Smart Raven Studio dropped an announcement trailer for Rune Dice on November 22, 2025, revealing their unique take on the roguelike deckbuilder genre. Instead of playing cards, you’re physically launching dice across the battlefield to trigger magical chain reactions. The game launches in 2026 on PC via Steam, with a free demo already available.
Physics Meets Strategy
Rune Dice takes the familiar roguelike deckbuilding structure and adds a physics twist. You launch dice onto the battlefield, and when matching dice connect, they merge together and activate powerful rune effects. Think Peggle meets Slay the Spire, where your accuracy and physics calculations matter as much as your deck composition.
The core loop involves matching dice to create combinations while defending against enemy waves. Each successful merge activates runes in your collection that grant abilities like shielding, poison damage, frost effects, and vampiric healing. Your dice get more powerful as they merge higher numbers together, creating satisfying chain reactions when everything lines up perfectly.
The physics-based throwing mechanic adds tension to every turn. You need to calculate angles, bounces, and positioning to maximize merges and trigger the right rune combinations. Bad throws waste resources, while clever shots can turn losing battles into overwhelming victories through cascading effects.
Eight Hero Classes
The game features eight distinct hero classes, each containing multiple character options with unique abilities. This creates meaningful variety in how you approach runs, as different heroes favor different playstyles and synergies.
Some classes might focus on aggressive damage output while others emphasize defensive sustainability or complex combo setups. The demo currently available on Steam gives players a taste of these class differences, though the full roster and their exact mechanics haven’t been fully detailed yet.
Your hero choice influences which starting dice and runes you begin with, shaping the early game before you start collecting additional options. As with most roguelikes, the fun comes from discovering unexpected synergies between your class abilities, collected runes, and dice upgrades.
Rune Collection and Progression
Runes function as the game’s ability cards, activating when you successfully match and merge dice. Your rune deck evolves throughout each run as you make choices on the global map between battles. Visit shops to purchase specific runes, find treasure rooms with powerful rewards, or risk combat encounters for random drops.
The variety of rune effects creates different build paths. Poison builds focus on stacking damage over time. Frost builds control enemy actions through freezing effects. Vampire builds sustain you through combat with lifesteal. Shield builds let you tank damage while setting up bigger combos.
Relics add another layer of customization. These permanent modifiers can dramatically alter your strategy by boosting specific dice types, amplifying certain rune effects, or introducing entirely new mechanics to your toolkit. Finding synergies between dice, runes, and relics is where the tactical depth reveals itself.
Gameplay Features Breakdown
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Core Mechanic | Physics-based dice launching with merge mechanics |
| Hero Classes | 8 classes with multiple characters each |
| Rune System | Ancient runes grant shielding, poison, frost, vampiric powers |
| Progression | Evolving rune deck, relics, dice upgrades |
| Map Navigation | Strategic decisions between shops, treasure, combat |
| Boss Battles | Epic boss and mini-boss encounters |
| Session Length | Bite-sized tactical deckbuilding sessions |
Developer Background
Smart Raven Studio is an indie developer focused on strategic roguelike experiences. Rune Dice represents their entry into the increasingly crowded deckbuilder roguelike space, though the physics-based dice mechanic immediately distinguishes it from card-focused competitors like Slay the Spire, Monster Train, and Inscryption.
The game is being published by Kwalee, a company known for scaling mobile games to massive audiences and more recently expanding into PC and console publishing. Kwalee has over a billion downloads across their portfolio and provides production support, marketing, and community management for partner studios.
The announcement trailer premiered during the Winter OTK Games Expo on November 23, 2025, giving the game visibility among indie showcase audiences. Smart Raven Studio has been actively building community through social media channels on Twitter, Instagram, Discord, and Bluesky.
Current Status and Demo
Rune Dice has a free demo available on Steam right now. The demo launched on November 20, 2025, just days before the announcement trailer premiered. Early player reception has been positive, with the demo peaking at 84 concurrent players on November 22 and maintaining a 90 percent positive review score from early testers.
The full game is scheduled for a 2026 release on PC via Steam, though no specific launch window has been announced yet. The game is built in Unity Engine and supports full controller functionality alongside keyboard and mouse controls.
Language support is impressively broad for an indie title. The game includes 17 languages at launch – English, French, Italian, German, Spanish (Spain and Latin America), Czech, Dutch, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil), Russian, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Turkish, and Ukrainian.
Why Dice-Based Roguelikes Work
The roguelike deckbuilder genre has exploded since Slay the Spire proved the formula in 2017. Developers have experimented with different takes on the structure, from Griftlands’ negotiation system to Inscryption’s meta-horror storytelling. Dice-based mechanics offer a fresh angle that appeals to players who enjoy physics puzzles and spatial reasoning.
Games like Dicey Dungeons already proved dice can work in roguelike contexts, but Rune Dice’s physics approach adds a skill component that pure RNG-based dice games lack. You can improve through practice and clever positioning rather than just hoping for good rolls.
The bite-sized session length mentioned in the Steam description suggests Smart Raven Studio is targeting players who want the strategic depth of deckbuilders without committing to hour-long runs. This makes the game more accessible for casual sessions while still offering complexity for hardcore optimization.
FAQs
When is Rune Dice releasing?
Rune Dice is scheduled to launch in 2026 on PC via Steam. Smart Raven Studio hasn’t announced a specific release date or window yet beyond the year.
Is there a demo available for Rune Dice?
Yes, a free demo is currently available on Steam. It launched on November 20, 2025, and lets you try the core gameplay mechanics, hero classes, and rune system before the full release.
What platforms will Rune Dice be available on?
Currently only PC via Steam has been confirmed. No console versions have been announced, though Kwalee’s publishing portfolio includes console releases, so ports could happen post-launch.
How does the dice merging system work?
You physically launch dice onto the battlefield. When matching dice touch each other, they merge into higher-value dice and activate your equipped runes. Successful merges create chain reactions where multiple runes trigger in sequence, dealing damage and applying effects.
Is Rune Dice multiplayer or single-player only?
The game is designed as a single-player roguelike experience. There’s no indication of multiplayer features in the current announcements or demo.
How long does a typical run take in Rune Dice?
Smart Raven Studio describes the game as having bite-sized sessions, suggesting runs are shorter than traditional roguelike deckbuilders. Exact run times will likely vary based on your playstyle and success rate.
Can you customize your starting deck in Rune Dice?
Your starting setup is determined by your chosen hero class, which provides unique abilities and starting runes. From there, you customize your build through shops, treasure rooms, and combat rewards during the run.
Conclusion
Rune Dice brings a fresh physics-based twist to the roguelike deckbuilder formula that’s become so popular in recent years. The combination of skill-based dice launching, strategic rune collection, and hero class variety creates a compelling package that stands out from card-based competitors. With a free demo already available and a 2026 release window confirmed, fans of tactical roguelikes have something new to look forward to. Whether you’re a Slay the Spire veteran looking for a different challenge or someone who bounced off traditional deckbuilders, the physics-based approach might be exactly what pulls you in.