Have you been playing Slay the Spire nonstop, and you’re finally starting to reach the point where you’re curious about other deck-building games? Similar to Roguelikes, digital deck-building games come in all shapes and sizes. It’s also thanks to the popularity of Slay the Spire, the most popular deck-building games tend to have roguelike mechanics added in, and for good reason too. A deck-building game with procedurally generated levels and upgrades creates an almost infinitely replayable game (if it’s done well).

As a result, few games will give you more replay value than a deck-building game. Buying a good one is an almost assured way to get your value back and more. However, you could spend a small fortune looking for the right one, and bad ones will get boring fast. At this price range, the majority of your best options will have some form of roguelike elements, so to help you find the right game for you, we’ve made this guide to scratch your digital card addiction, and all for under $20.

Multiplayer Deck-Building Games

15. Hellcard

Hellcard is a fun spin on a dungeon-crawling deck-building game, but instead of you going to the monsters, the monsters all come to you. It’s best played with three players, but if you want a challenge, you can try playing it solo.

Released

February 16, 2023

Developer

Thing Trunk

• Multiplayer (Up to 3 players)
• Lots of classes and subclasses to choose from
• Unique distance mechanic

Hellcard combines the successful formula from Slay the Spire and combines it with elements from a top-down tactical RPG map. Players control the characters in the center of the map and are surrounded by hordes of computer-controlled enemies. With each turn, melee enemies will get closer to try and attack you, while ranged enemies and casters will stay far into the backlines and attempt to ruin your day. Cards in Hellcard have a specific range they can affect between close and long range, and AoE cards will have a ring indicator to show just how big their area is.

Besides its wonderful multiplayer and unique board, what makes Hellcard such a good purchase, is that the game remains fairly difficult even late into a run. Some deck-building games will let you steamroll through bosses and opponents with ease later in the run. Since artifacts and cards aren’t hyper-powerful, Hellcard keeps the scales of power firmly in the player’s decision-making. How well you manage your limited resources and maximize the few strengths your characters have is what will determine a successful run.

14. One Step From Eden

Borrowing the action-heavy gameplay of Megaman Battle Network, One Step From Eden lets players build a deck and use it at blistering high speeds. It’s a good mix between action and deck-building.

Released

March 26, 2020

Developer

Thomas Moon Kang

• Deck-building grid battler like Megaman Battle Network
• More action-oriented
• Local Coop and PvP (Up to 2 players)

Fans of Megaman Battle Network will feel right at home in the futuristic battlefields of One Step From Eden. It has a similar fast-paced, grid-based battle system as Battle Network, but instead of being a JRPG, One Step From Eden uses a roguelike progression similar to Slay the Spire. The cards in One Step also have plenty of synergy with one another, often rewarding the player for casting similar types of cards one after another, while the artifacts you find in your adventures are what further enable these combos.

What makes One Step such a fun game for deck-building fans is how its speedy gameplay makes players take a more active role in each combat. Usually, in deck-building games, you have the luxury of taking your time and mulling your decisions over. However, in One Step From Eden, you’re constantly firing your main weapon, reacting to each enemy’s attack pattern, and glancing at your cards to figure out when is the best time to use them. But if you build your character right, reaching a point where you can fire off your entire deck because of how much energy you’re generating is intoxicating.

13. Star Realms

Star Realms

Star Realms is already a good tabletop deck-building game, but the digital version improves it by making it easier to keep track of all the insane math and an absurd number of triggered effects. One of the best digital board games you can buy, and at $5, its price is perfect.

Released

March 8, 2016

Developer

Wise Wizard Games, LLC

• Multiplayer (1v1 only)
• Online asynchronous gameplay
• One of the best digital ports of a physical deck-building game
• Only $5

Star Realms is already a phenomenal deck-building game on paper. Taking cues from other popular deck-building card games like Dominion, players take turns buying spaceships and bases from the cards in the center of the board (known as the Trade Row), then attacking with the ships they’ve played on their turn. In the early game, this takes the form of just a few small fighters pecking at each other, but the finales of Star Realms games are always explosive affairs with massive fleets of gigantic ships vaporizing opponents from existence through the sheer weight of their attack values.

The digital port of Star Realms has done an amazing job of streamlining the game by having a computer handle each card’s triggers, and calculate each player’s total gold, life, and combat gained in each turn. This creates a much smoother and simpler experience for everyone involved compared to the paper version of the game. Additionally, the digital version also adds asynchronous gameplay, so you and your friends can play Star Realms whenever you’re available without feeling the need to finish the entire game in one sitting. For $5, this game is a steal if you have friends to play with.

