Gambonanza is the best Balatro-like version of chess yet and you have to try the demo

If you love strategy games and roguelikes, Gambonanza fuses together the worlds of Balatro and chess like no other and it won me over completely. This is easily one of the best demos I've played during Steam Next Fest, and it has full Linux support too.

You don't need to really understand chess to enjoy this one, thanks to the slimmed-down version of it with the tiny board. It helps that the basic tutorial is fast, to the point and gets you going but you do have plenty still to learn outside of it. The point is just to capture all of the enemy pieces, and in a limited set of turns. Easier said than done with you having no real idea what's coming on each round. It's up to you to make use of your limited pieces as best you can, with the additions of various upgrades to really alter your run.

Starting off by spinning a wheel to grab your three starting pieces, you're then left to position them wherever you want inside your stating area, and off you go to attempt to capture all of the enemy pieces. It's actually quite challenging, especially due to the really small size of the board - so it really makes you sit and think. Even more so during the boss fights.

Another challenging aspect to it is that not only do you have a small amount of pieces, but pieces lost in a round do not come back if you win the round. So you're constantly buying and replacing them. If you take too long in a round, board tiles will start falling away too.

What helps you along the way are all the board tweaks and upgrades you can do. The first of the special upgrades to mention are Gambits, think of them like Relics in Slay the Spire or Jokers in Balatro - giving some powerful effects on your turns. Like Thunder's Gambit, which skips the next enemy turn if you capture a unit with a Pawn. Or Throne's Gambit, which gives you a King if you managed to get a Pawn to the end to promote it. You can also get special tiles to mess with the enemy like making phantom copies of pieces, trap enemies on a tile and more.

There's also a token system in the shop that has mini-games to give you an assortment of new pieces, new gambits and new board tiles. Lots to think about each game on how you approach the rounds.

You also build up a list of extra pieces you can place down during a run, which can help if the enemy AI player has managed to block your current pieces or if you think you're going to lose.

Despite the small size of it, Gambonanza is very much like Balatro in the way that every run can end up completely different and due to all the assorted upgrades, it really hooks you in to keep coming back for another run. To see how far you can get, and to see how ridiculous you can make it.

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Game Highlights:

• Smaller Starting Boards that Pack a Punch: enjoy the strategic tension of a chess game packaged in snackable and high-impact rounds.
• Synergistic Gambits & Pieces: Combine your chess pieces with over 150+ Gambits to unlock devastating combos and strategic surprises.
• Dynamic Reserve System: Keep a stock of extra pieces off-board and deploy them at crucial moments to shift the balance of power.
• Strategic Board Upgrades: Enhance your chessboard and hone your tactical edge with golden squares, blessing tiles, protective surfaces, and more!
• Retro Aesthetic & Quirky Ambiance: Immerse yourself in vibrant pixel art with a nostalgic CRT filter, evoking the playful excitement of a fairground.
• Engaging Mini-Games: Test your luck and skill in challenges inspired by pachinko, slot machines, and Gachapon, each offering game-changing upgrades.

There's about a hundred different things I should be doing with my time right now, but I'm going back for another run in the excellent demo of Gambonanza.