Do I ship it?

Games › Building › Building + Card Game

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Building Card Game?

Building + Card Game

Of 79 developers who shipped a Building Card Game in the last 2 years: 3 in 10 made under est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., 1 in 4 cleared est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., 1 in 20 cleared est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 126 more are announced, ×2.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $2.2k, ×3.4 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $220k, ×356 the market median. Revenue is down 85% on the market; 126 games are announced against 52 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.4 times the market baseline, revenue down 85% on the market, 126 announced, ×2.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Building + Card Game
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 79
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $179 → $29k → $3.3k → $2.4k → $82k → $2.5k → $839 (still earning) → $479 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Building + Card Game: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 79
Bottom 30% $449 (exactly $449)
Median $2.2k (exactly $2,158)
Top 25% $25k (exactly $25,330)
Top 5% $223k (exactly $223,374)
Developers, 2 yr 79
Released games 179
Announced 126
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $9.99

momentum: how a niche's revenue percentiles and developer count moved between two equal, adjacent periods, divided by the market's own move. See method., 12 months: revenue down 85% on the market, supply 85% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 12%, excluded from money figures.

See every window in the explorer →

Plate 2 · systems and tooling

Can AI deliver it?

AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Building
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Card Game
effort 2 / 10 · high · rules engine and card data

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Building, Card Game; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Deckbuilding, Management
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $17.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $17.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 88% positive over 11,668 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $450, median $2.2k, 1 in 4 over $25k, 1 in 20 over $220k.

3 in 10 developers made under $450. 6 in 10 of the 32 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 126 games are announced against 52 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.4 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Building with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Job SimulatorStrong odds66 devs · median $28k · 70 announced
  2. + CatsFair52 devs · median $4.5k · 59 announced
  3. + TabletopFair56 devs · median $1.9k · 58 announced
  4. + Grid-Based MovementFair50 devs · median $719 · 57 announced
  5. + Interactive FictionFair17 devs · median $449 · 20 announced
  6. + Vehicular CombatPoor odds14 devs · median $303k · 40 announced
  7. + JRPGPoor odds10 devs · median $89k · 20 announced
  8. + Dating SimPoor odds28 devs · median $85k · 61 announced
  9. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds112 devs · median $71k · 251 announced
  10. + Real-TimePoor odds14 devs · median $62k · 20 announced
  11. + CrimePoor odds13 devs · median $55k · 52 announced
  12. + SailingPoor odds13 devs · median $52k · 40 announced

All 210 pairs on the Building page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Stacklands 2022 · $7.0M Wingspan 2020 · $5.9M Kingdoms Reborn 2020 · EA · $5.3M BOOK OF HOURS 2023 · $3.1M Tiny Pasture 2025 · $1.3M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Stacklands older $7.99 29,244 96% 877k $7.0M (exactly $7,009,787) Sokpop Collective
Wingspan older $19.99 9,807 94% 294k $5.9M (exactly $5,881,258) Monster Couch
Kingdoms Reborn · EA older $19.99 8,862 90% 266k $5.3M (exactly $5,314,541) Earthshine
BOOK OF HOURS older $24.99 4,129 89% 124k $3.1M (exactly $3,095,511) Weather Factory
Tiny Pasture $5.99 7,055 92% 212k $1.3M (exactly $1,267,784) CaveLiquid
Cardboard Town older $19.99 2,051 79% 62k $1.2M (exactly $1,229,985) Stratera Games, cukuto
Hundred Days - Winemaking Simulator older $24.99 1,033 77% 31k $774k (exactly $774,440) Broken Arms Games
Last Call BBS older $19.99 1,220 94% 37k $732k (exactly $731,634) Zachtronics
Deck of Haunts $19.99 1,206 84% 36k $723k (exactly $723,238) Mantis
Ticket to Ride® older $14.99 1,057 69% 32k $475k (exactly $475,333) Marmalade Game Studio Ltd
SkyBrew: Entropic Strategist $17.99 522 75% 16k $282k (exactly $281,723) ATRIC Games
Cube Chaos $11.99 621 95% 19k $223k (exactly $223,374) Wunarg
Moonsigil Atlas $19.99 261 81% 7.8k $157k (exactly $156,522) Snake Tower Games
Rogue Hex $19.99 260 89% 7.8k $156k (exactly $155,922) Topstitch Games
Stackmon $13.99 364 75% 11k $153k (exactly $152,771) Riftpoint Entertainment
Kingdom's Deck $9.99 495 72% 15k $148k (exactly $148,352) Ivan Aco
Pirate's Gambit $9.99 448 89% 13k $134k (exactly $134,266) Domestic Black Cat
Warlords Under Siege $9.99 436 77% 13k $131k (exactly $130,669) RedKar Devs

Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.