn an urn from dead weight into value by getting an item that makes it break open into spirits.
