Source: AppGrowing

Solitaire Associations: Words clearly indicates its core gameplay integrates two elements: “Solitaire” and “Word” . Both genres have substantial download volumes and high DAU in overseas markets, representing large user-base game categories.

Meanwhile, Hitapps Games, the developer behind Solitaire Associations: Words, has long specialized in word-based games, having launched several hit titles. These include the word puzzle game Figgerits, which surpassed 2 million downloads in a single month, and the word association game Associations, which has amassed 10.4 million downloads on Google Play.

This time, they have merged word puzzle mechanics with solitaire gameplay, bringing a fresh gaming experience to Solitaire Associations: Words.

01. Differentiated Design to Tap the Red Ocean Market

The gameplay of Solitaire Associations: Words is relatively straightforward to understand. Unlike traditional solitaire, which mainly tests sorting and probability calculations, this game introduces a core mechanic of “classification and induction.”

The game features a “Mother Card” and “Child Cards” system. A Mother Card represents a broad category, such as “Seasons” or “Relatives,” with subordinate Child Cards that are specific items, like “Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter” or “Father, Mother, Brother.”

Each Mother Card bears a crown icon at its top right corner, which must be embedded into a slot marked with the same crown before connecting with Child Cards.

Players no longer merely arrange cards in numerical order but need to group cards based on semantic logic.

When all Child Cards associated with a Mother Card are collected, that Mother Card is eliminated, freeing space for subsequent Mother Cards to be embedded. The objective is to collect all Mother Cards, thereby winning; otherwise, if the slots are full and no valid moves remain, the game results in failure.

Additionally, the game introduces a step limit: each action—whether flipping cards from the deck or moving cards—costs one step. If the steps run out before victory, the game also ends in failure.

Solitaire Associations: Words often evokes the recently popular Water Sort Puzzle , as both involve classification and sorting logic.

Source: AppGrowing

The goal of Water Sort Puzzle is to sort liquids of different colors into designated tubes so that each tube contains only one color, ultimately clearing or categorizing all liquids. Similarly, in Solitaire Associations: Words , the goal is to semantically categorize scattered Child Cards under their respective Mother Cards. When a Mother Card’s Child Cards are fully collected, that Mother Card is eliminated, and the slot opens up.

Both are not simple sorting games; their ultimate aim is to classify elements to clear the scene—either by emptying tubes or eliminating Mother Cards—creating space for subsequent steps.

It’s worth noting that the game’s success isn’t solely due to innovative gameplay. AppGrowing detected that preliminary promotional materials began circulating before the game’s official launch (late August). As the game went live, ads scale gradually increased. The trend shows that the peak ads period closely aligned with user growth milestones.

Source: AppGrowing

The creatives mainly consisted of images and videos, with proportions of 34.33% and 29.04%, respectively. Video ads primarily fell into two categories:

① Gameplay footage;

② Real-person transitions into gameplay scenes.

In the gameplay creatives, Solitaire Associations: Words pays particular attention to background visual design. Instead of using monotonous green backgrounds, vibrant, rich color schemes are utilized to produce a strong visual impact, directly conveying a light-hearted, fun tone and attracting target users.

Using Appgrowing’s “AI Analysis” feature, we summarized the creative approach as follows:

Source: AppGrowing

- The video first displays the initial interface of Word Solitaire , including remaining moves (e.g., 200 moves) and cards yet to be revealed, along with prompts and undo buttons, providing users with quick insight into the game layout.

- It gradually demonstrates the matching process across different categories, such as “Senses” with “Smell” and “Nose,” and “Lessons” with “Maths” and “Biology,” emphasizing the game’s intellectual challenge. When all cards in a category are successfully matched, that category disappears from the screen, providing instant feedback to players.

In the real-person footage, these creatives open with card tricks/shuffling, then cut to gameplay. The "showy tricks vs. actual gameplay" contrast hooks card fans, driving engagement and downloads.

Source: AppGrowing

However, as the game progresses, shortcomings in Solitaire Associations: Words’ content design and monetization strategy gradually become apparent.

Content-wise, the game lacks an effective incentive system or main goal to sustain long-term player engagement. Players can only advance through repeated level attempts, with subsequent levels increasing in difficulty—more cards, tougher vocabulary—but the overall gameplay remains monotonous.

Furthermore, ads also impacts the user experience. As a product primarily relying on IAA monetization approach, the game’s ad frequency control appears somewhat aggressive. Starting from level five, the difficulty noticeably increases, and the system detects if a player remains on the same level for more than ten minutes, it forcibly plays ads.

These interruptive ads appear during critical thinking moments, disrupting gameplay flow and causing apparent user frustration.

The game maintains high ratings, though frequent ads draw complaints.

Alexandra Trifonova, Head of Monetization at Hitapps Games, mentioned in an interview that approximately 90% of their current monetization relies on ads, and they have significantly improved their methods and processes, actively developing in-app monetization approach.

02. Competition is fierce this year in the "card +" game genre.

As a relatively traditional genre, card games have experienced renewed efforts from multiple developers this year.

As early as 2020, Chinese developer 贝塔科技 tested this hybrid genre with Solitaire Home Design(solitaire + home decor), which peaked at #6 on the US iOS Top IAP. Though performance declined months after launch, it proved the category's potential.

This February, King launched Candy Crush Solitaire, adding card gameplay to its iconic franchise. It topped iOS Top Free charts in 67 countries on launch day and grossed over $10M, demonstrating strong IP power and user appeal.

Following closely, well-known developer Superplay released Disney Solitaire in April, integrating Disney IP with classic gameplay. This successful blend of high-quality IP and familiar mechanics attracted a vast user base, with monthly revenues once exceeding RMB 160 million, further confirming the market potential of the “IP + Cards” mode.

Many Familiar IP Characters

The reason Solitaire genres enjoy widespread popularity is their simple, easy-to-understand gameplay, low operation threshold, and broad user coverage. Additionally, their core rule—“connect cards in numerical order”—possesses innate strategic depth, quickly attracting players.

Despite having a stable user base, the genre has seen few breakout hits in recent years beyond a handful of successful products. This indicates the Solitaire market is not yet saturated, and competition remains moderate, leaving room for further development.

Some developers leverage their long-term experience in the field; for example, Superplay’s early hit Domino Dreams established mature gameplay and economic system frameworks, which Disney Solitaire continued to follow, resulting in a well-performing product that provides a reference model for others.

Hitapps Games seized this opportunity by merging its word-game expertise with solitaire mechanics, creating the hit Solitaire Associations: Words.

Looking ahead, more game genres such as SLG and RPG are likely to experiment with innovative integration with card mechanics, sparking new gameplay combinations.