Gambonanza

Chess Roguelike

Ratings

Age

9+

Strategy

Languages

English

Latest Version 1.1.0

Wed May 20 2026

Performance

- Big pass on stutters/hitches, especially in boss fights and right after install

- 60 FPS users moved to 30 once — change anytime in Settings → Graphics

New

- 2 gambits: Empress, Horse Dealer

- Chaos Mode appearance sound

Fixes

- Stalemate restores the board to your round-start placement

- Selling Copycat / Marvellous Evolution no longer crashes

- Strain selection tap reliably toggles again

- All 11 translations refreshed

Coming May 2026! Gambonanza takes the tactical clarity of chess and turns it into a roguelike playground. Play snackable, high-impact runs on small boards where every decision counts. Use over 150 rule-bending Gambits to unlock devastating combos, manage a dynamic reserve system, and face off against epic bosses. With a retro pixel-art aesthetic and quirky fairground ambiance, Gambonanza is the chess revolution you've been waiting for.

Dinsun Expert Review

Our Expert Score

89/100

Gambonanza is a brilliant 'what-if' scenario: what if chess was designed for the modern roguelike era? The result is something that feels familiar yet completely chaotic. The tiny boards force you into tactical engagements immediately, and the 'Gambit' system allows for power-trips that would make a Grandmaster weep.

I love the fairground theme; it gives the game a personality that is often lacking in more 'serious' strategy titles. The tension of the board crumbling adds a necessary sense of urgency, preventing the 'infinite stall' problems some strategy games face. It’s punchy, clever, and highly replayable. This is definitely one to watch for when it drops in May.

Dinsun reviewed on: Sun Mar 10 2024

Features

150+ rule-bending Gambits for unique combos

Dynamic reserve system to deploy pieces strategically

Challenging boss battles and mini-games

Vibrant retro pixel art and fairground atmosphere

Featured In

Pawn Stars

Break all the rules in a bite-size chess bonanza.

Make Your Move in Gambonanza

Rewrite the rules of chess in a remarkable roguelike.

Tips & Walkthrough

The Art of the Gambit

Gambits allow you to modify how your pieces move or interact with the board. Early in your run, prioritize Gambits that increase your mobility or allow you to 'reserve' pieces for later turns.

Gameplays

Managing Board Crumble

In Gambonanza, if you take too many turns, the board starts to crumble. You must balance aggressive play to finish the match quickly against defensive maneuvers to keep your king safe.

Screenshot

Q&A

Not at all! While it uses chess pieces, the roguelike elements and 'rule-bending' powers make it accessible to everyone.

Ratings & Reviews

Chess 2.0

Mon May 04 2026 Hexalicious.

TL;DR: Amazing game that’s for anyone that plays chess AND for those that don’t. A basic Rogue-like with RNG elements and some skill expression that really puts the cherry on top of this game. From what I can tell, this game has been created by people who LOVE chess! From the references to the implementation of Chess into a rogue style game. If you’re a chess fan, you’ll love it; it has many of the elements needed to play chess like understanding sequencing, and a good knowledge of mental visualization; however, these are not necessary to enjoy the game. You could be a wood pusher and still enjoy this. If you’ve never even played chess, this can still be an enjoyable experience as not only does the game have an info page which names all the pieces in case you don’t know the Horsey’s name, it also gives informative moves like what piece can be taken (need that on normal chess ngl) plus the AI you play against can be very forgiving. Which brings me to the one thing I’m not the biggest fan of in this game: The AI difficulty. While I haven’t reached the last difficulty level, in the later levels I can still leave a piece hanging and not be punished for it. The strains (modifiers) definitely guarantee a challenge, it’s just I’d hope for more of a skill requirement in terms of game play rather than the skill gap being based on one’s resource management / luck with the shop. I do realize that this is probably more of a personal preference rather than an actual complaint and allows the inclusion of non-chess players to be able to still win the game. Overall, I have been having a blast playing this game and I feel that I’m close to finishing most of the content, if not all, which makes me sad. I really hope to see more to come. Plus I could so see this kind of game becoming a multiplayer experience

Fun Concept, Mixed Execution

Wed May 20 2026 RooGames

Having loved playing both chess and Balatro, I was excited to give this a try; however, my opinions on several of the game’s mechanics are mixed. To start, gambits, which are equivalent to jokers or run items, feel uninspired overall. While many synergize well, a great number of them are simply chance-based. While RNG is not an issue by itself, being a staple of the roguelike genre, it feels out of place in a game as strategic as chess. Furthermore, there are a few areas where the RNG feels completely redundant. For instance, starting with three random pieces is avoidable by simply reloading. This matters because the game’s core balance is heavily skewed toward queens, and some pieces are simply not worth using unless you get a specific gambit early on. For me, its aspiration to be “Balatro but chess” holds it back. The experience would be more enjoyable if the game were simply a chess roguelike. Even the aesthetic clashes, as the trippy casino style does not really match chess. With that being said, the game overall is not bad. There is certainly fun to be had, especially if you enjoy these types of games. The music is fitting, and the gameplay is crisp. The bosses are actually more interesting than Balatro’s, but they are difficult to prepare for. All in all, the game is definitely worth a try; just don’t expect the long-lasting experience Balatro provides.

I bought the game.

