COLOURED STATIC PRESS | DEVELOPER INTERVIEW
Every great fantasy tavern starts somewhere. In Tavern Clicker, Crooked Mug wants that beginning to be a single drink served, with a cosy little establishment gradually growing into a stranger, more magical place. The upcoming PC incremental game combines new brews, unexpected visitors, automation and artwork inspired by old engravings.
We spoke by email with Matylda “Burpy” Nowak of Crooked Mug, a two-person team based in Silesia, southern Poland, about the appeal of incremental games, the balancing act of small-team development and what might be waiting beneath the tavern.
We want progress to feel like more than a number going up.
Matylda “Burpy” Nowak, Crooked Mug
In conversation with Crooked Mug
1. How would you describe Tavern Clicker, and what makes it stand out?
Tavern Clicker is a cozy medieval fantasy clicker where serving drinks helps you build your own little tavern. You unlock new brews, welcome unusual guests, and spend your earnings on decorations, automation and magic.
We want progress to feel like more than a number going up. Your tavern visibly changes as you develop it, giving your efforts a place and a personality. The artwork inspired by old engravings adds a distinctive atmosphere, and we’re currently adding underground areas that suggest there’s more to this little tavern than meets the eye.
2. Where did your enthusiasm for incremental games begin?
What draws us to incremental games is how a simple action can gradually become part of a much bigger system. There’s something satisfying about earning an upgrade, seeing what it changes, and immediately wondering what comes next.
With Tavern Clicker, we wanted to give that feeling a cozy home. Instead of only watching numbers grow, you’re building a place you want to spend time in. A tavern felt like a natural setting: every drink served can help pay for the next improvement.
3. How did you bring the different systems together while keeping the experience approachable?
The tavern itself is what connects everything. Serving drinks earns money, money brings improvements, and those improvements create new possibilities. Decorations give the place character, while automation gradually takes over more of the work.
We want players to discover those layers as they go. The starting point is simple and familiar — serve a drink, earn a few coins, improve something — and the more unusual elements grow from there. Magic belongs in that progression as part of the fantasy of running this particular tavern.
4. What inspired the visual style?
Old engravings have a wonderful sense of texture and character. They can feel charming, slightly strange and full of tiny details, which suits the kind of fantasy world we’re building.
We liked the idea of a tavern that feels as though it could have come out of an old illustrated book. That style helps give even ordinary things, like a drink or a piece of furniture, their own personality. It also leaves room for both warmth and a little mystery.
5. How are you approaching progression and balance?
We want early upgrades to make a noticeable difference, so players can quickly see how their choices help the tavern grow. Later on, automation becomes more important, letting the business develop beyond what you can manage through clicking alone.
The challenge is keeping the next goal appealing without turning a relaxed game into a chore. We’re still balancing and testing that rhythm. The upcoming demo and playtests will help us see where players feel excited, where they get stuck, and where the pace needs adjusting.
6. What has been the biggest challenge, and what are you proud of?
As a team of two, one of the biggest challenges is deciding how much we can take on while still giving the game the care it needs. A small game still has plenty of details to get right, and polish matters a lot to us.
We’re particularly proud of the tavern’s personality and the way its appearance changes as you develop it. We’re also excited about the underground areas we’re adding. We don’t want to reveal too much yet, but there may be a few surprises waiting beneath all those drinks!
7. What can players look forward to before launch?
We’re planning to release Tavern Clicker on November 19, 2026. Wait… GTA launch day?! Well, someone has to keep the tavern open! 🍻
Before release, we’re preparing a demo and playtests so players can try the game and help us with the final polish. We love developing a game alongside its players, and we want that conversation to continue after launch too. We’re planning additional content, including a Christmas update and updates for special occasions.
Most of all, we hope players enjoy watching this little place become their own. We can’t wait to welcome them in.
A tavern with more to discover
Crooked Mug told Coloured Static Press that it is targeting 19 November 2026 for the PC release of Tavern Clicker, although the public Steam listing currently gives only the broader Q4 2026 window. The team is preparing a demo and playtests ahead of launch; those are planned activities, not a claim that a public demo is already available.
Follow the game on Steam, and read our earlier First Signal introduction to Tavern Clicker for more on the project and its official artwork.
Interview answers were supplied directly by Crooked Mug and edited only for formatting. This is a developer interview, not a hands-on review.