From 7-year-old idea to million-dollar sale: Seattle teen’s card game bought by toy giant
Aug 11, 2025, 2:00 PM
Promotional art for "Taco vs. Burrito." (Photo courtesy of PlayMonster)
(Photo courtesy of PlayMonster)
A Seattle teenager turned his childhood creativity into a million-dollar success.
According to The Seattle Times, 15-year-old Alex Butler sold his hit card game “Taco vs Burrito” last week to the Wisconsin-based toy company PlayMonster. Butler invented the game when he was just 7 years old. “Taco vs Burrito” made just under $1.1 million in its first year on Amazon, selling for $20 a game. Since then, it has sold 1.5 million copies.
The card game even ranked as Amazon’s No. 1 bestselling game at one point.
“It was never something that I’ve been attached to or anything,” Butler said, according to The Seattle Times. “It’s not super important to me. I just kind of wanted to get the most money out of it.”
Butler’s family and PlayMonster did not disclose the total amount of the cash deal the two parties settled on.
The game’s goal is to acquire cards in order to build and create the most valuable meal. Cards include ingredients, modifiers, actions, and wild cards, while deterrents that cost the player points, like tummy ache, are also in the fold.
The CEO of PlayMonster, Jonathan Berkowitz, told The Seattle Times he was interested in the game because the “characters are amazing.”
PlayMonster is expected to release a new version of the game in November.
