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Should I ship a Solitaire City Builder?
City Builder + Solitaire
Only 9 developers shipped a Solitaire City Builder in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Paper Kingdom, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 9 more are announced, ×2.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: dead, for a 6 / 10 build.
Only 4 developers shipped this in the last year, under the 5 a verdict needs; over 2 years the middle one made $1.3k against a market of $630. 9 games are announced.
| Bottom 30% | $719 (exactly $719) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.3k (exactly $1,347) |
| Top 25% | $3.1k (exactly $3,116) |
| Top 5% | $25k (exactly $25,330) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 9 |
| Released games | 39 |
| Announced | 9 |
| Effort | 6 / 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 up 315% on the market, supply 20% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 8%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- City Builder
- effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
- Solitaire
- effort 1 / 10 · high · fixed rules, cards and a table
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- City Builder, Solitaire
- Price point
- $9.99 typical
Why players buy here
The top 10 games average 77% positive over 149 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $720. All of the 6 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 9 games are announced against 4 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.3 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
City Builder with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Visual NovelStrong odds
- + LogicFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + Hidden ObjectFair
- + ArcadeFair
- + RacingLong shot
- + RomePoor odds
- + Real-Time with PausePoor odds
- + HorrorPoor odds
- + Alternate HistoryPoor odds
- + Online Co-OpPoor odds
- + DiplomacyPoor odds
Comparable games
Stacklands 2022 · $7.0M 
Cardboard Town 2023 · $1.2M 
Last Resort Island 2018 · $47k 
Paper Kingdom 2025 · $25k 
Railroad Ink Challenge 2021 · $21k | 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 |
| | Cardboard Town | older | $19.99 | 2,051 79% | 62k | $1.2M (exactly $1,229,985) | Stratera Games, cukuto |
| | Last Resort Island | older | $8.99 | 173 87% | 5.2k | $47k (exactly $46,658) | rokaplay |
| | Paper Kingdom | $12.99 | 65 61% | 2.0k | $25k (exactly $25,330) | obece | |
| | Railroad Ink Challenge | older | $7.99 | 88 82% | 2.6k | $21k (exactly $21,094) | Horrible Guild |
 | Island Cities - Jigsaw Puzzle | older | $1.99 | 214 95% | 6.4k | $13k (exactly $12,776) | Mens Sana Interactive |
 | WAGON | $10.99 | 38 94% | 1.1k | $13k (exactly $12,529) | de_husk | |
 | Seven Seas Solitaire | older | $9.99 | 36 80% | 1.1k | $11k (exactly $10,789) | Anawiki Games |
 | Dolmenjord - Viking Islands | older | $2.99 | 92 85% | 2.8k | $8.3k (exactly $8,252) | Mens Sana Interactive, Allan Postal |
 | Forests, Fields and Fortresses | older | $4.99 | 49 93% | 1.5k | $7.3k (exactly $7,335) | 9 Eyes Game Studio |
 | Caemdale | $7.99 | 13 76% | 390 | $3.1k (exactly $3,116) | JRB | |
 | Spellarium 12 | $12.99 | 4 100% | 120 | $1.6k (exactly $1,559) | LGT SIA | |
 | Hell Builder | $4.99 | 9 88% | 270 | $1.3k (exactly $1,347) | Cuddle Code | |
 | Mahjong Expedition | $8.99 | 4 75% | 120 | $1.1k (exactly $1,079) | COSO | |
 | Throne of Cards | $11.99 | 2 50% | 60 | $719 (exactly $719) | Hidden Universe Games | |
 | OrbHand | $2.99 | 8 100% | 240 | $718 (exactly $718) | Jesus Rugarcia | |
 | Cursed House 6 | $9.99 | 2 100% | 60 | $599 (exactly $599) | LGT SIA | |
 | XenoCard | $3.99 | 4 75% | 120 | $479 (exactly $479) | Hanging Hand |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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