Do I ship it?

Games › Turn-Based Strategy › Turn-Based Strategy + Solitaire

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Solitaire Turn-Based Strategy?

Turn-Based Strategy + Solitaire

Of 62 developers who shipped a Solitaire Turn-Based Strategy 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.. 45 more are announced.

Verdict: dead, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $240 in the last 2 years and $420 over 4, against a market of $630 for a 5 / 10 build. 36 developers shipped in the last year and 45 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.4 times the market baseline, revenue flat on the market, 45 announced, ×1.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Turn-Based Strategy + Solitaire
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 62
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $28k → $1.3k → $539 → $1.1k → $239 → $239 (still earning) → $239 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Turn-Based Strategy + Solitaire: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 62
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $240 (exactly $240)
Top 25% $1.7k (exactly $1,678)
Top 5% $21k (exactly $20,992)
Developers, 2 yr 62
Released games 125
Announced 45
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
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 flat on the market, supply 30% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 11%, 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 medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Turn-Based Strategy
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium 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
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Turn-Based Strategy, Solitaire; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Roguelike, Card Battler
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $12.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $12.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 88% positive over 1,074 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $50, median $240, 1 in 4 over $1.6k, 1 in 20 over $20k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. 9 in 10 of the 29 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 45 games are announced against 36 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Turn-Based Strategy with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + WuxiaFair12 devs · median $19k · 17 announced
  2. + Cold WarFair18 devs · median $9.9k · 22 announced
  3. + RomeFair15 devs · median $9.0k · 18 announced
  4. + LootFair86 devs · median $6.3k · 97 announced
  5. + MiningFair10 devs · median $4.5k · 14 announced
  6. + DwarvesFair7 devs · median $3.7k · 12 announced
  7. + IdlerFair50 devs · median $3.6k · 45 announced
  8. + Asynchronous MultiplayerFair43 devs · median $3.6k · 54 announced
  9. + TanksFair25 devs · median $3.0k · 24 announced
  10. + SokobanFair11 devs · median $2.1k · 11 announced
  11. + Top-Down ShooterFair13 devs · median $1.6k · 13 announced
  12. + SpaceFair107 devs · median $1.5k · 143 announced

All 187 pairs on the Turn-Based Strategy page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Your Only Move Is HUSTLE 2023 · $5.8M Root 2020 · $2.3M Dice & Fold 2024 · $1.4M Cardboard Town 2023 · $1.2M Shadowhand: RPG Card Game 2017 · $340k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Your Only Move Is HUSTLE older $4.99 38,703 96% 1.2M $5.8M (exactly $5,793,839) Ivy Sly
Root older $14.99 5,049 90% 151k $2.3M (exactly $2,270,535) Dire Wolf
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
Shadowhand: RPG Card Game older $16.99 668 82% 20k $340k (exactly $340,480) Grey Alien Games
Dice Player One older $14.99 456 90% 14k $205k (exactly $205,063) KDream
Mystic Vale older $12.99 384 89% 12k $150k (exactly $149,645) Nomad Games
Solitairica older $9.99 436 78% 13k $131k (exactly $130,669) Righteous Hammer 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
Pro Strategy Football 2026 $24.99 28 89% 840 $21k (exactly $20,992) Kerry Batts
Pay Back Girls $9.99 38 92% 1.1k $11k (exactly $11,389) The Platypus
Myth Monkey Card $5.99 62 100% 1.9k $11k (exactly $11,141) Myth Card Studio
Happy Poker $4.99 36 80% 1.1k $5.4k (exactly $5,389) VGameX
Sweep $6.99 18 77% 540 $3.8k (exactly $3,775) On.Production
Pro Strategy Football 2027 $24.99 5 60% 150 $3.7k (exactly $3,748) Kerry Batts
Deckbane $9.99 12 66% 360 $3.6k (exactly $3,596) Soong

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