# Shotgun King — Chess with a shotgun! > Roguelike chess game where the king uses a shotgun to defeat enemies. (iPhone/iPad app by Plug In Digital.) - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/shotgun-king/id6744170498 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`) - Developer: [Plug In Digital](https://appshunter.io/developer/608306412) - Category: Games, Puzzle, Strategy - Price: $6.99 - Rating: 4.80/5 from 709 App Store ratings · 117 written reviews indexed - Age rating: 12+ - Requires: iOS 16.0 · 468 MB - Languages: American English, French (France), German (Germany), Japanese, Korean, Polish, Russian, Chinese (Simplified, China), European Spanish, Chinese (Traditional, Taiwan) and 1 more - Released: 2026-02-24 - Data updated: 2026-09-04 - Monetization: paid - User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/shotgun-king/id6744170498/reviews.md ## What is Shotgun King? Chess, but all your army has gone over to the white side, leaving you with nothing but your royal shotgun and your wounded pride. Carried by your dark folly, you decide it's time to teach those white pieces to fear the Shotgun King. Every turn, you may either move your king or shoot at enemy pieces, after what you'll need to move again to reload your shotgun. Avoid checkmate and kill the enemy king to complete the floor. After each floor, you may choose between two random combinations of one upgrade for you and one upgrade for the other side. Choose wisely and keep on winning floors and you just may get your kingdom back. Runs may take ~20 minutes to complete. The game features 15 ranks of difficulty, unlockable cards, over 100 achievements to complete, an endless mode, and now a chase mode where you get continually assailed from all sides! ## Key features - Chess with a shotgun mechanic - Roguelike progression with upgrades - 15 difficulty ranks - Unlockable cards - Over 100 achievements - Endless and chase modes ## Chart rankings - #180 in Top Paid · Games (US App Store) - #29 in Top Paid · Puzzle (US App Store) - #58 in Top Paid · Strategy (US App Store) ## Recent user reviews (10 of 117) All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/shotgun-king/id6744170498/reviews.md ### 5/5 — Best Game Everrrrr! *2026-07-30, version 1.0.10* Originally introduced to this game on my bro’s switch, I bought it on PS5 and now on my phone, this game is truly addictive and has so many possible paths, to the point I had to be able to play this wherever I go. I highly recommend this game to everyone! ### 3/5 — A concept as good as the best in the genre, with snags I can’t stop catching. *2026-07-27, version 1.0.10* Gameplay idea is simple but augmented with the progression and randomization of the roguelike genre. It works really well and feels very satisfying to successfully clear a board or pull off a narrow escape from a tight place. When it “works”. This game will flip-flop about behaviors that it allows. Being diagonal from a pawn is nothing. Being diagonal from a pawn while you have one directly in front of you? It’s safer to just disengage since firing at the active threat, even while being careful to aim your blast so that it clear the pawn in front of you, has a fifty-fifty chance of still having some of the pellets hitting the pawn in front of you, allowing the threatening pawn to kill you immediately. There are shields that protect you from inputting bad moves that will kill you. If you’re in the path of a rook, and shoot a non-threatening knight, it will consume a shield and flash a little heads up about the bad move, encouraging you to instead get out of the path of the rook. If you instead shoot the rook, even if the shot would kill the rook and eliminate the threat in the first place, it will still flash that warning, leading you to believe half the time that certain perfectly fine game actions are bad. It does not do this for the (enemy) king however, if you can land a death blow on the king, it won’t prevent you from doing so, even while in mortal peril, because the game ends immediately upon killing the king. You cannot hop on and claim pieces like in actual chess. That feels like a shortcoming. However, there is something called “blade” that is entirely unexplained. Having blade 3 will allow you to melee units adjacent to you with 3 or fewer hit points. Same for every other level of blade. Blade however, does not move you into that piece’s space like you might think, if you have the idea of claiming pieces like in normal chess in your head. Also be careful not to become too powerful! If a stray bit of buckshot hits the wrong unit and kills it, the queen/bishop/rook behind it that wasn’t a threat previously will instantly kill you. I guess like in chess. I just wonder why the shields wouldn’t pop up a warning for this particular circumstance. It does if you have the sawed-off shotgun upgrade and the blast back would kick you into a threat space. Basically, it’s really good, and you’re going to really enjoy it, and you’re going to do run, after run, after run, until at some point the amount of inconsistencies and small irritations pile up and you’re more annoyed than when you picked up the game for that session. ### 1/5 — Still no save function *2026-07-25, version 1.0.10* There’s not even an option for continue in the menu. If I get a