Card-Stacking Village Survival

The Understack Society

A Deceptive Games Ltd. Release · Jan 21, 2027

A card-stacking village survival game where a society of misfits is built, fed and defended one card at a time — while something far worse waits beyond the gate.

Fact Sheet

Developer: Deceptive Games Ltd.
Publisher: Deceptive Games Ltd.
Release: Jan 21, 2027
Platform: PC (Steam)
Genres: Casual, Indie, Strategy
Press Contact: assets@deceptive-games.co.uk

About the Game

The Understack Society is a card-stacking village survival game from independent UK studio Deceptive Games Ltd. Players stack cards to gather food, craft equipment and build a home for a growing society of misfits, balancing the needs of their citizens against nights that grow steadily more dangerous.

Spare cards can be traded for brass and spent on mysterious parcels from the Moon Shop, a nightly visitor whose twenty parcel packs range from the useful to the unpredictable. Unique citizens must be recruited, kept fed every night and protected as threats escalate — because something far worse is waiting beyond the gate.

The game features more than 250 cards, 164 crafting combinations and over 80 quests, wrapped in a hand-crafted, cartoon-styled world of purple nights and lantern light. A full playthrough runs roughly four to eight hours.

Key Features

▸Card-stacking survival and village-building gameplay
▸Over 250 cards and 164 crafting combinations
▸More than 80 quests across a 4–8 hour playthrough
▸Moon Shop economy: trade spare cards for brass and mysterious parcels from 20 parcel packs
▸Recruit, feed and defend unique citizens as nights grow more dangerous
▸Coming to PC via Steam

Trailer

Embed: https://www.youtube.com/embed/TFebAuDrCVw

Screenshots

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History

The Understack Society is Deceptive Games' take on the card-stacking survival genre, combining the studio's love of compact, systems-driven design with a whimsical, hand-illustrated world.

Press Quotes

"We wanted the pleasure of stacking cards to carry a whole village on its back. Every system — food, brass, parcels, defence — had to feel like it fit in your hand."
— Gavin Powell, Managing Director & Game Director
"The Understack had to feel cosy and threatened at once. Warm lanterns, deep purples, and just enough shadow at the edges to remind you the gate is there."
— Filipe Sabino, Art Director

Credits

Gavin PowellManaging Director & Game Director — Design, Programming, Production
Filipe SabinoArt Director — Art, Animation, Visual Design

Game Links

Request a Steam Key

Company Contact

Deceptive Games Ltd

Ty Mentor
Navigation Park
South Wales, UK

assets@deceptive-games.co.uk

Deceptive Games Ltd is an independent studio based at Navigation Park in South Wales. By keeping the team deliberately small — led by a Managing Director and an Art Director, both senior, both hands-on — every game is shipped without committee, with the people who make it responsible for every decision on screen.

Other Press Kits