71%Strong matchThe Ouroboros King
82%41482% positive reviews, Very Positive across 414 reviews·Turn-Based Tactics · Roguelite
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This is Chess on a conveyor belt -- an ingenious roguelike, melding tactical strategy and explosive action! Deal with a mind-bending scrolling board that pulls towards you relentless waves of foes and perils. Prepare for their violent collision with your pieces. Prepare for TOTAL ZUGZWANG.
TOTAL ZUGZWANG
SteamOld Chess Theory can be thrown out the window. Invent your own way to play and mark your name in the new Chess legacy!

ZUGZWANG - /ˈʦuːkʦvaŋ/ n. 1. The compulsion to move. 2. In the game of chess it denotes a position in which the obligation to move a piece on the board has grave consequences. TOTAL ZUGZWANG - /ˈtəʊtl ˈʦuːkʦvaŋ/ n. In the game "TOTAL ZUGZWANG" it denotes the special event in which there is an obligation to move every piece, the very board itself, and bear the consequences.
Chess has been given an upgrade. This unique roguelike challenge integrates the chess board with a steam-powered conveyor belt, and puts it in a machine that ceaselessly spits out procedurally generated waves of chess armies, dangerous traps and powerful items.

Fight for dominance of pivotal squares to capture power-ups with board-shattering effects and turn the tides of battle.

With every grind of the conveyor belt, every shift of the board, every TOTAL ZUGZWANG, you could find yourself one move from a gratifying checkmate... ...or one away from your own King's game-ending capture.

Use captured pieces as currency to bribe brutish rogues to join your side. Boost your score and declutter the board by selling pieces no longer needed.

Be immersed in the machinery through a textured steampunk soundscape. Become transfixed to the action with an original procedural soundtrack of hypnotic african drumming interspersed with electrifying trumpets performed by John Robert Matz.
Steam data © 2026 Valve Corporation. Trademarks are property of their respective owners.
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The best games like TOTAL ZUGZWANG are The Ouroboros King, Gambonanza, Passant: A Chess Roguelike, Infinity Sweeper, and Shotgun King: The Final Checkmate.
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