#TurnBasedThursdayFest banner with owl illustration. Owl is wearing a steampunk-ish jetpack and leather pilot outfit with cap and goggles, and a large clock inside of a cog on its chest. "Celebrating everyone who makes, plays, and loves turn-based video games! April 4th-8th, 2024."

#TurnBasedThursdayFest is a five-day online festival celebrating turn-based video games. Back for its second year, our last edition featured 300 participating games and a full 5-day schedule of Twitch streams and YouTube premieres. Brought to you by the team behind #TurnBasedThursday on twitter, this year’s event will again offer:

Games Games Games

Hundreds of participating RPGs, sims, grand strategy, deckbuilders, 4X, roguelikes, puzzlers, city builders and more… see just how much variety there is in turn-based games, all united by fun based on smart choices & clever planning instead of reflexes & reactions.

Discover hidden gems, find hits on sale, and check out all the upcoming games that might be your next favorite.

Stay tuned for a full list of participants and a Steam sale April 4th-8th with sales, curated selections, and more.

Content Creator Showcase

We’re highlighting excellent content creators who enjoy these kinds of games and regularly introduce their audience to new ones.

Stay tuned for a schedule to come!

Gamers, represent!

Millions of gamers love these kind of games, and we’re bringing them together. All week we’ll have opportunities for you to share your stories, win new games, and have some fun with your fellow gamers.

You can join the Turn Based Games Discord now for a great community with gaming news, deals, and fun.

Questions?

Why turn-based?

There are many kinds of turn-based games — large-scale grand strategy and precise small-scale tactics; fast-paced pause-only-when-you-need-to and relaxing watch-and-savor; old school classics and clever new concepts. What unites them all is a playerbase that enjoys games where you can take your time when you want to, that loves the payoff of careful choices and a clever plan, that want victories based on smarts, not speed.

I’m an interested studio / publisher, what can you tell me about the Steam sale? Have you been approved? Will it be featured?

We have been approved by Steam. Front-page featuring decisions aren’t made until they see the full list of participants, the event page setup, and what their overall schedule is looking like closer to the event, but we will at minimum be included in the Steam deals section and have banners across the hundreds of participating games in the event. We also had great success in getting press coverage, reddit support, and social media sharing for last year’s event. Combined with the roster of ~60 featured content creators we partner with to showcase participants and spread the word about the festival, we bring a lot of attention to the event.

Can I participate in both the Steam Spring Sale and #TurnBasedThursdayFest?

Yes, Steam’s major seasonal sales do not count for any discount cooldowns. So long as your last sale before the Steam Spring Sale ends before March 5th, you’ll be able to participate in both events. If you’re unable to go on sale for #TurnBasedThursdayFest due to other sale scheduling conflicts, you’re still welcome to apply. We can only accept a limited number of released games that aren’t able to go on sale for our event, but you’ll still be considered and accepted games will still be included within the Steam event.

Did the event name change from #TurnBasedFest to #TurnBasedThursdayFest?

It did; Steam requested we change it to help distinguish from their own themed sales events. The new name helps make clear the connection to the weekly #TurnBasedThursday community showcases our team organizes on twitter (and starting to on Bluesky) year-round.

What is the deadline to sign up for #TurnBasedThursdayFest?

In order to be considered you must submit your application before 8th of March 10pm GMT

I have another question not answered here.

Please join the Turn-based Games Discord at https://discord.gg/zfmrtb2FkQ – look for the #tbtfest channel and let us know there. (Please check Pinned messages for any updates and the latest resources. 🙂) Thanks for your interest in #TurnBasedThursdayFest!

Last year’s participating games

(View our hand-curated selections on last year’s Steam event page.)

Follow @TurnBasedThurs on twitter or join the Turn Based Games Discord for updates.