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Should I ship a 4 Player Local Board Game?
4 Player Local + Board Game
Of 41 developers who shipped a 4 Player Local Board Game in the last 2 years: 3 in 10 made under est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., 1 in 4 cleared est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., 1 in 20 cleared est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 60 more are announced, ×2.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.7k, ×3.5 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $120; 1 in 20 cleared $95k, ×201 the market median. Revenue is down 65% on the market; 60 games are announced against 29 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $120 (exactly $120) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.7k (exactly $1,678) |
| Top 25% | $10k (exactly $10,490) |
| Top 5% | $95k (exactly $95,305) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 41 |
| Released games | 142 |
| Announced | 60 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $9.99 |
momentum: how a niche's revenue percentiles and developer count moved between two equal, adjacent periods, divided by the market's own move. See method., 12 months: revenue down 65% on the market, supply 95% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 13%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- 4 Player Local
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
- Board Game
- effort 2 / 10 · high · effort 2 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- 4 Player Local, Board Game; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Tabletop, Strategy, Local Multiplayer
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Colorful, Funny, 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 90% positive over 2,023 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $120. 8 in 10 of the 16 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 60 games are announced against 29 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.1 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
4 Player Local with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Open WorldFair
- + Multiple EndingsFair
- + SimulationFair
- + Immersive SimFair
- + CatsFair
- + RhythmFair
- + ManagementPoor odds
- + Football (Soccer)Poor odds
- + Beat 'em upPoor odds
- + Female ProtagonistPoor odds
- + TriviaPoor odds
- + MinigamesPoor odds
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Pummel Party | older | $14.99 | 46,134 88% | 1.4M | $21M (exactly $20,746,460) | Rebuilt Games |
| | The Jackbox Party Pack 3 | older | $24.99 | 5,139 96% | 154k | $3.9M (exactly $3,852,708) | Jackbox Games, Inc. |
| | The Jackbox Party Pack 5 | older | $29.99 | 2,180 93% | 65k | $2.0M (exactly $1,961,346) | Jackbox Games, Inc. |
| | The Jackbox Party Pack 4 | older | $24.99 | 2,478 94% | 74k | $1.9M (exactly $1,857,757) | Jackbox Games, Inc. |
| | Clue/Cluedo: Classic Edition | older | $16.99 | 3,096 88% | 93k | $1.6M (exactly $1,578,031) | Marmalade Game Studio Ltd |
| | Party Panic | older | $16.99 | 2,886 76% | 87k | $1.5M (exactly $1,470,994) | Everglow Interactive Inc. |
| | THE GAME OF LIFE 2 | older | $12.49 | 3,702 78% | 111k | $1.4M (exactly $1,387,139) | Marmalade Game Studio Ltd |
| | Dokapon Kingdom: Connect | older | $49.99 | 801 86% | 24k | $1.2M (exactly $1,201,260) | Idea Factory, Compile Heart, Sting |
| | The Jackbox Party Pack | older | $24.99 | 1,467 90% | 44k | $1.1M (exactly $1,099,810) | Jackbox Games, Inc. |
| | The Jackbox Party Pack 2 | older | $24.99 | 1,447 95% | 43k | $1.1M (exactly $1,084,816) | Jackbox Games, Inc. |
| | Walk of Life | $19.99 | 888 94% | 27k | $533k (exactly $532,534) | Porcelain Fortress | |
| | DOKAPON! Sword of Fury | $24.99 | 354 85% | 11k | $265k (exactly $265,394) | Sting | |
| | The Jackbox Survey Scramble | $9.99 | 318 90% | 9.5k | $95k (exactly $95,305) | Jackbox Games, Inc | |
| | Culdcept The First | $29.99 | 95 74% | 2.9k | $85k (exactly $85,472) | CITY CONNECTION | |
| | The You Quiz | $9.99 | 100 93% | 3.0k | $30k (exactly $29,970) | Hazard Wizard | |
| | Nature Game System | $19.99 | 49 73% | 1.5k | $29k (exactly $29,385) | North Star Digital Games | |
| | Beacon Patrol | $11.99 | 70 97% | 2.1k | $25k (exactly $25,179) | Shapes and Dreams, BrutalHack | |
| | Running Fable Petite Party | $13.99 | 51 100% | 1.5k | $21k (exactly $21,405) | Seashell Studio | |
| | Keep the Heroes Out | $19.99 | 35 60% | 1.1k | $21k (exactly $20,990) | Brueh Games, YarnCat Games | |
| | Fortune Avenue | · EA | $6.99 | 63 84% | 1.9k | $13k (exactly $13,211) | Binogure Studio 🐺 |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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