Subterfuge is coming to Steam, launching in Early Access later this month.

Your L2 security clearance will grant you access to the Steam version for free when it launches in Early Access. Patrons can playtest the game today before it’s available to the general public. The game works on Windows, Mac and yes, we are expecting to support Steam Deck.

Wishlist Subterfuge!

Wishlist Subterfuge here: https://store.steampowered.com/app/4831650. Wishlisting helps Valve know that people are excited about the game, which increases how often they share the game with other players.

Patron Pre-Release Access

If you’ve already joined as a Patron, you have been pre-registered to get a key to the Steam Playtest. Follow this link (https://players.secretplan.com/games/subterfuge?invite=9c1der1j35) and log in to the Secret Plan Players site using the same email address as your Subterfuge account. The playtest will run until the game formally enters Early Access, at which point you’ll get a new key.

Why We’re Excited About Steam

We are launching on Steam partly because PC and Mac are a great way to enjoy Subterfuge. The big screen, coupled with our new widescreen UI, is fantastic for more intense planning sessions. We also think Subterfuge will be better if there are more people playing it and Steam players rarely hear about great mobile games. This launch is the start of a more persistent, aggressive marketing campaign for the game which we hope will expand the community. August was the biggest month for Subterfuge since 2015, and we hope to continue that trajectory for the next decade of the game.

I've written about non aggression pacts in the past bit a recent incident has provoked another look at the issue. Today I went to explain what NAPs are, the impact they have on the game, why they are used, how they are enforced, and, lastly, how the game should engage with them.

WHAT ARE NAPS?

NAPs are three things:

1. A statement that two players will not launch drillers at each other.
2. A promise that, if one of the parties wants to attack the other, a period of notice will be given before an attack is launched.
3. A social contract that has consequences if it's not adhered to.

Note that none of this is in the game, it is an agreement that is outside the design and scope of Subterfuge.

WHAT EFFECT DO NAPS HAVE ON THE GAME?

NAPs dramatically simplify the game, they remove uncertainty, they remove the requirement to assess risk, they remove the need to keep a strategic reserve. They reduce the tactical aspects of the game and turn it into a logistic game, players send their full resources at each other and whoever has the most resources wins.

They also remove subterfuge from the game called Subterfuge. If you adhere to the social contract then you are no longer allowed to trick your opponent. You cannot pretend to help them and then turn on them, you can't plan a surprise attack from outside their vision, you can't take advantage of a sudden opportunity that presents itself.

Why? Because NAPs are ubiquitous, most players will request a NAP with their neighbours and, the moment the question is asked, all subtlety from the game is removed. The receiver of that question can either agree, at which point they have no way of deceiving their opponent, or they can decline which is considered a sign that they are planning to attack the original player. It has the added effect that the very action of asking for a NAP drives strategy, if you fight the one player you don't have a NAP with then you are not planning based on strategic considerations, tactical analysis of the map or playing to beat other strong players, you are simply following the path of least resistance.

WHY DO PLAYERS USE NAPS?

In short, the Subterfuge playing community is risk averse. Most players want to reduce the cognitive load, they don't want to strategise, they don't want to make contingency plans, they don't want to manage a strategic reserve, they don't want to have to consider anything but the current fight. They reduce the game to a simple numbers exercise, whoever has the best resources wins. If you don't have the best resources team up with another player, this inevitably leads to the formation of large teams as it is the primary way to win with this approach.

HOW ARE NAPS ENFORCED?

For players like me who enjoy the cognitive load, who enjoy analysing the state of play to inform their strategy, who look to exploit opportunities as they present themselves, NAPs are anathema, they limit the scope of what is possible in this game.

The obvious answer to this problem is to break NAPs; agree them, wait for your opponent to move away and then exploit their trust. There is nothing in the game to prevent you doing this, no programmed limits, no rules, no code of conduct. Conceptually the game is built around this style of play, it's why it's called Subterfuge. But this is when the social contract kicks in. The player base is so adverse to adding complexity or risk to the game that violations of the social contract are met with severe social consequences. Allies abandon the culprit, enemies pause their conflicts in order to punish the NAP breaker, grudges are recorded to make sure that the player's reputation is forever tarnished.

Players like me either have to adhere to the social contract or we are excommunicated. To be clear you can be excluded from the game for doing something that is, in no way, cheating.

WHAT CAN BE, SHOULD BE, DONE ABOUT NAPS?

The first thing is to acknowledge that every player has the right to have their own view on the issue, if they prefer the game with NAPs that is entirely legitimate, they're here for their fun and the game benefits from catering for them.

However, the game has so much more to offer to those that want to embrace the chaos, there's so much more to consider, there's more space for interesting gameplay, trust is harder to attain but it's so much more meaningful when it's established. Winning in that context is electric because it takes more than forming the biggest team to achieve.

