We’re thrilled to be spotlighting a great game made using Synty – Tabletop Tavern! Developed by TJ and published by Frostbloom and Gamirror Games, it was released on Steam in June 2026. Tabletop Tavern is a roguelike RTS where you build an army from scratch and command them across a brutal campaign. Recruit diverse units, create devastating synergies, and make tactical choices that shape the fate of every run.
TJ is a solo indie developer based in Boston, USA. But, like many solo devs, he has called on an enormous amount of help over the years! He credits his wife for putting up with all the long hours, and Jordan, who was his marketing support. As well as Gamirror Games, who handled publishing and community management in China, and an endless list of YouTubers whose tutorials and advice helped to shape the final game.
He also credits Synty! “I don't have an art department and I don't have an artistic bone in my body, but with the catalog of packs I've accumulated over the years, I was able to build the exact game I wanted. Vikings, samurai, knights, monsters, all on a solo dev budget.”
Tabletop Tavern is TJ’s second commercial game following several years of prototypes. His first game, Castles on Clouds, sold a few dozen copies, but it was a great learning experience, mainly in how hard it is to get anyone to care about your game in the first place. Which is how TJ decided that he wanted his next game to land in an underserved niche that players were asking for. “You can't force people to play something, but you can build a game that promises a fantasy compelling enough that they want to pick it up.”
Development of Tabletop Tavern
All up, the development of Tabletop Tavern took a little under two years, part-time, while TJ worked a full-time job, and utilisation of assets in the game was the plan from day one. “The game currently has 100 unique units with three variations each, plus player heroes and battlefields. I could have made all of that myself, but it would have taken years and still wouldn't have looked half as good as the Synty packs.”
Tabletop Tavern contains bits and pieces from a wide variety of Synty asset packs, taking full advantage of the visually cohesive library. “The best thing about the POLYGON range is how cleanly the packs slot together. You can build a single faction out of three different packs and it still reads as one coherent army. My undead faction pulls from Dark Fortress, Werewolf, and Dark Fantasy. There's an elven faction from Elven Realms, a Japanese faction from Samurai Empire, and a Viking faction from Viking Realms. Ancient Empire is next on the list for an upcoming Greek faction.”
Reaction to the Game on Release
TJ says, “I know some devs worry about shipping with a recognizable asset pack. On release day, about a dozen goofballs complained about it on the Steam forums. That's a wildly insignificant number. Tabletop Tavern has sold over 150,000 copies in its first 3 months, with a 90% positive rating. Players care about art direction and consistency, and that's what Synty delivers.”
If you enjoyed this spotlight on Tabletop Tavern, then we think you’d enjoy being part of the Synty community! We love supporting the game dev journey with thousands of experienced and aspiring developers on Discord, Instagram, X, Reddit, Bluesky, and Facebook.
You can also check out all our Made with Synty blogs for more developer interviews and incredible examples of what can be achieved!
