Most medieval management games focus on building castles or conquering kingdoms. Monastery: Ora et Labora from Italian studio Dragonkin Studios takes a completely different approach by asking what if you managed the actual spiritual and practical lives of medieval monks? As the newly appointed abbot, you guide your brotherhood through the sacred rule of “Ora et Labora” which means pray and work. Oversee divine offices, brew legendary ales, illuminate intricate manuscripts, manage resources during harsh winters, and make impossible choices when war threatens your peaceful sanctuary.
The second open playtest just launched on December 5, 2025, incorporating substantial improvements based on feedback from the first testing period. Available free on Steam right now, this playtest gives you hands-on experience with systems that go far deeper than typical building-focused management games. If you’ve ever wondered what monastic life was actually like beyond Hollywood’s simplified portrayals, this Italian indie team is building something genuinely different in the management simulation space.
- Prayer and Work Define Everything
- Brewing Ale Keeps Everyone Alive
- Manuscript Illumination as Art and Income
- Seasonal Trials and External Threats
- Building and Expansion Mechanics
- Meeting Individual Monk Needs
- Second Playtest Incorporates Feedback
- Italian Studio Building Medieval Games
- Free Playtest Available Now
- Release Timeline Unknown
- FAQs
- Contemplation and Survival
Prayer and Work Define Everything
The Latin phrase “Ora et Labora” translates to “pray and work,” which was the fundamental rule of Benedictine monastic life. Your monks don’t simply exist as resource-generating units like villagers in city builders but follow structured daily schedules divided between spiritual duties and practical labor. Divine offices punctuate the day with communal prayer at specific canonical hours. Between these services, monks engage in productive work including brewing, manuscript illumination, farming, and caring for the needy.
This dual focus creates management complexity beyond typical resource juggling. You’re not just optimizing production chains but balancing spiritual devotion against material needs. Neglect prayer and your monks lose morale, potentially abandoning their vows. Focus too heavily on contemplation while ignoring practical work and your monastery starves. The tension between earthly survival and heavenly calling mirrors the genuine struggles medieval abbots faced daily.
Brewing Ale Keeps Everyone Alive
Medieval monasteries were famous for their brewing expertise, and Monastery treats this craft with appropriate depth. Ale wasn’t just a luxury but essential nutrition providing calories and vitamins while being safer than contaminated water. Your monks must master brewing techniques, manage ingredient supplies, maintain quality standards, and potentially sell surplus production for income that funds other monastery needs.
The brewing system demonstrates Dragonkin’s commitment to historical authenticity merged with engaging gameplay. You’re making meaningful decisions about resource allocation, skill development, and economic priorities rather than clicking a generic “produce food” button. The complexity respects that medieval monasteries were sophisticated economic institutions whose survival depended on mastering practical crafts alongside spiritual disciplines.
Manuscript Illumination as Art and Income
The scriptoriums where monks painstakingly created illuminated manuscripts represent another layer of monastery management. These weren’t just artistic expressions but valuable commodities that generated substantial income for religious communities. Creating a single manuscript required months of skilled labor, expensive materials like vellum and gold leaf, and artistic talent developed over years of practice.
The manuscript system adds strategic depth by forcing trade-offs between immediate material needs and long-term investments. Training monks in illumination takes time away from farming or brewing. Purchasing quality materials drains finances that could buy food for harsh winters. But completed manuscripts provide large income infusions that enable expansion and security. The decision-making mirrors real historical priorities where abbots balanced practical survival against cultural preservation.
Seasonal Trials and External Threats
Medieval life wasn’t peaceful contemplation interrupted by occasional excitement but constant struggle against natural disasters, economic hardship, disease outbreaks, and political violence. Monastery incorporates these harsh realities through seasonal challenges and external threats that force difficult decisions. Harsh winters strain food supplies and require adequate preparation during abundant seasons. Poor harvests create famine conditions where you must decide who eats and who starves. Plagues spread through your community, killing monks and disrupting operations.
War represents the ultimate crisis where your peaceful sanctuary becomes collateral damage in conflicts between secular powers. Do you shelter refugees and risk military retaliation? Bribe warlords for protection using resources your monks desperately need? Abandon your monastery and flee with whatever portable wealth you can carry? These aren’t abstract moral dilemmas but survival decisions with material consequences that shape your monastery’s trajectory.
Building and Expansion Mechanics
Beyond managing existing facilities, you’ll expand your monastery by constructing new buildings that enable additional functions and accommodate growing brotherhood size. The building system balances historical authenticity with gameplay accessibility, letting you create layouts reflecting real monastic architecture without requiring expertise in medieval construction techniques. Dormitories house your monks, workshops enable crafts, chapels facilitate prayer, and defensive walls provide protection against external threats.
Customization options let you shape your monastery’s identity through architectural choices and spatial organization. Do you prioritize a grand cathedral that attracts pilgrims and donations? Invest in extensive farmland for self-sufficiency? Build fortifications anticipating future conflicts? These decisions create distinct playstyles where your monastery reflects strategic priorities and personal vision rather than following predetermined optimal paths.
Meeting Individual Monk Needs
Your monks aren’t interchangeable units but individuals with personal needs, skills, personalities, and spiritual development trajectories. Some excel at brewing while others demonstrate artistic talent perfect for manuscript illumination. Certain monks naturally gravitate toward leadership roles while others prefer solitary contemplation. Managing these individual differences creates depth beyond simply assigning bodies to tasks.