Story-focused Deck-Building Games

12. Inscryption

Inscryption is a doozy of a deck-building game. For $20, you’ll be getting a game filled with unexpected twists and turns, with a healthy amount of horror elements to keep anyone on the edge of their seat.

Released

October 19, 2021

Developer(s)

Daniel Mullins Games

• Amazing story
• Borrows from Magic: The Gathering and Slay The Spire
• Blends storytelling and gameplay mechanics incredibly well

For its $20 price, Inscryption is a rollercoaster ride disguised as a deck-building roguelike. This game’s story is at its best if you go in blind with no prior knowledge. It’s filled with several twists and turns to keep you guessing at what exactly will happen next in the story while keeping you distracted with different ways to optimize your deck.

Once you finish the main story mode, a new game mode will unlock called “Kaycee’s Mod” which is where Inscryption offers a more traditional deck-building roguelike experience to its players. This combination of an amazing story, hours of replayability through Kaycee’s mod, intriguing gameplay, and an affordable price are what make Inscryption a good addition to anyone’s gaming collection.

11. Griftlands

Griftlands has some of the best looking art among the games on this list. You play as one of three characters and follow their journey through a relatively unforgiving sci-fi world. Along the way, the deck you build will be used to determine how they resolve conflicts both peaceful and violent.

• You get to use two decks, one for combat and one for negotiation.
• RPG with an interesting story and fun deck-building
• Gorgeous art style that feels like you’re watching an interactable TV show

Griftlands is an artistically beautiful game that uses its deck-building mechanics to help tell a fascinating sci-fi story. Your deck of cards is used to resolve any conflicts the main characters may encounter, whether it’s a physical altercation or just a simple argument with a client. Griftland’s emphasis on story and character interaction makes the game feel more like a deck-building RPG than the roguelike it’s commonly labeled as.

What makes the deck-building of Griftlands stand out is how you’ll have two decks to manage, a deck dedicated to combat and a deck to negotiations. Combat plays out similarly to other turn-based card games, with the player casting cards with their energy each turn to successfully manage the problems each enemy throws at you. However, negotiations take a unique spin on the concept by creating a core argument and satellite arguments that help support the core argument with buffs. Choosing whether to focus on the opponent’s core argument while defending your own, or removing all the satellite arguments first is an important consideration in Griftlands.

10. Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales

Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales has a deep, and gripping tale that follows Queen Meve just before the events of the Witch games. Fans of Gwent who were looking for a good story to pair with fun deck-building mechanics will love this game.

Released

November 9, 2018

• Fantastic story set in the Witcher universe
• Beautiful comic-book artwork for cutscenes and gorgeous artwork for its cards
• It’s Gwent, with a few changes

If you’re looking for a deck-building game that isn’t a roguelike and has a gripping story around it, then you’ll want to play Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales. Set in the same universe as The Witcher, Thronebreaker follows Queen Meve in the events that lead up to the Witcher games. Her army is represented by a Gwent deck, and conflicts are solved through a slightly altered game of Gwent.

But the single-player campaign is where the best parts of this game live. Players can make decisions that will affect Queen Meve’s alliances with different kingdoms and her supporters. In-game, this is represented by having allied hero cards in your deck to help you out. If your alliances turn sour, those cards will be removed from your deck until your relationships have been repaired. This connection between the story and your deck, along with the quality of the Witcher’s storyline, is what makes this game worth more than its $19.99 price tag.

9. Gordian Quest

Gordian Quest is a mix of a good deck-building game with Dungeons & Dragons. The characters are all unique spins on classic classes, and the cards are extremely fun just to play with.

Released

June 23, 2022

Developer

Mixed Realms Ltd,

• Fun deck-building mixed with a DnD style RPG (D20s and skill checks included)
• 30-hour campaign with a roguelite and roguelike mode as options
• Turn-based on a grid

Gordian Quest is the result of combining Dungeons & Dragons with a deck-building game. Characters in combat move on a 3×3 grid but have to give up a block to do so. Players can also control up to 3 characters in a single combat, each with their own unique deck and their own upgrades to their decks.

However, it’s the moments out of combat that will keep you glued to your screen. Problems may require a skill check to resolve them, and just like in Baldur’s Gate, you’ll have to roll a D20 with some modifiers to see if you pass it. Godian Quest adds another level by letting you exhaust one of the cards in your deck to further help you in your skill check.

