Do I ship it?

Games › Arcade › Arcade + Board Game

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Board Game Arcade game?

Arcade + Board Game

Of 94 developers who shipped a Board Game Arcade 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.. 85 more are announced.

Verdict: dead, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $180 in the last 2 years and $270 over 4, against a market of $480 for a 3 / 10 build. 63 developers shipped in the last year and 85 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.4 times the market baseline, revenue up 35% on the market, 85 announced, ×1.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Arcade + Board Game
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 94
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $716 → $358 → $239 → $178 → $208 → $539 → $718 (still earning) → $90 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Arcade + Board Game: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 94
Bottom 30% $60 (exactly $60)
Median $179 (exactly $179)
Top 25% $2.1k (exactly $2,096)
Top 5% $76k (exactly $75,524)
Developers, 2 yr 94
Released games 249
Announced 85
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
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 35% on the market, supply 85% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 10%, 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 high: the lowest rating among its tags.

Arcade
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high 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
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Systems
Arcade, Board Game; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, PvP, Roguelike
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $13.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Colorful, Cute
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $13.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 86% positive over 6,864 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $60, median $180, 1 in 4 over $2.0k, 1 in 20 over $75k.

3 in 10 developers made under $60. 9 in 10 of the 38 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 85 games are announced against 63 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Roguelike DeckbuilderFair59 devs · median $4.3k · 88 announced
  2. + TrainsFair20 devs · median $3.1k · 16 announced
  3. + Visual NovelFair101 devs · median $2.6k · 84 announced
  4. + MiningFair91 devs · median $2.2k · 125 announced
  5. + FaithFair16 devs · median $2.2k · 15 announced
  6. + Turn-BasedFair35 devs · median $2.2k · 32 announced
  7. + EconomyFair199 devs · median $2.1k · 285 announced
  8. + LGBTQ+Fair72 devs · median $2.1k · 61 announced
  9. + DeckbuildingFair170 devs · median $1.9k · 234 announced
  10. + Card BattlerFair68 devs · median $1.9k · 75 announced
  11. + LootFair147 devs · median $1.9k · 215 announced
  12. + VampiresFair34 devs · median $1.9k · 35 announced

All 270 pairs on the Arcade page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Drop Duchy 2025 · $1.3M Gambonanza 2026 · $721k The Jackbox Party Pack 10 2023 · $450k Dice A Million 2026 · $419k Who Wants To Be A Millionaire 2020 · $364k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Drop Duchy $14.99 2,962 89% 89k $1.3M (exactly $1,332,011) Sleepy Mill Studio
Gambonanza $14.99 1,604 74% 48k $721k (exactly $721,319) Blukulélé
The Jackbox Party Pack 10 older $29.99 500 65% 15k $450k (exactly $449,850) Jackbox Games, Inc.
Dice A Million $12.99 1,075 90% 32k $419k (exactly $418,928) countlessnights
Who Wants To Be A Millionaire older $29.99 405 52% 12k $364k (exactly $364,378) Appeal Studios, Balio Studio
The Jackbox Survey Scramble $9.99 318 90% 9.5k $95k (exactly $95,305) Jackbox Games, Inc
The Bluecoats: North & South older $14.99 176 61% 5.3k $79k (exactly $79,147) Appeal Studios
Dice Have No Eyes · EA $9.99 252 95% 7.6k $76k (exactly $75,524) Franek, Max Cahill
Roll older $4.99 407 91% 12k $61k (exactly $60,928) Joseph Distler
Egyptian Senet older $9.99 200 81% 6.0k $60k (exactly $59,940) Ezzat Studios
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
Body Pay "OMG! The girl with the big titties is too hitting on me!" $4.99 117 73% 3.5k $18k (exactly $17,515) Cheese Burger 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

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