Games like This Is Not Chess
If This Is Not Chess is your kind of game, the closest matches are Bandit Life, Dragon Hunters and Heroes Project — picked from the ranked list below. Each pick is ranked by what players of this game also play, shared genres and tags, and review-mined similarity — not a generic popularity list.
Get personalized picks →About This Is Not Chess: A turn-based tactics game about goofy characters with wide and varied techniques duking it out across a bright and colourful battlefield.
Players who liked This Is Not Chess also play
Steam players who put hours into This Is Not Chess also tend to own these titles — a signal called collaborative filtering. imho.run cross-references millions of library ownership patterns to surface games whose real audiences overlap, regardless of whether their genre tags match.
Bandit Life
WHY THIS
Top pick for This Is Not Chess fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Strategy and Indie with This Is Not Chess.
Lead a band of misfits through a turn-based adventure filled with blood, ambushes, and hard choices. Clash with rival camps, expand your influence, trade, build, and raid to become the most infamous bandit in history.
Dragon Hunters
WHY THIS
Second-strongest match for This Is Not Chess fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Strategy and Indie with This Is Not Chess.
A DICE BASED FANTASY BOARD GAME SYSTEM Play up to 4 Characters by yourself or race against your friends and family with Local Multi-player (2-4 players), while gaining levels, items, and experience as you battle over 30 different monsters before confronting the foreboding Dragon.
Heroes Project
WHY THIS
Third-strongest match for This Is Not Chess fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Strategy and Indie with This Is Not Chess.
Turn based strategy, tough choices, short and long term consequences.
Wargroove 2
WHY THIS
Ranked #4 for This Is Not Chess fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Strategy with This Is Not Chess.
Trouble stirs on the shores of Aurania. An ambitious new faction has unearthed forbidden relics capable of catastrophic consequences. But how far will they go to achieve glory? Take to the battlefield, sea, and sky with a cast of new Commanders, using your wits to wage turn-based war!
Hero's Hour
WHY THIS
Ranked #5 for This Is Not Chess fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Strategy with This Is Not Chess.
A fast turn-based strategy RPG with real-time combat. Develop your cities and armies, level up your heroes to gain new, powerful spells and skills, and explore the wonders and dangers of the procedurally generated maps as you aim to conquer your enemies before they do the same to you.
Wargroove
WHY THIS
Ranked #6 for This Is Not Chess fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Strategy and Indie with This Is Not Chess.
Take to the battlefield with Wargroove, a strategy game for up to 4 players! Choose your Commander and wage turn-based war on battling factions. Design and share maps, cut-scenes and campaigns with easy-to-use editors and in-depth customization tools!
Heroes of Science and Fiction
WHY THIS
Ranked #7 for This Is Not Chess fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Strategy and Indie with This Is Not Chess.
A turn-based sci-fi strategy that combines exploration and exciting clashes on the battlefield. Take control over several different species, raise powerful armies for your heroes and destroy your opponents! This HoMM-like is set in a scifi universe, with new mechanics on top of the classic formula.
Divinity: Original Sin 2 - Definitive Edition
WHY THIS
Ranked #8 for This Is Not Chess fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Strategy with This Is Not Chess.
The critically acclaimed RPG that raised the bar, from the creators of Baldur's Gate 3. Gather your party. Master deep, tactical combat. Venture as a party of up to four - but know that only one of you will have the chance to become a God.
Cheaper alternatives
Games in the same vein priced at least 40% below This Is Not Chess at current Steam store prices.
POSTAL 2
WHY THIS
Priced ~88% under This Is Not Chess on Steam right now. Shares Indie with This Is Not Chess.
Live a week in the life of "The POSTAL Dude"; a hapless everyman just trying to check off some chores. Buying milk, returning an overdue library book, getting Gary Coleman's autograph, what could possibly go wrong?
Buckshot Roulette
WHY THIS
Priced ~63% under This Is Not Chess on Steam right now. Shares Indie with This Is Not Chess.
Play Russian roulette with a 12-gauge shotgun. Four enter. One leaves. Roll the dice with your life. Good luck!
GRIS
WHY THIS
Priced ~53% under This Is Not Chess on Steam right now. Shares Indie with This Is Not Chess.
Gris is a hopeful young girl lost in her own world, dealing with a painful experience in her life. Her journey through sorrow is manifested in her dress, which grants new abilities to better navigate her faded reality.
The Test
WHY THIS
Priced ~75% under This Is Not Chess on Steam right now. Shares Indie with This Is Not Chess.
You will answer a series of questions that will reveal truths from deep within. These questions may make you uncomfortable, but with great knowledge comes great sacrifice. Can you make it all the way through The Test, and if you do, are you sure you want the answers you seek?
Milk inside a bag of milk inside a bag of milk
WHY THIS
Priced ~81% under This Is Not Chess on Steam right now. Shares Indie with This Is Not Chess.
A short story about what sort of challenges everyday little things can be. Help the girl buy milk, be the first not to disappoint her.
