Do I ship it?

Games › Action › Action + Board Game

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Board Game Action game?

Action + Board Game

Of 61 developers who shipped a Board Game Action 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.. 90 more are announced, ×2.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $300, ×0.5 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $50. 90 games are announced against 41 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.2 per shipper, while revenue is up 80% on the market.

Deciding numbers: median 0.5 times the market baseline, revenue up 80% on the market, 90 announced, ×2.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action + Board Game
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 61
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $4.2k → $419 → $897 → $8.2k → $299 → $133 → $839 (still earning) → $90 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action + Board Game: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 61
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $299 (exactly $299)
Top 25% $1.8k (exactly $1,799)
Top 5% $17k (exactly $17,383)
Developers, 2 yr 61
Released games 272
Announced 90
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $4.99

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 up 80% on the market, supply 95% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 11%, excluded from money figures.

See every window in the explorer →

Plate 2 · systems and tooling

Can AI deliver it?

AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Action
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Board Game
effort 2 / 10 · high · effort 2 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Action, Board Game; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Arcade, Strategy, PvP
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Colorful, 3D, Cute
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 90% positive over 3,564 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $50, median $300, 1 in 4 over $1.7k, 1 in 20 over $17k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. 9 in 10 of the 27 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 90 games are announced against 41 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.2 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Action with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Real-Time with PauseFair16 devs · median $103k · 18 announced
  2. + Job SimulatorFair25 devs · median $14k · 30 announced
  3. + PinballFair42 devs · median $2.6k · 48 announced
  4. + Escape RoomFair43 devs · median $1.8k · 40 announced
  5. + Football (American)Fair16 devs · median $1.3k · 6 announced
  6. + BaseballFair16 devs · median $1.2k · 12 announced
  7. + BilliardsFair19 devs · median $958 · 25 announced
  8. + IdlerFair225 devs · median $898 · 292 announced
  9. + TennisFair23 devs · median $628 · 12 announced
  10. + Time AttackFair90 devs · median $599 · 110 announced
  11. + TabletopFair71 devs · median $505 · 86 announced
  12. + WuxiaPoor odds9 devs · median $189k · 36 announced

All 288 pairs on the Action page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Pummel Party 2018 · $21M UNO 2017 · $13M Blood Bowl 2: Legendary Edition (Classic) 2017 · $6.4M Hand of Fate 2015 · $4.8M Hand of Fate 2 2017 · $4.7M
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
UNO older $9.99 42,019 70% 1.3M $13M (exactly $12,593,094) Ubisoft Entertainment
Blood Bowl 2: Legendary Edition (Classic) older $29.99 7,077 78% 212k $6.4M (exactly $6,367,177) Cyanide Studios
Hand of Fate older $19.99 8,009 89% 240k $4.8M (exactly $4,802,997) Defiant Development
Hand of Fate 2 older $29.99 5,273 84% 158k $4.7M (exactly $4,744,118) Defiant Development
Tainted Grail: Conquest older $19.99 7,589 90% 228k $4.6M (exactly $4,551,123) Questline
Blood Bowl 3 older $29.99 3,940 51% 118k $3.5M (exactly $3,544,818) Cyanide Studio
Party Panic older $16.99 2,886 76% 87k $1.5M (exactly $1,470,994) Everglow Interactive Inc.
Drop Duchy $14.99 2,962 89% 89k $1.3M (exactly $1,332,011) Sleepy Mill Studio
Faeria older $19.99 1,520 83% 46k $912k (exactly $911,544) Abrakam Entertainment SA
Hyper Chess $2.99 321 92% 9.6k $29k (exactly $28,794) Grouch, SuitNtie
Running Fable Petite Party $13.99 51 100% 1.5k $21k (exactly $21,405) Seashell Studio
Cardburners $9.99 58 98% 1.7k $17k (exactly $17,383) GrosChevaux
Break Shoot $4.99 106 99% 3.2k $16k (exactly $15,868) UPTRAND
Pinchcliffe Grand Prix Anniversary Edition $29.99 14 78% 420 $13k (exactly $12,596) Ravn Studio, Rock Pocket Games, Invictu… (Ravn Studio, Rock Pocket Games, Invictus Games)
Light Fingers $19.99 17 76% 510 $10k (exactly $10,195) Numizmatic
Bullet: Surge $15.99 18 94% 540 $8.6k (exactly $8,635) Cerbere Games
Wild Country $24.99 11 54% 330 $8.2k (exactly $8,247) Lost Native
Grizzy and the Lemmings - Crazy Party $39.99 6 100% 180 $7.2k (exactly $7,198) Balio Studio

Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.