Shotgun King is roguelike chess with a shotgun

rockpapershotgun.com:

Take chess, reduce one side to only the king, fill him with a terrible wrath, hand him a shotgun, then watch him go. That's Shotgun King, a roguelikelike turn-based shooter where units (mostly) move like chess pieces, only our lone king has a shotgun. It might sound like a throwaway joke game but Shotgun King is an interesting and fun challenge, especially when your upgrades also bestow different buffs upon the opposing army. And it has a free early version so you can have a go yourself.

Shotgun King sees the black king abandoned by his court and even his queen, because he was a jerk. He decides to leans into this, and sets out delivering the deadliest checkmate across 12 levels. The white side field most of a traditional chess army (though this will grow and change), while you have only your king and his royal shotgun.

Every chess piece has its traditional moves (helpfully, you can mouseover units for a reminder), though white will move multiple pieces each turn. And the black king, well, each turn you can move then empty his shotgun's barrels. It has a spread arc and range limit, so your movements are about aiming as well as avoiding checkmate. Seeing as you only need to kill the white king, you might do well to attempt assassination rather than clear the board—especially as ammo regenerates only slowly after expending your initial reserves. But slaughter can earn you 'soul' cards granting one single move as another unit, and upgrades might give you whole new moves.

After each level, you have a choice from two pairs of permanent upgrades, but only one upgrade is for you—the other is for white. Your half of the pick might buff your shotgun with better stats or extra abilities, or give your king new moves such as a magic