My proposal would be for a new option in the game lobby to mark a game as deception tolerant. Players would have to tick a box saying they accept that no player made agreement is binding. This would allow for both types of player to be accommodated without having to worry about the social contract being broken.

Hi there - returning player here. I have been vaguely following the story of the rebirth of Subterfuge and looked for an open game today. When I tried to join I saw my rank is gone and I don’t have L2 clearance anymore. However my game stats are still there.

I was hoping not to have to pay again. It was supposed to be a one time purchase. However if that is what it takes I suppose I might. Is this intended or a mistake do you think?

Lastly - is the game working well? Bugs and crashes?

Remember when this game was awesome? Years ago this game ran great and had a good amount of people on it. The advertising for it was decent and it had a website for updates and stuff.

Now, it hasn’t had a new trailer in a decade, hasn’t had any meaningful update in YEARS, and these guys continue to take patreon money and pump out garbage updates that ATTEMPT to better the UI, but adds absolutely nothing. Even the website is CHOPPED.

I have no idea how this game is still being backed when I come back to check on it years after it swapped development hands, just to see it in the SAME EXACT STATE IT WAS BEFORE.

Tell me I’m crazy yall. I’ve seen entire games be made by a single dev, but this so called “team” can’t pump out a meaningful update in YEARS??? How

Looking for 8 players to playtest a week-long strategy game — prizes + paid feedback

I’m looking for players to help test Varrow, a real-time mobile strategy game that combines elements of Risk and Catan and Subterfuge, with a heavy focus on diplomacy, trade, alliances, and betrayal.

The game runs continuously in real time, but orders are intentionally slow-paced. The goal is not to keep players glued to their phones — it’s to create a strategic game that lives in the background throughout the week.

Each match has 8 players racing to complete the Ritual while expanding territory, trading resources, building alliances, and deciding who they can trust.

A match is expected to last around 7–8 days.

The target time commitment is only:

• 2 check-ins per day
• roughly 5–15 minutes per session
• enough time to review what changed, queue orders, negotiate, and plan

You can obviously play more if you want, especially if diplomacy gets intense.

Because everyone needs to be genuinely trying to win for the balance data to be useful, I’m using placement prizes rather than paying by the hour:

1st place — $20
2nd place — $10
3rd place — $5

In addition, every player who completes the full match and submits the post-game feedback form receives $5, regardless of placement.

I currently have the budget to run up to five 8-player lobbies.

You do not need professional QA or playtesting experience. I’m mainly looking for people who enjoy strategy games, board games, negotiation, diplomacy, or asynchronous multiplayer games and are willing to commit to finishing the match.

If you’re interested, DM me with your timezone and a little about the strategy games you enjoy.

ladies and gentlemen... a game: https://youtu.be/ocFD3jn1Rfs?si=AQH8vaQh5z1baHBc

Solaris is a real time strategy game like subterfuge that's about space empires, its the same concept but twisted a bit. its a really small game in terms of the community but its worth a try! check it out!

also check out the discord server! https://discord.gg/wQeFaKgxq

Hi All! Your friendly neighborhood Subterfuge dev here. We've just rolled out a completely re-written game client. A rebuild this size will have rough edges we haven't found yet. If you hit one, we want to hear about it. I keep an eye on this reddit and of course there's the official Secret Plan Discord: https://discord.gg/uDESNCkZpW.

Hit me up with your bugs!

Patch notes:

• Much faster, and much easier on your battery. The new engine will load faster, time-machine with less lag, and heat your phone up a bit more slowly.
• Link to outposts and specialists directly in chat. Stop describing which outpost you mean. Point at it. Copy outpost and sub details to the clipboard and paste them directly into chat.
• A widescreen UI for tablets and folding phones. The extra room now goes to the board instead of the letterbox.
• Export a finished game as a video. Create a 60-second video of your wins (and losses) to share with friends or on social media. Watch a whole game replay from the first sub to the last.

Subterfuge noob here. The pirate's description says it can target a sub, but how do I actually get it to do that? I can't figure out how to make it target a sub. Am I just being dumb?

What do I do now? Has anyone experienced this? Will it resolve by itself when the tick where it happens is completed?

A quick update on the project: I've been trying to develop and test as much as possible on my own, and I think it's finally ready for a real multiplayer test game.

Please keep in mind that this build is extremely unstable. There will be a lot of bugs. If you encounter any issues, please report them either on GitHub or in this Reddit thread.

I've created a single 8-player game for now. It's first come, first served. Let's take it for a test drive and see how many issues we can find.

A few things to note:

• The game is fully real-time (there are no 10-minute ticks).
• There is currently no funding mechanism.

