Do I ship it?

Games › Deckbuilding › Deckbuilding + Solitaire

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Solitaire Deckbuilding?

Deckbuilding + Solitaire

Of 86 developers who shipped a Solitaire Deckbuilding 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.. 92 more are announced.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $480, level with the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150; 1 in 20 cleared $45k, ×97 the market median. Revenue is down 35% on the market; 92 games are announced against 53 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.0 times the market baseline, revenue down 35% on the market, 92 announced, ×1.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Deckbuilding + Solitaire
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 86
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $8.2k → $4.3k → $539 → $809 → $2.3k → $479 (still earning) → $210 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Deckbuilding + Solitaire: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 86
Bottom 30% $150 (exactly $150)
Median $479 (exactly $479)
Top 25% $3.8k (exactly $3,774)
Top 5% $46k (exactly $45,965)
Developers, 2 yr 86
Released games 156
Announced 92
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
Typical price $5.99

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 35% on the market, supply 55% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 13%, 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 high: the lowest rating among its tags.

Deckbuilding
effort 3 / 10 · high · card pools and run logic
Solitaire
effort 1 / 10 · high · fixed rules, cards and a table

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Systems
Deckbuilding, Solitaire; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Card Game, Strategy, Card Battler
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $10.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Relaxing
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $10.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 90% positive over 4,395 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $150, median $480, 1 in 4 over $3.7k, 1 in 20 over $45k.

3 in 10 developers made under $150. 9 in 10 of the 38 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 92 games are announced against 53 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + AutomationFair44 devs · median $2.8k · 51 announced
  2. + Inventory ManagementFair98 devs · median $2.5k · 137 announced
  3. + ArcadeFair170 devs · median $1.9k · 234 announced
  4. + 2D FighterFair17 devs · median $959 · 12 announced
  5. + Party GameFair22 devs · median $719 · 30 announced
  6. + SwordplayFair11 devs · median $599 · 13 announced
  7. + Point & ClickFair34 devs · median $598 · 36 announced
  8. + Traditional RoguelikeFair53 devs · median $537 · 79 announced
  9. + LogicFair84 devs · median $419 · 118 announced
  10. + LovecraftianPoor odds19 devs · median $72k · 56 announced
  11. + Dating SimPoor odds13 devs · median $30k · 31 announced
  12. + Visual NovelPoor odds36 devs · median $26k · 64 announced

All 141 pairs on the Deckbuilding page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Stacklands 2022 · $7.0M Dice & Fold 2024 · $1.4M Cardboard Town 2023 · $1.2M Rana Card 2025 · $461k One Turn Kill 2026 · $354k
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
Dice & Fold older $12.99 3,491 83% 105k $1.4M (exactly $1,360,443) Tinymice Entertainment
Cardboard Town older $19.99 2,051 79% 62k $1.2M (exactly $1,229,985) Stratera Games, cukuto
Rana Card $12.99 1,183 89% 35k $461k (exactly $461,015) VisionRana
One Turn Kill $7.99 1,478 95% 44k $354k (exactly $354,277) DenDen
Shadowhand: RPG Card Game older $16.99 668 82% 20k $340k (exactly $340,480) Grey Alien Games
Zoominoes $14.99 549 91% 16k $247k (exactly $246,885) Starlight Games inc.
Dice Player One older $14.99 456 90% 14k $205k (exactly $205,063) KDream
Ancient Enemy older $16.99 386 89% 12k $197k (exactly $196,744) Grey Alien Games
Mystic Vale older $12.99 384 89% 12k $150k (exactly $149,645) Nomad Games
Wordatro! $9.99 401 85% 12k $120k (exactly $120,180) Le Poulet
Merge Maestro $3.99 384 93% 12k $46k (exactly $45,965) Stingless
Rainbow Legends $12.99 90 74% 2.7k $35k (exactly $35,073) Unpixel Cloud Cedar Studio
Paper Kingdom $12.99 65 61% 2.0k $25k (exactly $25,330) obece
纵横麻将 Matrix Mahjong $9.99 66 90% 2.0k $20k (exactly $19,780) Chao8games
Kungfu Card · EA $4.99 125 73% 3.8k $19k (exactly $18,712) ZeroCastle Game Studio, Miwu Studio
Decks of the Damned $9.99 54 68% 1.6k $16k (exactly $16,184) Thorian Games

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