When does Cardboard Town get good?

Give it 3 hours. In the first 2 hours 1 in 3 reviews are negative (33%); after 5h it's 1 in 8 (12%). Fully opens up by hour 5.

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CasualIndieSimulationStrategy

Cardboard Town

Aug 18, 2023 Steam: Mostly Positive

Give it 3 hours

Gets good by 3h almost every game dips in hours 2–3

Fully opens up by 5h rated like by long-time players

Started playing 73% of owners

Steam reviews 80% positive of 2,333

What the data shows

In the first 2 hours 1 in 3 reviews are negative (33%); after 5h it's 1 in 8 (12%).
Fully opens up by hour 5.
73% of owners got the first achievement.

When it gets good

Share of positive reviews by how many hours the reviewer had played when writing the review.

before it gets good opening up fully opened up

Based on all 2,363 Steam reviews in every language. Median playtime in a sample of 299 reviews: 6.8h for positive, 2.8h for negative. Almost every game is rated lower in the first 2–3 hours: that window includes refunds and quick first impressions. What matters is how deep the dip is and how fast the game recovers.

Where players quit

Share of players who started the game and reached each story milestone. 100% is the most common achievement (72.9% of owners), so people who bought the game and never launched it don't count.

Story milestones aren't labeled yet; all achievements are listed below.

All achievements (20)

What does this do? Press the Mayor Button. 100%
Cardboard Village Reach 200 Population. 79%
To a better future Hold the 23rd of April Festival. 71%
In The Zone Celebrate the K-pop Concert Festival. 62%
Golden Real Estate Gain a %100 Population bonus from a building. 46%
First Chapter Complete Reach 15 Mayor Level. 44%
Cardboard City Reach 500 Population. 42%
UPGRADE!!! Obtain 10 Upgrades in a single run. 36%
Incredible Mayor Have all basic resource above 10 in a day. 27%
Completionist Fill 500 Tiles in the map. 18%
Lovely Player Press the Feedback button. 16%
Cardboard Metropolis Reach 1000 Population. 10%
To The Space! Launch the Rocket. 9.3%
To The Vacation! Do a Grand Opening. 4.7%
Expert Mayor Reach 45 Mayor level. 4.1%
To The Underworld! Launch the Mega-Drill. 3.7%
Cardboard Nation Reach 2500 Population. 2.6%
Aye, Captain! Reach 300 Population in Towntanic. 1.8%
Expansionist Reach 250 Population in Expanding Town mode. 1.2%
Legit Mayor Finish a Mega Project in Democratic Town mode. 1.0%

Steam page Updated: 2026-10-19.