· Steam · iOS · Android

Midnight Wager

Dice with the Devil

Eight nights at a crossroads inn. Throw real dice, sign your rolls into a contract, and bend the odds with whatever the pedlar is selling. Across the table, the stranger in the hood has never lost a soul.

The Wager

You came to the crossroads for a game of dice. He came for your soul.

Midnight Wager is a roguelike built on the oldest tavern game there is. Roll five dice, keep the ones you like, roll again, then sign the result into a clause of the Contract. Every clause scores once a night, so every choice costs you something.

Between the bells a pedlar sells trinkets that bend the rules, inlays that turn bone dice into glass and gold, and forgeries that rewrite the contract itself. Stack them until the numbers stop making sense. Survive eight nights and the Devil tears up the contract. Miss a single bell and he collects.

Win or lose, every run earns Infamy. It opens new tables, each bending one rule of the game, and the Circles of Hell below them, every Circle harder than the last. 6 Challenges set fixed terms of their own, and the Grimoire keeps a record of everything you have found.

25
Devils
80
Trinkets
8
Pacts
5
Tables
9
Circles
6
Challenges

A Night at the Table

  1. I

    Throw

    Gather the dice and fling them across the felt. They tumble, collide and settle as real dice do. Three throws a turn.

  2. II

    Keep

    Set the dice you like on the ledge and throw the rest again. Four fours is a fine start. A fifth would be greedy.

  3. III

    Sign a clause

    Every combination is a clause in the Contract, and each clause signs only once a night. Spend a Four of a Kind now, or hold out for something better?

  4. IV

    Luck × Nerve

    The clause sets base Luck and Nerve. The pips add Luck, inlaid dice and trinkets pile on, and the two are multiplied together.

  5. V

    Beat the bell

    Winnings pile up toward the First Bell, the Second Bell and Midnight. Reach each one before the candles burn down. At Midnight, the devil sits in.

The Company

The devils keep the table.

Each night one of them sits down at Midnight and plays a cheat of their own. A few are named below. The rest would rather you met them in person. On the eighth night it is always the Devil himself, in one of three forms.

    The Pedlar's Wares

    Everything has a price. Most of it is worth paying.

    Trinkets

    Five sockets, and far more trinkets than will fit. A few of them, if you hover.

    Inlays

    Set a die in glass for half again the Nerve, if it does not crack. Gild one for coin. Iron pays best when it sits out.

    Star Charts & Forgeries

    Chart a constellation to level up a clause for the whole run. Forge new clauses into the contract, copy the ones that pay, or scrub a used one clean.

    Articles of the Wager

    The Fine Print

    Read carefully. Nobody ever does.

    1. Of Dice. Dice are thrown by hand, dragged and flung across the felt, and land as real dice land. The physics is simulated; the outcome is still yours to curse.
    2. Of the Contract. Clauses from humble Ones to the Pentagram (five of a kind), and a few that are not in any rulebook. Each signs once a night. A roll that fits nowhere may be scratched for nothing.
    3. Of Score. Luck × Nerve. Trinkets, inlays and star charts stack on top of one another, and a well-built table turns a pair of sixes into six figures.
    4. Of the Company. A company of devils, each with a cheat. One shackles a die to the table, one swallows your odd numbers, one wants half as much again by Midnight. All of them talk.
    5. Of Tables and Circles. Each of the 5 tables bends one rule of the game, and beneath every one lie 9 Circles of Hell. Each Circle keeps the rules of those above it and adds one of its own.
    6. Of Infamy. Every run earns Infamy, however it ends. Its levels and 34 achievements open locked trinkets, new tables and 6 Challenges, and the Grimoire remembers everything you have found and everyone you have beaten.
    7. Of Seeds. Every run comes from a seed. Share one with a friend and play the same night, roll for roll.
    8. Of Endings. Beat the eighth night and the table stays open for as long as your nerve holds.
    9. Of Music. Old-world pieces for lute and strings that darken as the bells ring toward Midnight, over a table that sounds like one: bone on wood, coin, wax and a fire in the hearth.
    10. Of the Eighth Night. Struck from the public copy.

    Asked at the Bar

    Questions, and the odd honest answer.

    When can I play it?

    Midnight Wager is coming to Steam in 2027. Wishlisting is the best way to hear the moment it opens, and it helps a small game more than you would think.

    What will it run on?

    Windows, macOS and Linux on Steam, and on iOS and Android phones and tablets. Steam Deck support is planned for launch. It plays with a mouse or a touch screen, and the table rearranges itself for small and upright screens; controller support is on the list.

    Do I need to know the dice game it is based on?

    No. If you have ever kept two sixes and rolled for a third, you know enough. The first night walks you through the rest, and every clause explains itself when you hover it.

    Is it a deckbuilder?

    It scratches the same itch without cards. Your build is the trinkets in your case, the inlays on your dice, the levels on your clauses and the shape of your contract. Every run is eight nights, if the Devil lets you stay that long.

    What is there after the eighth night?

    The table stays open for endless nights. Beyond that, each win opens the next Circle of Hell at that table, Infamy unlocks new tables and Challenges, and the Grimoire fills with everything you have found and everyone you have beaten.

    How much will it cost?

    We will announce the price before release. No microtransactions, no season pass, no loot boxes. The only thing that gets gambled is your soul.

    Can I make it calmer?

    Yes. Game speed, music and effects volume are all adjustable, larger text is an option, and Reduce motion calms the camera and the fire (it follows your system setting until you choose). Nothing in the game is timed. The Devil will taunt you if you dawdle, but he cannot hurry you.

    The Guest Book

    Leave your name with the innkeeper.

    One letter when the doors open, and the odd note from the table before then. Nothing else.

    The table is set. Your seat is waiting.

    Wishlist on Steam

    WindowsmacOSLinuxSteam DeckiOSAndroid