Do I ship it?

GamesIncrementalIncremental + Solitaire

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Solitaire Incremental game?

Incremental + Solitaire

Of 27 developers who shipped a Solitaire Incremental 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.. 14 more are announced.

Verdict: dead, for a 1 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $300 in the last 2 years and $300 over 4, against a market of $120 for a 1 / 10 build. 12 developers shipped in the last year and 14 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 2.5 times the market baseline, revenue up 170% on the market, 14 announced, ×1.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Incremental + Solitaire
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 27
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $955 → $7.4k → $178 → $239 → $359 → $450 → $240 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Incremental + Solitaire: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 27
Bottom 30% $239 (exactly $239)
Median $300 (exactly $300)
Top 25% $1.5k (exactly $1,525)
Top 5% $14k (exactly $14,024)
Developers, 2 yr 27
Released games 92
Announced 14
Effort 1 / 10
AI-buildability High
Typical price $3.99

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 170% on the market, supply 20% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 10%, 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.

Incremental
effort 1 / 10 · high · formulas and upgrade tables
Solitaire
effort 1 / 10 · high · fixed rules, cards and a table

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
1 / 10 · text and UI only
Systems
Incremental, Solitaire; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Puzzle, Point & Click, Tabletop
Price point
$3.99 typical · top 25% priced $8.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Atmospheric, Cute
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $8.99 or above; the middle game at $3.99.

The top 10 games average 90% positive over 343 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $240, median $300, 1 in 4 over $1.5k, 1 in 20 over $14k.

3 in 10 developers made under $240. 9 in 10 of the 19 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 14 games are announced against 12 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + FMVStrong odds15 devs · median $11k · 12 announced
  2. + OtomeStrong odds12 devs · median $7.0k · 11 announced
  3. + Martial ArtsFair13 devs · median $6.1k · 15 announced
  4. + FarmingFair21 devs · median $5.9k · 23 announced
  5. + Dynamic NarrationFair19 devs · median $4.0k · 14 announced
  6. + MiningFair141 devs · median $3.9k · 207 announced
  7. + Souls-likeFair9 devs · median $3.9k · 10 announced
  8. + Arena ShooterFair15 devs · median $3.5k · 20 announced
  9. + Dating SimFair140 devs · median $3.1k · 136 announced
  10. + UndergroundFair27 devs · median $3.0k · 35 announced
  11. + LootFair145 devs · median $2.9k · 236 announced
  12. + SupernaturalFair33 devs · median $2.4k · 35 announced

All 188 pairs on the Incremental page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Egyptian Senet older $9.99 200 81% 6.0k $60k (exactly $59,940) Ezzat Studios
Sexy Jigsaw | 性感拼图 | 섹시 퍼즐 | セクシーなパズル older $3.99 215 83% 6.5k $26k (exactly $25,736) ZOV GAME STUDIO
Cozy Solitaire $3.99 135 84% 4.1k $16k (exactly $16,160) CozyPuzzleGames
The Lab - Escape Room older $9.99 48 79% 1.4k $14k (exactly $14,386) Flat Cat Games
Grizzly Man $8.99 52 90% 1.6k $14k (exactly $14,024) LCB Game Studio
Make the Burger older $4.99 64 71% 1.9k $9.6k (exactly $9,581) DoubleFury
Thanksgiving Day Mosaic older $14.99 20 85% 600 $9.0k (exactly $8,994) Creobit
Square Logic older $2.99 82 97% 2.5k $7.4k (exactly $7,355) Climbing Goat Games
No Vacancy Tonight $8.99 24 100% 720 $6.5k (exactly $6,473) Momiji Games
Logic Light older $1.99 107 96% 3.2k $6.4k (exactly $6,388) Hardcoffee Game Studio
Hidden Kittens: Kingdom of Cats $1.99 53 100% 1.6k $3.2k (exactly $3,164) Pinel Games
Coloring Cats: Sports With Friends $1.99 38 97% 1.1k $2.3k (exactly $2,269) Mens Sana Interactive
Fortiori $8.40 9 100% 270 $2.3k (exactly $2,268) 79GAMES
Puppy Link - Tile Connect $2.99 17 88% 510 $1.5k (exactly $1,525) ZT-Studio
Find The Flaw $4.99 7 71% 210 $1.0k (exactly $1,048) XSGames
XenoCard $3.99 4 75% 120 $479 (exactly $479) Hanging Hand
Tilting - A Noir Poker Career $3.99 4 50% 120 $479 (exactly $479) Low Light Games

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