What Goodsol Development does

Goodsol Development Inc. is a privately held, bootstrapped developer of solitaire and tile-matching card game software founded in 1995 by Thomas Warfield and headquartered in Springfield, Illinois. The company's core product is Pretty Good Solitaire, a collection of 1,080 solitaire games on Windows, with parallel versions of 900 games on macOS and 800 games on iPad and iPhone. Supporting products include Pretty Good MahJongg (390 tile-matching layouts), Action Solitaire (75 timed-round games), Goodsol Solitaire 101, Most Popular Solitaire, and FreeCell Plus, all built on a shared game-engine technology that enables cross-platform game-number compatibility, automatic game saving with playback, complete undo/redo, online score submission, and a game-creation wizard.

The company operates a direct-to-consumer go-to-market motion, distributing software through its own website via FastSpring secure checkout and through the iOS and Mac App Stores, with a 30-day free trial model driving conversion to one-time perpetual licenses priced from $9.95 to $24.95. All desktop products include free upgrades through end of 2027. Customer acquisition relies on owned channels including an email newsletter archive spanning 2003-2021, a discussion forum, a company blog, social media presence, free browser-based solitaire games, and third-party software distribution partners.

Revenue is generated exclusively from consumer one-time purchases with no subscription, advertising, or enterprise revenue streams disclosed, and the company has operated without external institutional funding since inception. The customer base consists of individual casual gamers globally, with no enterprise or institutional accounts. The company maintains a micro-team of 1-10 employees and has won multiple Shareware Industry Awards and People's Choice Awards between 1999 and 2006 for Best Non-Action Game.

Name

Goodsol Development

Legal name

Goodsol Development Inc.

Website

https://goodsol.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Goodsol Development is a bootstrapped, privately held developer of solitaire and tile-matching card games for Windows, Mac, iPad, and iPhone, serving individual casual gamers worldwide through one-time license purchases since 1995.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Casual Card and Puzzle Games

NAICS

Hobby, Toy, and Game Retailers (45912)

SIC

Retail-Hobby, Toy & Game Shops (5945), Retail-Computer & Computer Software Stores (5734)

akta.pro primary industry

PC Digital Game Stores & Launchers (MPAFACAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Digital/Interactive Toys & Accessories Distribution (CRAOAMAJ), Mobile Game Stores & Alternative App Stores (MPAFACAD)

Keywords

• Solitaire card games
• MahJongg tile matching
• Casual puzzle games
• Shareware desktop software
• Mobile card games

Headquarters

HQ city

Springfield

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Personnel

Revenue model

1. Desktop Software Sales: One-time purchase license fees for Windows and Mac desktop applications. Customers pay a single fee and receive the software with free upgrades through end of 2027.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Goodsol Development develops, publishes, and sells solitaire and MahJongg/tile-matching card-game software for Windows, macOS, iPad, and iPhone under its own brands (Pretty Good Solitaire, Pretty Good MahJongg, Action Solitaire, Goodsol Solitaire 101, Most Popular Solitaire, FreeCell Plus). It also offers 140 free browser-based solitaire games as a discovery channel for its paid downloads. Customers purchase one-time perpetual licenses priced from US$9.95 to US$24.95 per desktop product (and $0.99–$9.99 on iOS), with 30-day free trials and free upgrades through end of 2027.

Product overview

Goodsol Development offers a comprehensive portfolio of solitaire and puzzle games across desktop and mobile platforms. The flagship product is Pretty Good Solitaire, available in Windows (1080 games), Mac (900 games), iPad (800 games), and iPhone (800 games) versions. Supporting products include Pretty Good MahJongg (tile matching games), Action Solitaire (timed rounds), Goodsol Solitaire 101 (101 popular games), Most Popular Solitaire (30 games), and FreeCell Plus (12 FreeCell variants). The company also provides free browser-based online solitaire games. Most products feature cross-platform game number compatibility, cloud score submission, multiple card sets, and share the core game engine technology.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Pretty Good Solitaire: Main product line featuring over 1080 solitaire card games for Windows, with versions for Mac (900 games), iPad (800 games), and iPhone (800 games). Pricing at US$24.95 for Windows/Mac.
• Pretty Good MahJongg
• Action Solitaire
• Goodsol Solitaire 101
• Most Popular Solitaire
• FreeCell Plus

