Roguelike, tactical, sim: the genre labels on this index, decoded

Every card on the index carries two genre labels: a broad bucket for the filter bar (Action, Strategy, Cozy, and so on), and a more specific tag underneath the description. The specific ones do more work but assume more context. Here’s what each currently in use actually means.

Social deduction — a group of players, some of whom have secret roles working against the rest, and the whole game is figuring out who before they figure out you first. No character build, no gear; the skill is entirely in reading people. Bombanana is the network’s entry.

Co-op action — built around a group clearing content together, where the challenge comes from coordinating roles and gear rather than any one player’s individual skill ceiling. Crimson Moon.

Cozy sim — low-stakes simulation with no fail state worth worrying about: relationships, routines, and seasons that reward attention rather than reflexes. Doloc Town.

Survival adventure — exploration and resource pressure combined; you’re not just walking through a world, you’re managing whether you can afford to keep doing so. Duskfade.

Tower defense sim — the “sim” matters here: beyond placing towers, there’s an underlying system (wave composition, resource math) worth understanding rather than just reacting to. Iron Nest.

Action / hunting — combat built around tracking and preparation before the fight, not just during it. Route-planning is as much the skill as execution. Mistfall Hunter.

Strategy — used here for games organized around a compendium of options — builds, entries, matchups — where the win condition is picking correctly more than executing well. Pax Autocratica.

Simulation — a system with real inputs and outputs you’re meant to learn and optimize, whether that’s a crafting recipe or a production line. Schedule 1 and Sandustry both sit here, at different scales.

Roguelike — runs that end, restart, and remember: each attempt is shaped by choices from the last one even though the character usually doesn’t carry over directly. Sovereign Tower.

Tactical shooter — combat where loadout and positioning decisions before a fight matter as much as aim during it. Wardogs.

RTS / RPG — real-time strategy’s base-building and unit management, layered with an RPG’s persistent character progression, in one game rather than two. ZeroSpace.

Farming sim — a cozy sim with an explicit production loop at its center: what you plant, raise, or harvest, on a seasonal clock. Fields of Mistria.

Sandbox / factory — open-ended systems for building a production chain with few externally imposed goals; the goal is whatever you decide to automate next. Sandustry again, viewed from its other angle.

If a label on the index is unclear for a reason not covered here, that’s worth a note — tell us which entry and we’ll either fix the wording or add it to this list.