Introducing our new game, STACKED. It's probably the best game in the world. Buy it now.
The Beginning of Cardstack Games.
I’m Ryan, the founder of Cardstack games and the creator of STACKED.
For years, I’ve been passionate about gaming – from board games and card games to competitive video games. But whenever I played, I always found myself thinking deeper about the experience. Why didn’t this mechanic exist? Why wasn’t this explained better? Why does this part feel unbalanced? Why wasn’t there more replayability?
After asking myself “why?” so many times, I eventually decided to stop just analysing games and start building one myself.
That idea became STACKED.
From the first concept to the final release, the journey took around 1.5 years. During development, I created four homemade prototypes before moving on to two supplier prototypes, constantly refining the game with every version. STACKED was also tested by more than 80 players, including friends, family, and complete strangers at board game cafes and game nights.
One of my biggest goals throughout development was making sure STACKED always felt balanced, competitive, and fresh to play. I wanted players to feel like they always had a chance to win, no matter the situation, while still rewarding smart strategy, timing, and tactical decision.
Seeing players instantly ask for rematches adapt new strategies and react differently every game showed me I was building something special.
STACKED is the first game from Cardstack Games – but it’s definitely not the last. I already have big plans for the STACKED universe, including an expansion currently in development, a dedicated 1v1 Duel experience, and even a future team-based game set within the same universe.
What started as a single idea has now become the beginning of something much bigger.