Gambonanza's reimagining of the classic chess format coming to mobile with pre-registration now open

• Gambonanza is bringing the chess format to mobile in a brand-new way
• Inspired by the likes of Balatro, this is a fast roguelike spin on the tabletop icon
• Make use of rule-changing Gambits and fight to claim all the pieces

The humble tabletop icon of chess has had many different variations over the years. But one of the most recent to gain our attention was none other than the flashy roguelike Gambonanza, which made a splash on Steam Next Fest, and is now available for pre-registration on mobile!

Gambonanaza proudly wears its influence on its shoulder when it comes to design and aesthetic. There's more than a shade of Balatro going on here, as you make your way through roguelike runs, with each successive round garnering more points you can spend on upgrades and Gambits (their version of Jokers) to change the rules even further.

Of course, this is chess, so there's still a significant difference gameplay-wise. You'll be tasked with capturing each piece on the board, often one that's significantly smaller than usual, rather than just putting the King into Check. And things can escalate even further with massive boss fights and devious minigames to challenge you!

Check and mate

I think it's fair to reiterate that Gambonanza obviously takes a lot of inspiration from Balatro. But that's not meant to insult the developer, as Gambonanza does what anything that draws inspiration from something else should and puts a massive new spin on the concept.

What I really like is the fact that, unlike the (still really fun) concept of Shotgun King, which only bears a passing resemblance to the original, Gambonanza is attempting to twist the format in as strange but recognisable a way as possible. With an expected release of May 1st according to its iOS App Store listing, this is certainly one to watch.

If you fancy seeing other reimaginings of the real-world tabletop on mobile, then be sure to check out our list of the best digital board games for Android! Where we rank everything from major efforts like Monopoly Go to indie hits we think are worth a play!