However, that card will be useless until you rest at an inn. Items and upgrades will all add new cards to your deck, or upgrade previously existing cards, and when you slay enough enemies, your character will level up, giving you more RPG-like customization options to help your characters grow in the way you want them to.

Deck-Building Games With A Unique Spin

8. Peglin

A unique and adorable spin on Peggle, Peglin features a small goblin as it journeys through the land throwing stones and other ball-shaped objects into large pachinko machine like boards for funsies. You go little goblin.

Released

April 25, 2022

Developer

Red Nexus Games Inc

• Peggle, but with roguelike mechanics
• Unique gameplay that rewards good deck-building strategies
• Light-hearted game

Another unique take on the deck-building genre, Peglin takes the tried-and-true formula of Peggle and combines it with the deck-building, roguelike mechanics of Slay The Spire. For those unfamiliar, Peggle and Peglin both involve playing a pachinko-like game of launching a ball into a 2D map filled with “pegs.” Each time the ball hits a peg, it will destroy it, and in Peglin, this will also trigger an effect that can be used to defeat enemies.

In Peglin, you’ll be able to see the order of your “draws” from the deck, and you’re allowed to skip shooting one ball each turn. This gives you plenty of control over what ball you’ll get to launch, but the difficulty (and fun) of the game is planning how to maximize the effect of each shot. Once you figure out a good strategy to build your deck around, every shot in Peglin’s late-game becomes a blast to watch.

7. Vault of the Void

Vault of the Void takes what’s currently fun about deck-building games and builds on top of it. Players can store energy and discard it for more energy, and each class has a unique way of playing the game.

Released

October 4, 2022

Developer

Spider Nest Games

• Energy carries overturns
• Cards can be discarded for more energy.
• Plenty of in-run customization options

Vault of the Void feels very similar to Slay the Spire and Monster Train in that they share similar mechanics, unique characters, and similar run progression. However, while Slay’s mechanics are simple and easy to grasp, Vault of the Void embraces the complexity found in a digital deck-building game. Characters can have different starting decks built around unique mechanics, cards can be upgraded with an upgrade point, and with stones that add powerful abilities to them, and some cards will have different effects based on whether they’re discarded or removed from battle.

But one of the most interesting parts of this game is its energy system. While most games will give you a set amount of energy to play with each turn, Vault of the Void allows you to discard cards to gain energy. Since cards and energy carry over into the next turn, and you’ll always draw back to your maximum hand size, a common decision you’ll have to make is whether it’s better to store up on energy now, or hold onto your best cards hoping for a more ideal situation for them later. For fans looking for a more involved version of Slay, Vault of the Void will give them hours of entertainment for its low asking price of $17.99.

6. Night Of The Full Moon

Night of the Full Moon is perfect for players who want to build a ridiculously powerful engine to steamroll enemies with. It’s a cozy deck-building game with an enchanting fairy-tale plot.The classic collection is only $18.91 on Steam right now.

Released

July 26, 2019

Developer

Giant Games

• Ridiculous combos
• Absurdly powerful classes
• Unique game modes
• Free game, but it’s highly recommended to get the DLC classes

At first glance, Night of the Full Moon looks like a mediocre port of a mobile game onto the PC. However, underneath the quirky 2000s flash animations and cartoony art style beats the heart of a comfy deck-building roguelike. Classes start out slow, but the steady gain in power leads into ridiculous combos that will handily defeat the majority of enemies you encounter. The overall experience leads to a fairly comfortable game to relax with.

However, its biggest downside is its enemy designs. Enemies in Night Of The Full Moon each have a unique mechanic to them, but sometimes, that unique mechanic will single-handedly undo your entire deck’s strategy. This can lead to some frustrating and draw-dependent encounters. Despite that, those unique mechanics also keep runs interesting, since these moments will require you to create suboptimal outside-the-box plays to successfully emerge victorious from these battles.

5. Ratropolis

Ratropolis combines tower defense, city manager, and deck-building into one unique game. It’s also impressive how the artwork can go from absolutely adorable to complete nightmare fuel.

Released

December 22, 2020

Developer

Cassel Games

• Deck Builder combined with a Tower Defense/city builder
• Adorable artwork paired with some disturbing depictions of evil rats
• Later waves can get wonderfully hectic.

Ratropolis is one of the kinds of games that blends two genres in a way you wouldn’t normally expect. Combining Tower Defense and Deck Building sounds odd at first, but once you survive your first couple of waves of insane rats, you’ll wonder why people don’t combine these genres more often.

