I made treants awkwardly rub shoulders with ringwraiths in the Total War-style RTS roguelike Tabletop Tavern, and I’m surprised as anybody that it worked
Tabletop Tavern is a roguelike real-time strategy game that tackles an unconventional premise: what if players could field armies composed of incompatible fantasy factions together? The game channels the spirit of Total War-style strategy but reframes it through roguelike mechanics and a linear branching campaign structure.
Rather than traditional RTS worldmap campaigns, Tabletop Tavern guides players through a series of escalating battles along a branching path, culminating in a final boss encounter. Players build their army and select a hero before starting their campaign, with both choices influencing their strategic options throughout the run. The roguelike structure introduces unpredictability and mechanical chaos that would typically destabilize a traditional RTS formula.
The game’s core appeal is accommodating disparate miniature collections—pulling together everything from treants to ringwraiths despite their thematic incompatibility. This “goofy” approach to army composition creates surprising synergies and strategic depth that developers appear to have balanced successfully. The mechanics allow players to progressively flesh out their forces into a cohesive fighting force capable of tackling increasingly difficult encounters.
A playable demo is currently available on Steam ahead of the game’s imminent release next week. Early access through the demo suggests the roguelike RTS hybrid concept has strong potential, offering both strategy enthusiasts and tabletop miniature fans a fresh take on the genre by embracing controlled chaos rather than traditional competitive balance.