The character system potentially creates emotional investment where you care about specific monks rather than treating them as disposable resources. When disease threatens your most skilled illuminator or war kills your brewery master, the loss impacts both mechanical efficiency and personal connection. This individual focus mirrors how real monastic communities functioned as collections of unique personalities united by shared purpose rather than anonymous collectives.
Second Playtest Incorporates Feedback
Dragonkin Studios’ decision to run multiple public playtests demonstrates smart indie development philosophy. The first playtest revealed which systems worked intuitively and which confused players, which mechanics felt engaging versus tedious, and what content gaps needed filling. Francesco from the studio explicitly mentions that initial feedback was invaluable, allowing substantial enhancements across various features before wider release.
This iterative approach respects that game design often fails to predict how ideas play in practice versus theory. What seemed like intuitive resource management to developers might prove incomprehensible to players unfamiliar with monastic history. What the team considered minor features might be exactly what creates compelling moment-to-moment gameplay. The playtest process validates assumptions before full commitment, dramatically increasing odds of successful launch.
Italian Studio Building Medieval Games
Dragonkin Studios operates from Siracusa, Italy, bringing European perspective to medieval subject matter that American and Asian studios often approach differently. European developers generally demonstrate deeper familiarity with medieval history, architecture, and religious culture since these elements remain visible in their contemporary environments. Walking through Italian cities means encountering actual medieval monasteries, cathedrals, and artifacts that inform authentic design decisions.
The Italian development angle particularly matters for a game about Catholic monastic life. The team likely has cultural knowledge about religious practices, Latin terminology, liturgical calendars, and Benedictine traditions that studios from Protestant or secular backgrounds would need to research extensively. This embedded expertise potentially translates to authenticity that resonates with players seeking genuine historical simulation rather than Hollywood’s simplified medieval fantasy.
Free Playtest Available Now
The second open playtest is completely free and accessible immediately through the Steam page. No wishlisting required, no keys to request, just download and play. This generous access removes all barriers to trying Monastery and providing feedback that shapes final development. The playtest presumably includes substantial content demonstrating core mechanics while stopping short of the complete experience reserved for purchasers.
The free playtest strategy builds community investment before launch. Players who enjoy the experience become evangelists spreading word-of-mouth recommendations. Those who encounter problems provide bug reports and balance feedback that improves the final product. Everyone benefits from this transparency compared to surprise launching after silent development and hoping for positive reception. It’s exactly the kind of player-friendly approach that builds goodwill in competitive indie markets.
Release Timeline Unknown
No specific launch date has been announced, though the second playtest suggests development is progressing toward release rather than early experimentation. The team is clearly still incorporating feedback and refining systems, indicating full launch remains months away at minimum. This patient approach prioritizes quality over rushing to market, which benefits everyone long-term even if eager players prefer immediate availability.
Medieval management fans should wishlist the game and participate in playtests to stay updated on development progress. The genre has room for thoughtful simulations that go beyond superficial medieval theming into genuine exploration of how these historical institutions functioned. If Dragonkin can deliver on the promise shown in promotional materials and community descriptions, Monastery could join titles like Manor Lords and Farthest Frontier as essential medieval management experiences.
FAQs
What is Monastery Ora et Labora?
Monastery: Ora et Labora is a management simulation where you play as an abbot leading a medieval monastery. Developed by Italian studio Dragonkin Studios, the game focuses on balancing monks’ spiritual duties with practical work including brewing ale, illuminating manuscripts, and surviving harsh medieval realities.
When does Monastery Ora et Labora release?
No specific release date has been announced. The second open playtest launched December 5, 2025, suggesting development is progressing but still incorporating community feedback and refining systems before full launch.
Is there a demo available?
Yes, a free playtest is currently available on Steam. This isn’t a limited demo but an open testing period where players can experience core mechanics while providing feedback that shapes final development. Access is completely free with no restrictions.
What does Ora et Labora mean?
“Ora et Labora” is Latin for “pray and work,” the fundamental rule of Benedictine monastic life. The phrase encapsulates the dual focus of medieval monks who divided time between spiritual devotion through prayer and practical labor supporting the monastery and serving the needy.
Who is developing Monastery?
Dragonkin Studios, an Italian indie game developer based in Siracusa, Italy, is creating Monastery: Ora et Labora. Their European perspective and cultural familiarity with Catholic monastic traditions inform the game’s historical authenticity and attention to detail.
What makes it different from other medieval games?
Unlike medieval builders focused on combat and conquest, Monastery simulates actual monastic life including structured prayer schedules, specific crafts like brewing and manuscript illumination, individual monk management, and moral decisions during crises. The focus is spiritual and practical balance rather than military expansion.
What platforms will it be on?
The game is confirmed for Steam with an Epic Games Store page also existing. Additional platforms haven’t been announced, though PC remains the confirmed target with potential console releases possible after successful PC launch.
Contemplation and Survival
Monastery: Ora et Labora represents exactly the kind of thoughtful historical simulation that indie developers can create when they’re genuinely passionate about their subject matter. Dragonkin Studios isn’t building another generic medieval city builder with monks as cosmetic flavor but exploring what monastic life actually entailed, both spiritually and practically. The balance between prayer and work, the seasonal crises, the brewing expertise, the manuscript creation, all these systems demonstrate respect for historical complexity rather than Hollywood simplification. Download the free playtest and discover whether managing monks through medieval hardships becomes your next management obsession. Sometimes the most interesting games emerge when developers choose authenticity over broad appeal and trust that audiences exist for thoughtful historical exploration.