call I can lose all my progress. Last patch supposedly added this feature but it’s not true. Switched to 1 star until this is rectified. ### 5/5 — I don’t have to play it and rate it *2026-07-14, version 1.0.10* It deserves every penny ### 5/5 — Worth the purchase *2026-07-13, version 1.0.10* I bought this game not expecting much but excited because of the trailer-and boy am I glad! It is so addictive, and time killing. Whenever I’m on a road trip I bust out this game to ply until I get there. If you need something fun and time killing. This is THE game to play! Thank you devs for this game and my time! ### 4/5 — Noice *2026-07-05, version 1.0.10* Good fun. Dropped 1 star bcz no support for cloud save ### 2/5 — Play if you like the difficulty *2026-06-19, version 1.0.10* I'm writing this because I found the game too difficult, so I'm leaving this review because I found the game too difficult for me. But again, if you don't mind the difficulty but this game. I know this review won't apply to everyone, but this is just my opinion, it's too difficult for me. ### 5/5 — Fun but one thing… *2026-06-17, version 1.0.10* So I love the game and the concept but the thing I hate is how many times I get trapped. It’s probably just a skill issue though. ### 2/5 — No sound at all, buttons unresponsive. *2026-06-16, version 1.0.10* Too bad. Really looked forward to playing this. No sound is a game killer. Buttons unresponsive. ### 5/5 — Controller support *2026-06-09, version 1.0.10* I use my mobile controller to my phone all the time, but this is one of the few games that I genuinely love to play, but it does not support my controller ## Frequently asked questions about Shotgun King ### What is Shotgun King? Shotgun King is a unique roguelike chess game where you play as a king armed with a shotgun. Your goal is to defeat enemy pieces and the opposing king using strategic moves and shotgun blasts to reclaim your kingdom. ### How does the shotgun mechanic work? Each turn, you can either move your king or shoot an enemy piece. After shooting, you must move again to reload your shotgun, adding a strategic layer to combat beyond traditional chess moves. ### What is the cost of Shotgun King? Shotgun King is a paid application. There are no in-app purchases or advertisements mentioned, indicating a one-time purchase for the full game. ### What kind of content can I unlock? The game features unlockable cards that can enhance your gameplay. Additionally, there are over 100 achievements to complete, providing long-term goals and replayability. ### What are the different game modes available? Shotgun King offers a standard roguelike experience with increasing difficulty, an endless mode for continuous play, and a chase mode where you are constantly under attack from multiple sides. ## Version history (last 5 releases) ### 1.0.10 — 2026-05-28 Fixed an issue that prevented progress from being saved Fixed 2 soft locks that could happen under certain circumstances ### 1.0.9 — 2026-05-22 Fixed an issue where activating the Unjust Decree item while in check and defeating the King would cause the game to softlock. ### 1.0.8 — 2026-02-11 Long live the Shotgun King… now on mobile! ### 1.0.2 — 2026-02-10 Shotgun King is now available for pre-orders! Quality of life improvement & bugfixing. ### 1.0.6 — 2026-02-04 Long live the Shotgun King… now on mobile! ## Apps similar to Shotgun King | App | Rating | Price | Category | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [Replicat](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/replicat/id6757693216) | 5.0 (19) | $4.99 | Games | | [Is This Seat Taken?](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/is-this-seat-taken/id6747814605) | 4.3 (203) | $9.99 | Games | | [Bricks Breaker RPG](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bricks-breaker-rpg/id6749246731) | 4.9 (1,018) | Free | Games | | [Merge Maestro](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/merge-maestro/id6670491302) | 4.8 (138) | Free | Games | | [Hoplite](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hoplite/id782438457) | 4.7 (787) | $3.99 | Games | | [Card Crawl 2](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/card-crawl-2/id6744351421) | 4.5 (388) | Free | Games | ## More apps by Plug In Digital - [Angelo - Skate Away](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/angelo-skate-away/id1120179163) - [A Normal Lost Phone](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/a-normal-lost-phone/id1181828672) - [Angelo Super Run](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/angelo-super-run/id1199570910) - [Ana The Game](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ana-the-game/id1202981332) - [Top Memo](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/top-memo/id1251908636) - [Another Lost Phone](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/another-lost-phone/id1267197755) All apps by Plug In Digital: https://appshunter.io/developer/608306412 ## Related topics [shotgun king](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/shotgun-king) · [shotgun chess](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/shotgun-chess) · [shotgun farmers](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/shotgun-farmers) --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-09-04.*