Mon May 04 2026 JBurnz0785

I saw a demo of this game and bought it. I love the art style and rogue dynamic. I love all the different upgrades you can get liken”gambits.” I love that it’s about chess. I want to believe in this game. I love everything about. Here’s some things I’d like to see in an update or sequel: 1) More real chess dynamics’s . If I move the king piece into check from another piece, check with the movement of the king should matter more. 2) slightly strong chess mechanics from the opponent enemy AI 3) more real chess positions. I want to learn how to learn both bishops or both knights, or the king, or the pawns, in a position of you know what I mean. Frame the puzzles after more realistic chess situations, teaching how to use the pieces as a whole 4) a mode where you ca just play real chess against opponents, preferably celebrities to the sport 5) a multiplayer option where you can play opponents with the unique deck build that you have earned and against opponents with similar skill levels 6) just a little more art work on the upgrades / gambits. Make it like other card games cough cough a little blizzard in there, if you know what i mean. You’ve done a great thing by innovating chess into a modern game play format. Keep updating, this could be big. I haven’t bought a game in years. But I bought this one. Please keep updating. Thanks for starting a great new game concept by combining chess with rogue and rpg qualities .

Awesome game! Just some QoL things

Mon May 18 2026 columarii

Love the concept and the creativity poured into this game (and the references are a great cherry on top). I’m not sure if the developers are already planning on doing so, but I just wish there was a way to speed up the overall gameplay. The animations are amazing, but given that this game is dependent on replayability, I would love a speed setting as an option just like Balatro. Would also love the opportunity to customize our game as well like different boards, pieces, etc.

Needs a lot of work…

Fri May 08 2026 Stormii.Knights

After playing for sometime this game suffers from a lot of issues. It has WAY too many ideas going on that aren’t syncing. The entire game lacks direction both in gameplay, power ups and design. A mini boss every match is unnecessary and makes the big bosses feel less intimidating. Pieces get destroyed ALOT which is a fair set back but the price for more in shop is insane. 5-10 coins for one piece that’s likely to be destroyed is absurd. Everything in the shop is very over priced which makes it hard to really experiment with strategies and items. Especially when a LOT of items exist. A majority of the gambits are overly complicated. It feels like every gambit has a “chance” of working involved and/or a piece requirement which doesn’t work since pieces are already expensive to get. None of these are bad gameplay choices but they don’t work together well. The art style is just as overwhelming with an animation playing behind the board making it hard to look at for long periods of time. The main bosses are very confusing. A robot, a geisha and a wendigo as a boss feels way to random. A lot of the items feel this way too. It would be nice if they followed a theme. They would feel more connected... TLDR; overwhelming, over priced shops, lack of ways to get more pieces or experiment gameplay, art style hard to look at for long, shop looks cluttered, bosses feel random and unintimidating. No hate intended i do love this game!!

Very fun! One or two things

Mon May 04 2026 SomeFantastic76

This game is very like balatro, except it is also chess, which is very fun! I really enjoy the gambits, and the way the whole game balances out. However, as someone who also enjoys chess, there are a couple things that threw me for a loop. In chess, pawns can move two squares on their first turn. This isn’t present in the game, which is alright. But I would love if there was a reason for it, or a way that I could know, rather than having to find out when I die from placing the piece under the wrong expectations. The same problem is present with the king piece. In chess, the king MUST move out of check if he possibly can. He also cannot move into check. In this game, the king moves like a pawn with all directions unlocked. This is also fine, and I am sure there were good reasons for it, but could there maybe be a little pop or something, so that if I tap on a piece I am facing, I can get information about it? Or even just a compendium of “ways this game is like and unlike chess” in the main menu, so people don’t get too confused. The other thing which I have seen mentioned is battery life. I lost five percent from a 30-45 minute session, with a fairly powerful phone and a new battery. This isn’t really a problem, but I am including it in here for data purposes, as I buy mobile games for long road trips and other activities where I might not have access to a charger. All in all, this is a very good game! I would give it an 7.7-to-8.3 out of 10, especially if you like Balatro. Congratulations to the developer, as well, for making the top charts list! You have made a very quality game. It would be wonderful to see a resolution of some sort for the thing with the kings and pawns that I mentioned earlier, but I will keep playing the game either way.

It’s okay, needs tuning

Wed May 20 2026 TheSeanSaid

There’s a lot going on in Gambonanza and it has potential, but feels as if the game released without tuning. Going on a deep run is incredibly difficult due to the variance of gambits that rarely if ever share synergies with each other. The economy is very stingy. Losing any game pieces in a sacrifice maneuver is near catastrophic considering how little currency you earn. Recommendations for adjustments - make the first shop re-roll free each round. Start the game with a gambit token so you can pick after game pieces are rolled. Consider expanding gambits from 5 to 7. Add conditions that reward the player for winning - flawless victory, capturing all pieces with the same piece, capturing with only pawns… etc.

Great idea, meh execution

Tue May 12 2026 Reviewer 1999

I really want to like this game. I love the idea, but there are some things about the execution that I found middling. To begin, I really don’t love the combination of chess with randomness. Many of the game elements rely on luck, which in my opinion play against some of the best parts of a strategic game like chess- just it my cup of tea. Second, many of the gambits/play elements are either poorly described or they don’t work as you’d expect (ex: adjacent doesn’t count diagonals). Play mechanics of the gambits feel a bit half baked, few really great synergies, and about 80% feel useless or not worth the money. Lastly, for a single loop soundtrack I’d love something a little catchier. Great idea though.