69%Strong matchSpellmasons
93%92793% positive reviews, Very Positive across 927 reviews·Roguelike · Tactical
—





Side Effect combines a game of chess with a roguelike experience. Experiment, discover combos, carve out your own path by expanding your spellbook and collecting artifacts. Lose, learn and try again.
Side Effect is a tactical roguelike based on chess where you dominate the board by using spells. Choose an elemental school and enter the arena.

Spells are channeled by your pawns, with various effects depending which pawn you chose. Use that to your advantage by strategically positioning your pieces on the board. Plan ahead to keep the upper hand. But be careful: the AI won’t go easy on you.
Assemble your spellbook, drawing from 9 schools of magic. Gather powerful artifacts and craft your own gameplay, as you experiment combos.
Understand the dynamic of each level and turn their mechanics to your advantage. Make sure to adapt your strategy and spells to the situation.
You can experience the game with one like-minded friend! Strategies may change drastically as you combine both spellbooks. The more, the merrier!
Things may get a bit hectic, and plans may not pan out the way you expected, but that’s fine. Even the AI cannot anticipate all the consequences of its actions. Magic is beautiful, dangerous, and hard to predict. This is the actual Side Effect.
Steam data © 2026 Valve Corporation. Trademarks are property of their respective owners.
All matches
Finding similar games…
SpellmasonsShares Roguelike · Turn-Based Combat · Online Co-op , adds Tactical93% · 927 positive reviews69%Strong match—
SpellRogueShares Roguelike · Turn-Based Combat , adds Deckbuilding89% · 1k positive reviews69%Strong match—
The Ouroboros KingShares Roguelike , adds Turn-Based Tactics82% · 414 positive reviews63%Good match—
Dicey DungeonsShares Roguelike , adds Roguelike Deckbuilder89% · 10k positive reviews63%Good match—
Rune DiceShares Roguelike , adds Deckbuilding80% · 405 positive reviews65%Strong match—
PlutoShares Roguelike , adds Card Game94% · 498 positive reviews61%Good match—All matches
The best games like Side Effect are Spellmasons, SpellRogue, The Ouroboros King, Dicey Dungeons, and Rune Dice.
Match on: filter matches for Side Effect by tag
Filters all matches
65%+Strong matches
50%+Good matches