Crypt of the NecroDancer
WHY THIS
Priced ~63% under This Is Not Chess on Steam right now. Shares Indie with This Is Not Chess.
Crypt of the NecroDancer is an award winning hardcore roguelike rhythm game. Move to the music and deliver beatdowns to the beat! Groove to the epic Danny Baranowsky soundtrack, or select songs from your own MP3 collection!
A Short Hike
WHY THIS
Priced ~50% under This Is Not Chess on Steam right now. Shares Indie with This Is Not Chess.
Hike, climb, and soar through the peaceful mountainside landscapes of Hawk Peak Provincial Park as you make your way to the summit.
Super Hexagon
WHY THIS
Priced ~63% under This Is Not Chess on Steam right now. Shares Indie with This Is Not Chess.
Super Hexagon is a minimal action game by Terry Cavanagh, with music by Chipzel.
Free alternatives
Free-to-play games that recommended players of this title also tend to enjoy.
The Expendabros
WHY THIS
Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it. Shares Indie with This Is Not Chess.
The Expendabros have assembled and set their sights on the forces of ruthless arms dealer Conrad Stonebanks in the forests of Eastern Europe.
Magic Archery
WHY THIS
Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it. Shares Indie with This Is Not Chess.
Train a commoner to become the greatest archer in this short incremental game! Increase your stats, gather wealth from quests, buy upgrades, and infuse your arrows with magic.
Eternal Senia
WHY THIS
Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it. Shares Indie with This Is Not Chess.
Thoughts and expectations ARPG
Paper Lily - Chapter 1
WHY THIS
Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it. Shares Indie with This Is Not Chess.
Paper Lily is an RPG horror game in which you can solve puzzles in different ways. Explore a hidden world, meet strange characters, and guide Lacie as she attempts to find answers about her unusual condition.
Project Kat - Paper Lily Prologue
WHY THIS
Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it. Shares Indie with This Is Not Chess.
Project Kat is a short, unconventional RPG horror game in which there is always another way. Solve puzzles, make friends (or not), and guide Kat as she attempts to uncover the mystery behind a strange golden letter.
Landfall Archives
WHY THIS
Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it. Shares Strategy and Indie with This Is Not Chess.
Break into the Landfall Archives to steal and play previously unreleased games, demos, interactive slide shows, and even an unreleased version of Totally Accurate Battle Simulator from 2017!
Narrow it down
Head-to-head comparisons
Plays great on Steam Deck
Valve-Verified or Playable picks from the similar pool — ready to go on Deck out of the box.
Wargroove 2
WHY THIS
Deck Verified — runs on Steam Deck out of the box. Shares Strategy with This Is Not Chess.
Trouble stirs on the shores of Aurania. An ambitious new faction has unearthed forbidden relics capable of catastrophic consequences. But how far will they go to achieve glory? Take to the battlefield, sea, and sky with a cast of new Commanders, using your wits to wage turn-based war!
Hero's Hour
WHY THIS
Deck Verified — runs on Steam Deck out of the box. Shares Strategy with This Is Not Chess.
A fast turn-based strategy RPG with real-time combat. Develop your cities and armies, level up your heroes to gain new, powerful spells and skills, and explore the wonders and dangers of the procedurally generated maps as you aim to conquer your enemies before they do the same to you.
Heroes of Science and Fiction
WHY THIS
Deck Verified — runs on Steam Deck out of the box. Shares Strategy and Indie with This Is Not Chess.
A turn-based sci-fi strategy that combines exploration and exciting clashes on the battlefield. Take control over several different species, raise powerful armies for your heroes and destroy your opponents! This HoMM-like is set in a scifi universe, with new mechanics on top of the classic formula.
Divinity: Original Sin 2 - Definitive Edition
WHY THIS
Deck Verified — runs on Steam Deck out of the box. Shares Strategy with This Is Not Chess.
The critically acclaimed RPG that raised the bar, from the creators of Baldur's Gate 3. Gather your party. Master deep, tactical combat. Venture as a party of up to four - but know that only one of you will have the chance to become a God.
Frequently asked about This Is Not Chess
- How much does This Is Not Chess cost?
- This Is Not Chess is listed on Steam at 7.99 USD (current store price; Steam sales may reduce this temporarily).
- Does This Is Not Chess have multiplayer or co-op?
- Yes — This Is Not Chess supports multi-player play according to its Steam store listing (Multi-player, Shared/Split Screen PvP, Shared/Split Screen Co-op).
- What games are most similar to This Is Not Chess?
- Based on Steam play patterns and shared genres/tags, the games most often recommended alongside This Is Not Chess are Bandit Life, Dragon Hunters, Heroes Project.
- Who developed This Is Not Chess?
- This Is Not Chess was developed by Courtney Dawson.
imho.run ranks Steam game alternatives using a mix of collaborative filtering (ALS / iALS / EASE / LightGCN), content scoring over genres, categories, Steam tags, developers, and publishers, plus AI-extracted vibes mined from review text. The page above is generated in seed mode anchored on This Is Not Chess.
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