Overview

Card Monarchy is an Early Access indie strategy game from developer mAInely AI games, released on October 13, 2026. It blends roguelike deckbuilding with turn-based tactics, but with a twist: every unit, spell, and curse in the game is a playing card, complete with suit and rank.

The rank determines the gold cost of a card, while the suit decides which Quarter of the kingdom it belongs to. Even the kingdom itself is constructed from cards, making the entire experience feel cohesive and thematic.

Highlights

  • Ten-card decks, no duplicates: Your deck is exactly ten cards, and you cannot include two of the same card. This forces every slot to be a meaningful choice rather than a consistency tax. Once a run begins, the deck is locked, so you must commit to your strategy.
  • 847,660,528 possible Early Access decks: With the current card pool, there are over 847 million distinct deck combinations. The developer notes that at 1.0, there will be more possible decks than there are people alive on Earth.
  • Eight Monarchs, eight Hero Powers: You play as a King or Queen of a specific suit. Each Monarch has a unique Hero Power that can be used once per turn and costs no deck space. This power shapes your overall strategy and adds a layer of asymmetry to each run.

Who It's For

Card Monarchy is ideal for fans of roguelike deckbuilders like Slay the Spire or Monster Train, especially those who enjoy deep, combinatorial decision-making. The strict ten-card limit and no-duplicate rule will appeal to players who like to optimize every slot and experiment with unusual synergies.

The game also supports single-player, multiplayer, and PvP, so you can test your deck-building skills against friends or strangers. If you appreciate card games with a strong thematic identity and a high degree of replayability, this Early Access title is worth watching.

Game Info

  • Developer/Publisher: mAInely AI games
  • Genres: Indie, Strategy, Early Access
  • Steam User Tags: Roguelike Deckbuilder, Strategy, Deckbuilding, Card Battler, Card Game, Roguelite, Turn-Based Strategy, Singleplayer
  • Release Date: October 13, 2026
  • Modes: Single-player, Multi-player, PvP, Shared/Split Screen PvP
  • Languages: English (full audio support)