Pawnbarian: a Puzzle Roguelike

In-app purchases
4.1
4.39K reviews
500K+
Downloads
Content rating
Everyone 10+
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About this game

Chess-inspired puzzle roguelike. Demo - single IAP unlocks full game.

The ad-free demo contains a single character and dungeon.

Pawnbarian is a turn-based puzzle roguelike with bite-sized, but challenging sessions. Play cards to control your hero like a chess piece on a tiny dungeon board, outmaneuver enemies with their assortment of tricky abilities, and become the mightiest warrior of the Chesslands!

Features
- Use a deck of chess pieces to hack and slash through hordes of monsters.
- Pick up the basics instantly if you're familiar with chess, or learn in minutes if you aren't.
- Carefully plan your moves to navigate challenging, emergent tactical situations.
- Spend treasure to upgrade your cards with additional powers.
- Blitz through quick 15-30 minute runs - or die trying.
- Take on the infinite post-run Gauntlet to see how long you can survive.
- Pick from 6 characters to conquer 3 dungeons, all requiring an unique approach.
- Progress through Chains, a series of extra difficulty modifiers.

Not Features
- No permanent upgrades, and not much that needs unlocking. The progress and satisfaction come from your growing mastery of the game's elegant systems!
- No complex and varied builds. The shops provide a few key decisions, but the bulk of the roguelike depth lies in how you approach the emergent combat puzzles!
Updated on
Oct 23, 2023

Data safety

Safety starts with understanding how developers collect and share your data. Data privacy and security practices may vary based on your use, region, and age. The developer provided this information and may update it over time.
No data shared with third parties
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No data collected
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Ratings and reviews

4.0
4.28K reviews
Mark Hiner
February 12, 2024
This is a fun little game. I was worried about how much content I'd get from it but there's a lot to do. The classes are not equal power level but that's ok. My complaints are that the first dungeon feels kind of throwaway compared to the 2nd and 3rd. Diagonal strike upgrades >>> cardinal because of Brawlers. And there seems very little value to upgrade health instead of buying shields (except for capyzerker). But a solid release!
17 people found this review helpful
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Mihal Z
April 20, 2024
So much fun!!! There's a lot of strategy involved in picking your move order; sometimes the RNG is perfect and you can get a group of enemies in one fell swoop and sometimes you have to tough it out and focus on ending up on a safe-ish square evene if that means ending your turn early. Upgrades are definitely super key!
1 person found this review helpful
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Jessica Ashewind
January 25, 2024
An odd concept, but a fun one. Difficulty provides a somewhat high barrier for entry, but the skill ceiling and difficulty scaling through the different chains make up for it. Victory feels earned, defeat feels reasonable, and no vertical progression gimmicks makes for a fun challenge. Your piece is as good at no chains as it will be at chain 10, but you will be better at utilizing your piece.
26 people found this review helpful
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What's new

Maintenance engine and API version update