Slay the Spire 2 is here — and it's $25 in Early Access. If you want to scratch the same itch for free, we built a browser-based deckbuilder roguelike on Rosebud AI inspired by it. Play it now, or remix it into your own game in minutes.
Slay the Spire 2 is here, and the deckbuilder gold rush is back
Slay the Spire 2 hit Steam Early Access on March 5, 2026, and broke the genre's records: over 177,000 concurrent players on day one — beating Hades 2 and Mewgenics. Mega Crit plans to keep it in Early Access for one to two years while they balance new characters, mechanics, and co-op.
The original Slay the Spire still owns the genre — Ironclad's exhaust decks, the Silent's poison shivs, Defect's orbs, Watcher's stances. Now the sequel is even more ambitious. The catch: it's $24.99, and the original rarely goes on deep sale.
If you're not ready to pay, or you just want something to play in your browser between runs, read on.
Play a Slay the Spire-style deckbuilder free on Rosebud
We built a browser-based deckbuilder roguelike on Rosebud AI in the spirit of Slay the Spire. No download, no signup — just play.
What you'll find:
- Turn-based card combat with energy management and enemy intent telegraphing
- A vertical run structure with floors, elites, and boss fights
- Build a deck across the run by picking new cards after every fight
- Relics that swing your strategy in unexpected directions
- A clean, readable codebase — built deliberately as a template
It's not Slay the Spire. It's a love letter to the genre, designed to be a starting point.
The twist: you can remix it into your own game
Here's what the original Slay the Spire can't do: every game on Rosebud can be forked and remixed. Take our template and turn it into:
- A sci-fi deckbuilder set on a generation ship, with malware cards and firewall shields
- A cozy version where you're a baker and each "fight" is a customer order
- A poker-deckbuilder hybrid where hand value matters as much as the cards themselves
- A four-character roster like the original — Ironclad / Silent / Defect / Watcher style — but yours
- Something completely your own — Rosie, the AI assistant, will help you code it
You don't need to write code. You describe what you want in plain English, and Rosebud builds it.
How to play and remix in 4 steps
- Visit https://rosebud.ai/play/roguelike-deckbuilder-example-1
- Hit Play and try the game in your browser
- Click the Rosebud watermark in the bottom-right corner and choose "Remix this game" to fork it into your own project
- Chat with Rosie to change anything — cards, classes, art style, music, enemies, relics
From "I just played a free Slay the Spire-like" to "I'm building my own" in about 60 seconds.
Who this is for
- Slay the Spire fans looking for something free to play between Slay the Spire 2 sessions
- People not ready to spend $25 on Early Access (or who can't run the desktop game)
- Indie devs and creators looking for a working deckbuilder template to learn from
- Streamers who want a remixable game to make a bit around
- Educators teaching game design who want a hands-on starting point
Try it now
Slay the Spire's magic is the compounding feeling of a great run — every relic, every card pick, every elite kill snowballs into something absurd. The same thing happens when you start remixing on Rosebud. You change one card. Then the art. Then the whole genre. Three hours later you've made something that's entirely yours.
👉 Play & remix: https://rosebud.ai/play/roguelike-deckbuilder-example-1
Want to make your own deckbuilder from scratch instead? Head to rosebud.ai and describe it in the prompt box. Rosie will take it from there.
Andi Bucescu
Andi is the Head of Marketing at Rosebud, where she writes about the intersection of AI, creativity, and brand storytelling. She explores how generative AI is reshaping marketing strategies and creative workflows, with a focus on making complex technology accessible and cutting through the noise of modern campaigns. Her perspective is informed by undergraduate research on effective social media content and consumer psychology.