Fit check
Is Tales of a Spymaster worth it for you?
We tell you who should skip it, too.
Play it if you…
Good fit- Strategy players who want to influence a ruler instead of directly ruling a kingdom
- Fans of espionage who want covert actions alongside warfare and diplomacy
- Players who enjoy hidden simultaneous turns and changing world conditions
Skip it if you…
Saves you a refund- Players seeking direct control of a ruler rather than an advisory role may find the central gameplay indirect
- Players wanting a simple, predictable strategy structure may find the simultaneous turns, population systems, court politics, and random events demanding
- Players looking for a finished feature set may not want a game presented in Steam Early Access with additional systems planned for later
Our take on Tales of a Spymaster
The page presents a wide range of systems, from population modelling to espionage and court politics, but several prominent additions are described as future plans. Religion, banking, guilds, pirates, rebels, and other listed expansions are not presented as current features.
What is Tales of a Spymaster?
Play as a spymaster advising one of eight kingdoms in the fictional land of Elas.
Each turn, players and AI act simultaneously and secretly rather than in a round-robin sequence. Advice can direct attacks, defences, diplomacy, investment, and other royal decisions, while poor counsel can reduce the monarch’s trust. Agents can conduct blackmail, sabotage, assassination, theft, and misinformation campaigns. Construct buildings such as inns, taverns, and brothels to fund espionage. The game includes more than 200 locations to conquer, court relationships, investigations into kingdom history, seasonal effects, random disasters, and population changes shaped by factors including sickness, accidents, age, and conscription.
How Tales of a Spymaster plays
- 01Secret Simultaneous Turns
- Players and computer-controlled opponents choose actions at the same time before those actions are revealed.
- 02Monarch Influence
- The spymaster’s advice can shape military, defensive, diplomatic, and investment decisions, while poor counsel may reduce royal trust.
- 03Espionage Operations
- Agents can carry out blackmail, sabotage, assassination, theft, and misinformation campaigns.
- 04Court Intrigue
- Members of the clergy, nobility, and military can be bought or influenced, creating internal threats to the royal house.
- 05Dynamic Population
- Population changes account for age, gender, seasonal sickness, accidents, and conscription.
- 06Environmental Events
- Seasons, storms, volcanic eruptions, and other random events affect the game world.
- 07Large Conquest Map
- The setting includes more than 200 locations that can be conquered.
Tales of a Spymaster compared to similar games
Plebby Quest: The Crusades is the only listed alternative with a comparable turn-based strategy and kingdom-survival focus. Its description places the action in the historical Crusades and centres on surviving ambitious rulers, neighbours, and religion, while Tales of a Spymaster uses a fictional setting and assigns the player an advisory spymaster role with secret simultaneous turns and covert operations.
Tales of a Spymaster: platforms & release
Is Tales of a Spymaster worth it?
It is worth it if: strategy players who want to influence a ruler instead of directly ruling a kingdom. Skip it if: players seeking direct control of a ruler rather than an advisory role may find the central gameplay indirect.
Where can I download Tales of a Spymaster?
Use the Download Now button on this page: it opens Tales of a Spymaster's store page, where you can choose how to get it.
What platforms is Tales of a Spymaster on?
Windows, macOS and Linux.
