Choose Santa's Visit
Choose Santa's Visit if you want an Adventure experience. On Steam, it's free to play, so the barrier to trying it is zero. Santa's Visit launched in 2019.
Santa's Visit vs Small Shop
Santa's Visit and Small Shop both land in Indie, Simulation, Casual on Steam, which is why they keep getting compared. The comparison below is built from each game's Steam metadata — release year, genres, categories, Steam Deck status, price, and review score — refreshed daily by imho.run's scraper. Headline differences: Both share Indie, Simulation, Casual on Steam. Santa's Visit (2019) is 3 years older than Small Shop (2022). Santa's Visit is free; Small Shop is paid (9.99 USD). No login or purchase needed — scroll for the full table, the verdict FAQ, and links to ranked similar games for both titles.
Which should you pick?
Choose Small Shop
Choose Small Shop if you want a Strategy experience. On Steam, it's the newer release (2022) and ships with the modern feature baseline. Small Shop launched in 2022.
Both Santa's Visit and Small Shop sit in Indie, Simulation, and Casual on Steam and both list Tracked Controller Support and VR Only, so either pick lands in the same broad neighborhood. Use the side-by-side table for the feature view, or follow the "Games like" links below to see ranked alternatives for either title.
Side-by-side comparison
 Santa's Visit |  Small Shop | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2019 | 2022 |
| Genres | Indie, Adventure, Simulation, Casual, Early Access | Strategy, Indie, Simulation, Casual, Early Access |
| Platforms | Windows | Windows |
| Steam Deck | Unrated | Unrated |
| Price | Free to play | 9.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 71.4% positive (14 reviews) | 2 reviews |
| Multiplayer | Single-player only | Single-player only |
| Developers | Mad Bee Studios | Gattino Lab |
Side by side
- Both share Indie, Simulation, Casual on Steam.
- Santa's Visit (2019) is 3 years older than Small Shop (2022).
- Santa's Visit is free; Small Shop is paid (9.99 USD).
Santa's Visit vs Small Shop — FAQ
- Should I play Santa's Visit or Small Shop first?
- If you want chronology, Santa's Visit (2019) came out before Small Shop (2022). If neither is a sequel to the other, order doesn't really matter — start with whichever fits your current mood, since both share enough on Steam to make either a reasonable opener.
- Are Santa's Visit and Small Shop similar?
- They overlap on Indie, Simulation, Casual on Steam, so the catalogue groups them together — but "similar" depends on the specific mechanics. Use the genre + category rows above to decide whether the overlap matches what drew you to the one you've already played.
- Is Santa's Visit free?
- Yes — Santa's Visit is a free-to-play Steam title. Small Shop is paid (9.99 USD).