Products and services

• Pretty Good Solitaire (Windows) Flagship solitaire game collection for Windows featuring 1,080 different solitaire card games, including classics (Klondike, FreeCell, Spider) and original proprietary games. Includes Daily Solitaire Quests, a Game Creation Wizard, multiple card sets, automatic save with playback, complete undo/redo, and online score submission.
• Pretty Good Solitaire Mac Edition macOS version of the flagship Pretty Good Solitaire with 900 different solitaire card games. Game numbers are compatible with the Windows and iPad versions. Requires macOS 10.15 Catalina or later.
• Pretty Good Solitaire for iPad iPad version featuring 800 different solitaire card games. Includes dynamic card sizing with pinch-to-zoom, auto-save, undo/redo, and full statistics tracking. Distributed via the Apple App Store at $9.99 one-time.
• Pretty Good Solitaire Mini for iPhone iPhone version containing 800 solitaire card games, including Klondike, FreeCell, and Spider. Distributed via the Apple App Store at $1.99 one-time.
• Pretty Good MahJongg MahJongg solitaire tile-matching game featuring 390 different tile-matching layouts and 55 solitaire and puzzle games. Includes classic tile matching plus original proprietary variants such as MahJongg FreeCell, MahJongg Spider, and MahJongg Klondike, plus a layout editor for user-created layouts. Available for Windows and Mac at US$24.95.
• Action Solitaire

Quantifiable outcome

• Some players have played tens of thousands of games
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature11 records

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• BlueSky Programming: BlueSky Programming publishes desktop solitaire products (Card Solitaire, Solitar) with similar shareware/perpetual-license positioning. Comparable micro-ISV competitor in the Windows solitaire category.
• MobilityWare: MobilityWare publishes a leading suite of solitaire mobile apps (Solitaire, Spider Solitaire, FreeCell) on iOS and Android with millions of downloads. It is a direct competitor in the consumer solitaire category with similar gameplay scope and mobile-first distribution, though at much larger scale and with ad/IAP monetization.
• Magmic Games: Magmic publishes long-running mobile solitaire titles (Solitaire, FreeCell) on iOS and Android. Comparable in target audience and category; competitor in the mobile solitaire app stores.
• Tarsin Studios: Tarsin Studios publishes the 'Solitaire Collection' mobile app (iOS/Android) with daily challenges and free-with-ads monetization. Same consumer solitaire use case and audience as Goodsol, but freemium mobile-native.
• TreeCardGames: TreeCardGames (now owned by Zachtronics-related founders) publishes desktop solitaire suites (Solitaire 12, FreeCell) sold via one-time license on Windows/Mac. Highly comparable business model, platform footprint, and target buyer to Goodsol.
• PeopleFun (Storm8): PeopleFun publishes 'Solitaire Cube' and similar skill-solitaire mobile games with cash-prize tournaments. Direct competitor in the modern mobile solitaire category with live-ops and monetization depth Goodsol lacks.
• BrainVisions (SolSuite): SolSuite by BrainVisions is a long-running Windows solitaire collection offering 700+ games. It is one of the closest direct competitors to Pretty Good Solitaire in the desktop shareware/perpetual-license solitaire category, targeting the same enthusiast buyer.

Broad incumbents

• Microsoft (Microsoft Solitaire Collection): Microsoft ships a Solitaire game pre-installed on every Windows PC and has published Xbox/Windows Solitaire apps. As the de facto free default on Goodsol's primary platform, Microsoft sets the competitive price floor the company must overcome.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/goodsolitaire
• Facebookfacebook.com/goodsol

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Goodsol Development