Niche hub
514 games carry the tag · 16 released in the last 12 months (vs 197 the year before) · median price $9.99
balanced. Balanced space: 16 releases in the last year. Among the games here that reached 10+ reviews (most releases never do), the median sold an estimated 2,192 units (middle half 955–7,952). Games with a clear hook find their audience here without fighting a flood.
Unit medians are estimates, among games that reached 10+ reviews — most never do · how we estimate
What would change this: A wave of new releases (supply +38%) or a falling median would tip this toward Crowded. · confidence: high
The evidence — the niche's most-reviewed games
Slay the SpireBalatroStacklands9 KingsNubby's Number FactoryMagicraftMonster Train 2Backpack Hero
Aggregated over 18,981 stored reviews from 379 games.
Reviews are shown as published on Steam, including reviews from key activations and free copies — so percentages here can differ from the score on the Steam store page. GameTrend does not check whether reviewers bought or played the game.
The top 5 games hold 70% of the niche's 699,427 reviews; it takes 15 games to reach 80%. Fewer games to 80% means a harder niche to be seen in.
| Game | Released | Reviews | Steam says |
|---|---|---|---|
| Slay the Spire | 2019 | 218,986 | Overwhelmingly Positive |
| Balatro | 2024 | 194,032 | Overwhelmingly Positive |
| Stacklands | 2022 | 30,379 | Overwhelmingly Positive |
| 9 Kings | 2025 | 23,392 | Very Positive |
| Nubby's Number Factory | 2025 | 19,648 | Overwhelmingly Positive |
| Magicraft | 2024 | 16,925 | Very Positive |
| Monster Train 2 | 2025 | 10,214 | Overwhelmingly Positive |
| Backpack Hero | 2023 | 8,533 | Very Positive |
| Matchmaking Inc. | 2025 | 7,378 | Very Positive |
| Shogun Showdown | 2024 | 7,105 | Overwhelmingly Positive |
Combine Deckbuilding with other tags — and exclusions — in the segment workspace, or describe your concept and get this verdict on your exact combo.
Counts are measured (reviews, releases, prices); concentration is review-share, not an index; momentum is new-review pace between our own daily observations, computed across the segment's 400 most-reviewed games.