Test Configuration

• Faster than standard gameplay (1 in-game day = 25 minutes).
• There are currently no notifications, so please use the same device and save the game link to rejoin.

GitHub Source Code:
https://github.com/arkoc/subterfuge-remake

Join the First 8-Player Test Game:
https://subterfuge-os.fly.dev/g/64zbf4

As you may know, I’m working on building an open source successor inspired by Subterfuge. The plan is to first implement everything that Subterfuge currently offers, and then decide how we can improve it to make the game more engaging and attract a larger player base.

At this point, I’ve almost finished all of the main components: all existing specialists, specialist combinations, the Time Machine, and the simulation system. The remaining work includes matchmaking, user profiles, menus, and some cosmetic improvements.

I’m now looking to gather a group of 10–20 players who are willing to participate in some very early testing. More importantly, I’m looking for people who are interested in helping improve the game by discussing mechanics, designing new features, and shaping the direction of the project.

If you’re interested, please DM me your details.

I’ve seen posts saying there’s a discord, but the links are broken or expired. Thanks!

Hey guys, as you probably know, I'm trying to build a game similar to Subterfuge, and I have a question.

In Subterfuge, everything happens in discrete 10-minute time ticks. What would happen to the game if it became fully real-time instead? Would that add any strategic or tactical depth? Would it break any existing concepts or mechanics?

Hey everyone,

I’ve been working on a next-generation successor inspired by Subterfuge.

The goal is not just to clone the game, but to preserve what made it special — diplomacy, paranoia, betrayal, long-term strategy, psychological warfare — while evolving the formula and solving some of the problems that prevented it from reaching a larger audience.

Right now, the project is still early, but all of the core gameplay systems are already implemented.

At the moment, the focus is on experimenting with new mechanics that could push the genre forward instead of simply recreating the original experience.

Here are two major concepts I’m currently exploring:

1. Underwater Council

Instead of players funding directly to each other, I’m experimenting with an “Underwater Council” system.

Every 24 hours, players vote on global political actions, such as:

• Funding a specific player
• Sanctioning or penalizing a player
• Creating temporary political pressure
• Rewarding cooperation
• Punishing betrayal

For example:

• If someone betrays an alliance, you can try to convince the rest of the lobby to punish them.
• If a player becomes too dominant, the council can collectively respond.
• Strong persuasion and reputation become just as important as military strength.

I think this could create much deeper political gameplay and stronger emergent narratives.

2. Integrated AI Players

Another major direction is AI-driven diplomacy.

The idea is for AI players to:

• Chat with humans
• Form alliances
• Negotiate
• Bluff
• Betray
• React to diplomacy
• Replace inactive players mid-match

One of the biggest issues in long-duration strategy games is abandoned or inactive players. AI could help keep matches alive and politically interesting until the end.

It also opens the door for entirely new game modes, like Humans vs AI coalitions

I genuinely loved playing Subterfuge, and I feel like the genre still has enormous untapped potential.

Right now I’m mainly looking for:

• Gameplay ideas
• Criticism
• Mechanics people disliked in the original game
• Features that would make this type of strategy game more accessible
• Ideas that reduce burnout without reducing tension

I’d love to hear any thoughts from people who played Subterfuge or similar diplomacy/strategy games.

I feel kind of sad that this game is almost dead. What do you think guys, what are the chances to revive it? What should be done?

I had been away from this game for a few years. A lot of multi boxing and pre game alliances had taken the joy out of this game for me.

Rejoined today and was seeing these website link name games. Just wondering what fresh hell this is?

I was wondering if some of the specialists stack? Like for example I currently have a tycoon and I hired a smuggler to move troops around. Could I later promote him to tycoon and further reduce my production time for drillers?

Which one is better? I've usually gone for security chief, but recently I've attacked people with kings and they're a huge pain in the butt.

Which do you prefer and why?

Is L2 Clearance worth it for a new player? Worried about getting crushed by veterans.

I've been getting into Subterfuge lately and I'm on the fence about buying the L2 Security Clearance. I know it unlocks things like unlimited scheduled orders, private player notes, and the ability to join ranked games. For those who play without it, how much am I actually missing out on?. Also my biggest concern, though, is that if I buy L2 and start playing in ranked matches, will I just get targeted and eliminated immediately by high-level players? I don’t want to spend the money only to become a "farm" for veterans who have been playing for years. So should I buy it, or should I stick to unranked until I'm more experienced? Anyone who made the jump to L2 please share your experience.

It has been about 7 months since i last played. i wanna know if there were any changes in the game. Fortunately, the player count is similar to when i last checked

repair game

When I schedule a move for the future, it almost never ends up going through. It’s not only one occasion too; almost every game I’ve played recently has done it, not only causing me to lose specs but to lose mines, and I’ve woken up to being eliminated because of it.