The Rookery

amazing fun if you enjoy playing chess

I adore this game. It has become my comfort game that I play whenever I have some time to kill. It's well-balanced, has enough scenarios to keep you coming back, and has a great number of relics that really change how you approach the game. The approach to difficulty is very gradual, with one small change every time you go up in ascension level. Some of these aren't just boring number tweaks. For instance, at least one level introduces harder AI.

It's really, really good. All the decisions they've made seem to have been really intelligently thought through, so that things you initially think are pointless or unbalanced turn out to be well chosen with more exploration. It actually highlights how hard it would be to make a good chess roguelike, by actually being a really good chess roguelike.

I just finished my first run, and it was a blast! I'm 700 elo normally, and started at Casual. Lots of fun abilities, and I had fun learning all the overpowered mechanics. Great if you just want to blow things up at low difficulty, or work through the complex levels at high difficulty.

I like the game, but it is unplayable after level 15. Its the same identical levels, just with less pieces and options. Means it all comes down to a less than 1% chance of a perfect randomly generated play through which allows you to win. Balance issues.

I had a round once where i had 16 pawns, wich at the beginning of each round turn into atomic kamikaze bishops, wich were able to move like rooks. I just yeeted them into the enmey and took out every single piece in 4 turns or less. 10/10 (Battery + manhatten project + charging bishops) Best combo i think there is and i've been looking for the same feeling ever since

Despite the upgrades to pieces and relics, the game is a good exercise for chess imagination. It features numerous levels of progression, which gradually increase the difficulty. The variety of bosses (e.g. Poseidon flooding the board from below, a battle in the ring, a fight against a herd of horses) also adds to the game's excitement. As a chess player, I highly recommend it.

Good

good