Is there a roguelike deck builder for Android with no ads that you pay for once?
Last updated: 1 November 2026
Yes. Several roguelike deck builders on Google Play have no ads and charge once: either a price up front, or a free start with one unlock for the rest. Others are free to play and earn money from ads, energy timers or coin packs. The store page tells you which kind it is.
How to check a listing before you install
- Look for "Contains ads". Google Play asks every developer whether the app shows ads, and apps that do carry a "Contains ads" label on the listing. No label means no ads were declared. Source: https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/9859455
- Read what "In-app purchases" means here. That label only says something is for sale. The description should say what: one unlock, or coins, gems, card packs or energy refills that you can buy again and again.
- Find out what is free. A free start can be a few fights or a whole act. Look for a plain list of what the free part includes and what the purchase adds.
- Watch for timers. Energy bars and wait timers are a sign the game is built to sell refills.
- Check restore. A one-time purchase should come back on a new phone through your store account, with no second payment.
Paid up front, or free with one unlock?
Both are fair ways to pay once. A paid-up-front game asks for the price before you play. A free start with one unlock lets you play a real part of the game first, then pay once for the rest. Either way, read reviews for words like "nag", "timer" or "pay to win" before you buy.
How Saltreckon does it
Saltreckon is a roguelike deck builder at sea for one player. It is free to download, with no ads, no timers and no coins to buy. A voyage's coins are earned in play and end with the voyage.
Act 1 is free: the whole act on Calm, from the first stop to the boss. It comes with the first captain and a deck pool of more than 60 cards, the daily voyage, two challenge charts, seed entry, your history, statistics and logbook, and backup and restore.
The Full voyage unlock is one purchase, pay once, yours to keep. On Google Play it costs US$6.99 in the US (read 2026-11-01), and other countries pay local prices. It adds:
- Squall and Gale, the harder seas
- Act 2, with its own foes, boss, cards, charms and events
- Two more captains, each with their own cards
- The Spring tide ladder, challenge charts 3 to 8 and custom voyages
- Past daily voyages, to replay as practice
All of it is yours the moment you buy. Squall opens at once, and Gale and the ladder open as you win. Restore purchases brings the unlock back on any phone or tablet signed in to the same Google account. Purchases do not carry over between app stores.
The game plays offline and has no account. It uses the network for store purchases and for crash and performance diagnostics, which are on by default and can be switched off in Settings.
Get Saltreckon
- Google Play
- App Store: not yet. The iPhone and iPad version is coming to the App Store.
- Saltreckon page
Related questions
- Does Saltreckon have ads?
- No. There are no ads, no timers and no coins to buy.
- Is the free part a short demo?
- No. Act 1 is the whole act on Calm, from the first stop to the boss, and the daily voyage is free too.
- If I change phones, do I pay again?
- No. Restore purchases brings the unlock back on a phone or tablet signed in to the same Google account. A backup file moves your runs and progress.
Saltreckon is a Trueframe Digital app. No account, and your records stay on your device unless you back up or export them. See the Saltreckon page for screenshots, the full feature list, prices and privacy details.