If you’re a fan of buying big ol’ bundles of games to add to your Steam library to maybe play later, and if you also like a good deckbuilder, then I have got an interesting heads up for you on this fine November weekend!
Humble Bundle
The headline news is the release of a new roguelike-heavy collection on Humble Bundle, called Devious Deckbuilders 2. If you’re a deckbuilder fan, there may already be some of them in your collection, but maybe there are enough new ones to tempt you in?
That’s certainly the case for me, as I’ve already played Vault of the Void (the spotlight game), Roguebook, Ring of Pain, and Heretic’s Fork, however; there are several other games that intrigue me.
For the record, the games I haven’t got already are Demonic Mahjong (which is pretty new), Deepest Chamber Resurrection, Evolings, and Breach Wanderers. Here’s how everything unlocks, although I’m skipping the prices because most of you won’t be in the UK…
- First tier: Ring of Pain, Evolings
- Second tier: Both previous games, plus Deepest Chamber Resurrection, Heretic’s Fork, Roguebook
- Third tier: All previous games, plus Breach Wanderers, Vault of the Void (pictured below)
- Fourth tier: All previous games, plus Demonic Mahjong
Fanatical Build Your Own
However, before you start clicking away and buying things, I think it would be wrong to highlight one bundle but not a very similar offering from a rival, Fanatical, called the Build Your Own Tabletop & Deckbuilder Bundle.
This bundle works quite differently. Again, avoiding firm prices because they’re likely to fluctuate based on location, the Fanatical bundle offers three tiers, with a fixed price per game, based on which tier you are in. For example, three games will cost you roughly a tenner, but for a smidge over twenty quid, you can get seven.
Here are the games in the Fanatical bundle, ordered as they appeared for me:
Lost in Fantaland, Roll Player, Isle of Swaps, Forward: Escape the Fold, Overrogue, Pyrene (pictured directly below), Necromancer for a Week, Journey of Greed, Deepest Chamber Resurrection (pictured at the end of the article, as it’s in both bundles), Super Tax City, Fuzz Force: Spook Squad, Gordian Quest, and How We Die.
There are also some tabletop adaptations and puzzlers in there too, which I’ve separated out for you:
Wingspan, Quilts and Cats of Calico, Jewel Match Atlantis Triple Pack, and the Dire Wolf Quad Pack, which includes Raiders of the North Sea, Yellow & Yangtze, Wings of Glory, and the digital version of one of my family’s favourite board games, Sagrada.
Bundling up my thoughts
In terms of quality, there are great games in both bundles. At the lower price levels, the Humble Bundle offers better value, but if you’re going to buy a lot of games, or if you want more control over your purchases, then Fanatical is worth a closer look.
Either way, there are lots of cheap deckbuilders up for grabs if you want them!
For what it’s worth, I did the math, and if you want to buy every single deckbuilder in both bundles, it would set you back £47.80, which is roughly $65 USD. Now you know!
Finally, if you like a good roguelike deckbuilder, I’ve collected together a list of my own favourites right here. Four games listed above appear in that article, but you’ll have to click through to find out which ones. I know, I know, I’m a terrible tease…
