Pawnbarian

Turn-based puzzle roguelike where chess moves guide dungeon battles

j4nw · Released Sep 24, 2021

Reviews: Very Positive; 89% of 902
Recent reviews: Not enough recent
Playing now: 2; peak 24h 3
Steam Deck: Verified
Last update: 5 months ago; Mar 26, 2026

Free demo available, 0 playing it now: get the demo.

What is Pawnbarian?

In this turn-based puzzle roguelike, you play a hero fighting monsters in the Chesslands, using cards to move and attack like chess pieces on small dungeon boards. Short runs let you upgrade cards with treasure. You can choose among six characters, tackle three dungeons, and try extra difficulty modifiers or an endless post-run Gauntlet.

For you if...

+you like quick runs built around careful tactical planning
+you enjoy chess-inspired movement and card-based combat puzzles
+you want escalating difficulty without permanent upgrades

Not for you if...

−you want permanent upgrades between roguelike runs
−you prefer forgiving combat over demanding turn-based puzzles
−you want complex builds rather than tactical positioning

What players say

89% of 902 reviews are positive

Players praise the chess-based puzzles, short runs, and variety from different characters and card upgrades. Some say higher difficulty levels depend too much on lucky card draws; others find enemy effects and damage hard to read.

Screenshots and trailer

Pawnbarian system requirements

As published by the developer.

Minimum

OS: Windows 7 SP1+
Processor: SSE2 support
Storage: 200 MB available space
DirectX: Version 10

PC version details

DRM, required accounts, controller support and Steam features.

DRM: None declared on Steam
Controller: Full controller support
Platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux
Achievements: 18
Steam features: Cloud saves, Family Sharing, Trading cards

Steam Deck: Verified

All functionality is accessible with the default controller configuration
Shows Steam Deck controller icons
In-game text is legible on Steam Deck
Default graphics settings perform well on Steam Deck

Multiplayer and co-op

Single-player

Languages

Text only: English, Polish, French, Portuguese - Brazil, Spanish - Spain, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Swedish, Italian, Japanese, Danish, Hungarian, Korean, Russian, Bulgarian, Finnish, Serbian, Spanish - Latin America, Ukrainian.