Do I ship it?

Games › Grid-Based Movement › Grid-Based Movement + Solitaire

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Grid-Based Movement Solitaire game?

Grid-Based Movement + Solitaire

Only 13 developers shipped a Grid-Based Movement Solitaire game 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, Merge Maestro, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 5 more are announced.

Verdict: dead, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $180 in the last 2 years and $180 over 4, against a market of $480 for a 3 / 10 build. 6 developers shipped in the last year and 5 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.4 times the market baseline, revenue down 65% on the market, 5 announced, ×0.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Grid-Based Movement + Solitaire
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 13
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.6k → $0 → $1.2k → $359 → $120 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Grid-Based Movement + Solitaire: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 13
Bottom 30% $120 (exactly $120)
Median $180 (exactly $180)
Top 25% $898 (exactly $898)
Top 5% $46k (exactly $45,965)
Developers, 2 yr 13
Released games 60
Announced 5
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
Typical price $4.99

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 65% on the market, supply 15% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 7%, 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.

Grid-Based Movement
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
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
Grid-Based Movement, Solitaire; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Puzzle, Turn-Based Strategy
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $5.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Relaxing, Cartoony
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $5.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 93% positive over 424 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $120, median $180, 1 in 4 over $890, 1 in 20 over $45k.

3 in 10 developers made under $120. 9 in 10 of the 7 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 5 games are announced against 6 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Grid-Based Movement with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + HistoricalFair22 devs · median $3.0k · 30 announced
  2. + EconomyFair20 devs · median $1.2k · 29 announced
  3. + AutomationFair28 devs · median $959 · 26 announced
  4. + MiningFair12 devs · median $899 · 14 announced
  5. + CollectathonFair17 devs · median $809 · 17 announced
  6. + BuildingFair50 devs · median $719 · 57 announced
  7. + HackingFair14 devs · median $719 · 11 announced
  8. + SokobanFair143 devs · median $657 · 135 announced
  9. + ProgrammingFair23 devs · median $599 · 24 announced
  10. + DogsFair14 devs · median $599 · 7 announced
  11. + PlatformerFair23 devs · median $539 · 18 announced
  12. + Puzzle PlatformerFair62 devs · median $449 · 56 announced

All 126 pairs on the Grid-Based Movement page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Merge Maestro 2025 · $46k Dolmenjord - Viking Islands 2022 · $8.3k Square Logic 2023 · $7.4k Chess Dungeons 2022 · $7.2k Minimal Crypt 2021 · $4.7k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Merge Maestro $3.99 384 93% 12k $46k (exactly $45,965) Stingless
Dolmenjord - Viking Islands older $2.99 92 85% 2.8k $8.3k (exactly $8,252) Mens Sana Interactive, Allan Postal
Square Logic older $2.99 82 97% 2.5k $7.4k (exactly $7,355) Climbing Goat Games
Chess Dungeons older $9.99 24 79% 720 $7.2k (exactly $7,193) Remix Games, Luis Fae
Minimal Crypt older $5.99 26 92% 780 $4.7k (exactly $4,672) Crafty Weazel
One Line older $1.99 67 95% 2.0k $4.0k (exactly $4,000) Climbing Goat Games
SokoSolitaire older $4.99 24 95% 720 $3.6k (exactly $3,593) Daisy Games
One Line: Letters and Codes older $1.99 58 93% 1.7k $3.5k (exactly $3,463) Climbing Goat Games
Staff Only · EA older $9.99 11 90% 330 $3.3k (exactly $3,297) Exilland
WORDLAND older $1.99 35 94% 1.1k $2.1k (exactly $2,090) Robotizar Games
Just a Little Purr suit $3.99 14 85% 420 $1.7k (exactly $1,676) Wise Box Studios
Number Stomper $4.99 11 100% 330 $1.6k (exactly $1,647) James Castle
Dotu $5.99 5 80% 150 $898 (exactly $898) Chicken Undercover
Disintegral $11.99 2 100% 60 $719 (exactly $719) Will Sykes Games
Quadulo $2.99 4 100% 120 $359 (exactly $359) Wratilabs
Rockwell's Zen Tiles · EA $5.99 1 100% 30 $180 (exactly $180) RockIQ
Astra Ignota $4.99 1 100% 30 $150 (exactly $150) Xavi Artigas
Stickcross Classic $4.99 1 100% 30 $150 (exactly $150) Hungry Sky
Moon Garden Optimizer $3.99 1 100% 30 $120 (exactly $120) Tristan Miller

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