At the beginning of each game, you’ll draw a hand of 5 cards. Your City Hall will provide you with a gold income, so you can play those cards. These cards include ways to increase your income, defenders you can place, and buildings to upgrade your base with. Once enough time has passed, you can draw another 5 cards for free, but if you need more cards before that time limit is over, you can also draw 5 cards by paying gold. This system keeps the flow of the game going and forces the player to consider whether it’s smarter to dive for a new hand, or make the most of the hand they currently have.

4. Dicey Dungeons

Dicey Dungeons is an unconventional deck-builder because you always have full access to your deck at all times. Instead, Dicey Dungeons has moved the randomness of card draw into dice rolls. It’s a simple game, but the concept is fun and unique.

Released

December 15, 2020

Developer

Terry Cavanagh

• You always have full access to your deck.
• Randomization is in the dice effects, not your “cards”.
• Fun aesthetic, easy to pick up, and light-hearted tones

Dicey Dungeons is a deck-builder in the barest sense of the name. Your cards are represented by items you find along the way in your adventures, and once they’re equipped for your character, you’ll always have access to them. You might be wondering where the randomization went if you always have access to the “cards” in your inventory. This is where the dice mechanics come into play.

Each turn, the player rolls a set number of dice and assigns them to their cards for certain effects. The deck-building in this game can be seen when you have to choose a specific number of items to use, and you have to decide how and where you want to divide your dice to overcome the many challenges awaiting you in these dungeons.

3. Deep Sky Derelicts

Deep Sky Derelicts can be a little rough around the edges, but the comic book style presentation and similarities to Darkest Dungeon are what make this game so enjoyable.

Released

September 26, 2016

Developer

Snowhound Games

• Moving comic book aesthetic
• Dungeon exploration combined with deck-building
• RPG character growth
• Feels like a sci-fi Darkest Dungeon 1

Taking place in a grimy, sci-fi universe, Deep Sky Derelicts has you scavenge through abandoned ships and stations, so you can look for anything valuable and sell it. As you progress through each wreck, your crew will grow and get stronger like a typical CRPG, but new abilities and passives will unlock new cards to add to each character’s deck.

The only downside is that each character can only play one card. Fans of chaining together several card combos and steamrolling through their competition may want to look elsewhere. However, if you love being rewarded for good resource management, smart preparations before each mission, and good moment-to-moment decision-making, then you’ll find a home in the decrepit ruins of Deep Sky Derelicts.

2. Loop Hero

Another unconventional deck-building game, while other games will have you focus on casting spells or summoning creatures to help you fight, Loop Hero has you build terrain and summon new parts of the map to fight your hero so they can grow stronger.

Developer(s)

Four Quarters

Released

March 4, 2021

• Extremely simple, but addictive gameplay loop
• Unique “deck” mechanic
• Card combinations must be carefully considered

Loop Hero is another game that doesn’t look like a deck-building game at first glance. Your hero will walk in an endless loop, and each time they defeat a monster, it counts as a “draw” from the top of your deck. It mimics the artwork and feel of early Castlevania games and most of its gameplay can be seen as a simple resource management game. However, the decks you build in this game are made of different landscapes and types of enemies that your hero can slay for items and additional cards.

In a way, it feels like the deck-building cousin of Vampire Survivors – your character simply walks and automatically fights for you while you make all the important decisions for them. Just like Vampire Survivors, your character will grow stronger with each foe you defeat, and once you’ve finished the run, you can head back and upgrade your stats or unlock more characters.

For $14.99, this game offers plenty of replayability at a good price.

1. Cobalt Core

Cobalt Core puts you in the cockpit of a spaceship as you try to escape an unrelenting time loop. Its cozy atmosphere, innovative gameplay, and quirky humor make it a stand-out game from the rest of the crowd.

Released

November 8, 2023

Developer

Rocket Rat Games

• Funny and chill atmosphere
• Snappy and responsive card usage
• Makes full use of its unique board
• It’s like

Cobalt Core has players command a spaceship through a deck of cards. The cards will dictate whether your ship will dodge and weave through enemy fire, retaliate with its own cannons, or activate special abilities. On the deck-building side, this game has taken all of the best parts of other deck-building games and the best parts of FTL, while also mixing in its own mechanics to help it stand out against other spaceship games.

Playing cards feels snappy and responsive, and the many unique mechanics in Cobalt Core take full advantage of the ship vs ship combat idea. For example, enemies may deploy drones or fire missiles at your ship. These objects take 1 turn to reach you, which gives you time to either evade them (your ship can move left and right) or shoot them before they become a threat. With different crewmates and ships to unlock, this game has a ridiculous amount of content for $20.

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