Games › Solitaire › Solitaire + Mystery
Should I ship a Mystery Solitaire game?
Solitaire + Mystery
Of 21 developers who shipped a Mystery Solitaire 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.. 35 more are announced, ×3.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: dead, for a 3 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $240 in the last 2 years and $300 over 4, against a market of $480 for a 3 / 10 build. 10 developers shipped in the last year and 35 games are announced.
| Bottom 30% | $114 (exactly $114) |
|---|---|
| Median | $239 (exactly $239) |
| Top 25% | $1.7k (exactly $1,678) |
| Top 5% | $6.5k (exactly $6,473) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 21 |
| Released games | 74 |
| Announced | 35 |
| 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 up 15% on the market, supply 15% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 5%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is high: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
- Systems
- Solitaire; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Exploration, Puzzle
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $8.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Dark, First-Person, Story Rich
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $8.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 87% positive over 164 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $120. All of the 14 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 35 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.5 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Solitaire with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Female ProtagonistFair
- + Artificial IntelligenceFair
- + ManagementFair
- + Immersive SimFair
- + MahjongFair
- + RomanceFair
- + CraftingFair
- + SimulationFair
- + FantasyFair
- + TacticalFair
- + SportsFair
- + Turn-Based CombatFair
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | The Solitaire Conspiracy | older | $11.99 | 742 89% | 22k | $267k (exactly $266,897) | Bithell Games |
| | Egyptian Senet | older | $9.99 | 200 81% | 6.0k | $60k (exactly $59,940) | Ezzat Studios |
| | Myha: Return to the Lost Island | older | $14.99 | 45 75% | 1.4k | $20k (exactly $20,236) | Denis Martin, Simon Says: Play! |
| | Dark Atlas: Infernum | $14.99 | 39 82% | 1.2k | $18k (exactly $17,538) | Night Council Studio | |
| | Mystery Solitaire The Black Raven | older | $14.99 | 25 84% | 750 | $11k (exactly $11,242) | Somer Games |
| | 1001 Jigsaw Legends of Mystery 1 | older | $14.99 | 24 70% | 720 | $11k (exactly $10,793) | Somer Games |
| | Mystery Solitaire Grimm's Tales | older | $14.99 | 19 68% | 570 | $8.5k (exactly $8,544) | Somer Games |
| | Sudoku Classic | older | $5.99 | 40 92% | 1.2k | $7.2k (exactly $7,188) | RucKyGAMES |
| | No Vacancy Tonight | $8.99 | 24 100% | 720 | $6.5k (exactly $6,473) | Momiji Games | |
| | Detective Solitaire. Butler Story | older | $14.99 | 13 76% | 390 | $5.8k (exactly $5,846) | Somer Games |
| | Roulette Heist | $6.99 | 18 94% | 540 | $3.8k (exactly $3,775) | DreamArk Lab | |
| | Forest 6174 | $2.99 | 29 82% | 870 | $2.6k (exactly $2,601) | itandfeel | |
| | XIII - A Final Game of Tarot With Death | $1.99 | 34 91% | 1.0k | $2.0k (exactly $2,030) | Indigo Dreams | |
| | Aeternum Grand Plaza | $7.99 | 7 85% | 210 | $1.7k (exactly $1,678) | BD STUDIO | |
| | Find The Flaw | $4.99 | 7 71% | 210 | $1.0k (exactly $1,048) | XSGames | |
| | You Must Remember | $8.00 | 3 100% | 90 | $720 (exactly $720) | PotiGames | |
| | Cursed House 14 | $12.99 | 1 100% | 30 | $390 (exactly $390) | LGT SIA | |
| | DOCE | $3.99 | 2 0% | 60 | $239 (exactly $239) | SAHKIL STUDIO |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.