AviaGames Taps MBA Brains to Secure Future of Solitaire Clash

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – February 20, 2026 – In a strategic move blending corporate ambition with academic rigor, mobile gaming developer AviaGames has launched a multi-year collaboration with UC San Diego’s prestigious Rady School of Management. The partnership will see a team of MBA students conduct an in-depth market analysis of Solitaire Clash, one of AviaGames' most successful titles, aiming to chart a course for its continued growth in the fiercely competitive U.S. mobile gaming landscape.

This initiative, running through March 2026, represents a significant investment in data-driven strategy for a game that already boasts impressive metrics: over 60 million downloads and 450 million tournaments played monthly. By turning to academia, AviaGames is looking beyond its internal analytics to gain fresh, external perspectives on player motivations and market dynamics.

The Strategic Play for Market Dominance

For AviaGames, this collaboration is more than an academic exercise; it's a calculated move to fortify its position in the booming skill-based gaming sector. Founded in 2017 by industry veteran Vickie Yanjuan Chen, the company has rapidly carved out a niche by focusing on fair, competitive, and social gaming experiences. Its flagship platform, Pocket7Games, unifies over 15 distinct titles under a single account system, allowing players to seamlessly switch between games like Bingo Tour and 8 Ball Strike.

The company’s growth has been fueled by substantial investor confidence, including an $8 million Series A round in 2020 followed by a $40 million raise in 2021 from notable firms like ACME Capital and Powerhouse Capital. This financial backing has supported a vision centered on creating an inclusive platform where skill, not just luck, determines the winner, a model that has resulted in over $1.4 billion in prizes awarded to players as of late 2023.

The partnership with the Rady School aligns perfectly with this data-centric philosophy. “At Avia, we are committed to the importance of academic research to better serve our player audience,” stated Vickie Yanjuan Chen, CEO and Founder of AviaGames. “We are excited to partner with UC San Diego’s Rady School of Management to develop Solitaire Clash into a premier mobile title through new research and data-driven feedback.” The project aims to provide the company with actionable intelligence to expand its user base while retaining the loyal community that has propelled Solitaire Clash to the top of app store charts.

Beyond the Textbook: A Real-World Gaming Gauntlet

While AviaGames stands to gain critical market insights, the partnership offers an unparalleled experiential learning opportunity for the MBA students at the Rady School of Management. The project is part of the Rady Action Project (RAP), a cornerstone of the MBA curriculum designed to immerse students in real-world business challenges. This capstone course moves beyond theoretical case studies, tasking students with applying executive-level thinking to develop scalable, market-ready strategies for corporate partners.

The Rady School has a distinguished history of successful collaborations, having previously partnered with industry giants such as Amazon, Intel, and BD. These projects allow students to tackle complex problems, from market entry strategies to product feasibility studies, delivering tangible value to the corporations involved.

“The Rady Action Project allows our experienced MBA students to apply executive-level thinking and communications to real business challenges while delivering meaningful value to the corporations and our students," said Sandy Kenny, Executive Director of the MBA Rady Action Project. For the team assigned to Solitaire Clash, this means a deep dive into the mechanics of a highly successful mobile game, analyzing its competitive positioning and dissecting the psychology of its player base to formulate a long-term growth strategy.

Navigating the High-Stakes Skill-Based Frontier

The collaboration is set against the backdrop of a rapidly expanding global skill-based gaming market. This segment, where player ability directly influences outcomes, has become a major force in the entertainment industry. Valued at approximately $16 billion in 2023, the market is projected to surge at a compound annual growth rate of 12.7%, with some forecasts estimating it will reach over $105 billion by 2032.

North America remains the dominant region, and developers like AviaGames are at the forefront of this trend. The appeal lies in offering a more engaging and rewarding experience than traditional luck-based games. Players are drawn to the challenge and the opportunity to win real-money prizes based on their strategic prowess. This has cultivated a dedicated audience seeking competitive, fair, and transparent gameplay, a demand AviaGames meets with its secure platform and balanced matchmaking algorithms.

However, the market is not without its challenges. Intense competition from established players like Skillz Inc. and Playtika, coupled with the constant need for fresh content and live events to maintain player engagement, means companies must continuously innovate to stay ahead. AviaGames' decision to leverage academic research for Solitaire Clash is a proactive strategy to navigate these complexities and sustain its growth trajectory.

Deconstructing a Digital Classic for Future Growth

At the heart of this project is Solitaire Clash, a title that has masterfully modernized a classic card game for the mobile era. The game’s sustained success is evident in its exceptional user ratings—a 4.8-star average on the Apple App Store from hundreds of thousands of reviews and a perfect 5-star rating on the Samsung Galaxy Store. It consistently ranks among the top card games, a testament to its engaging design, which includes diverse multiplayer tournaments and mini-games.

The UC San Diego MBA team is tasked with looking under the hood of this success. Their research will explore how Solitaire Clash can attract new demographics without alienating its core audience. This involves a comprehensive analysis of the competitive landscape, identifying what rival solitaire and casual games are doing differently, and a deep dive into player motivations. The students will investigate what drives engagement, what features lead to long-term retention, and what messaging will resonate most effectively with potential new players.

The findings from this two-year project will directly inform AviaGames’ high-level audience strategy, influencing everything from marketing campaigns and feature development to the long-term product roadmap for Solitaire Clash. By combining the practical experience of a leading game developer with the analytical power of a top-tier business school, this partnership aims to write the next chapter for a beloved digital pastime, ensuring its relevance and growth for years to come.