Do I ship it?

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Specimen · observed

Should I ship an AI Board Game?

Board Game + Artificial Intelligence

Of 39 developers who shipped an AI 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.. 36 more are announced.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $630, ×1.3 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $50; 1 in 20 cleared $160k, ×351 the market median. Revenue is down 70% on the market; 36 games are announced against 32 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.3 times the market baseline, revenue down 70% on the market, 36 announced, ×1.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Board Game + Artificial Intelligence
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 39
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $719 → $419 → $597 → $3.4k → $1.2k → $15k → $119 (still earning) → $1.9k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Board Game + Artificial Intelligence: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 39
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $628 (exactly $628)
Top 25% $3.4k (exactly $3,356)
Top 5% $167k (exactly $166,839)
Developers, 2 yr 39
Released games 157
Announced 36
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 down 70% on the market, supply 220% 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.

Board Game
effort 2 / 10 · high · effort 2 sits in the high band
Artificial Intelligence
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 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
Board Game; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Turn-Based Strategy, Tabletop
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Family Friendly
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 83% positive over 1,550 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 $630, 1 in 4 over $3.3k, 1 in 20 over $160k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. 9 in 10 of the 14 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 36 games are announced against 32 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Board Game with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Party-Based RPGFair24 devs · median $18k · 29 announced
  2. + Asynchronous MultiplayerFair30 devs · median $6.7k · 33 announced
  3. + JRPGFair13 devs · median $2.5k · 7 announced
  4. + Local Co-OpFair35 devs · median $2.4k · 41 announced
  5. + Female ProtagonistFair35 devs · median $2.4k · 35 announced
  6. + HistoricalFair60 devs · median $1.3k · 81 announced
  7. + LGBTQ+Fair8 devs · median $1.2k · 5 announced
  8. + SpaceFair28 devs · median $1.2k · 27 announced
  9. + Alternate HistoryFair20 devs · median $1.2k · 21 announced
  10. + MahjongFair28 devs · median $1.1k · 21 announced
  11. + Party GameFair72 devs · median $899 · 98 announced
  12. + DragonsFair15 devs · median $838 · 15 announced

All 152 pairs on the Board Game page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

5D Chess With Multiverse Time Travel 2020 · $2.9M The Conquest of Go 2025 · $261k Feed the Scorchpot 2026 · $167k Pure Chess Grandmaster Edition 2016 · $112k Mr. President 2026 · $97k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
5D Chess With Multiverse Time Travel older $11.99 8,097 96% 243k $2.9M (exactly $2,912,491) Conor Petersen, Thunkspace, LLC
The Conquest of Go $14.99 581 94% 17k $261k (exactly $261,276) Wolfey Studios
Feed the Scorchpot $14.99 371 87% 11k $167k (exactly $166,839) Moravian
Pure Chess Grandmaster Edition older $15.99 233 74% 7.0k $112k (exactly $111,770) Ripstone
Mr. President $19.99 162 75% 4.9k $97k (exactly $97,151) Exia Labs
Roll Player - The Board Game older $14.99 180 91% 5.4k $81k (exactly $80,946) Mipmap Digital
AI: Art Impostor · EA older $4.99 432 65% 13k $65k (exactly $64,670) Pocketpair
Dark Chess older $12.99 155 76% 4.7k $60k (exactly $60,404) Tall Troll Games
Chessaria: The Tactical Adventure (Chess) older $19.99 99 74% 3.0k $59k (exactly $59,370) Pixel Wizards
Chessarama older $14.99 121 90% 3.6k $54k (exactly $54,414) Minimol Games
Deduce Together $5.99 217 68% 6.5k $39k (exactly $38,995) PushForward
Pro Strategy Football 2026 $24.99 28 89% 840 $21k (exactly $20,992) Kerry Batts
Lateral Thinking Together · EA $5.99 85 43% 2.6k $15k (exactly $15,274) PushForward
K2: Digital Edition $14.99 20 85% 600 $9.0k (exactly $8,994) Devon Games
Stratego® Online $11.99 25 96% 750 $9.0k (exactly $8,992) Wanted 5 Games
Chess Kingdom $4.99 45 91% 1.4k $6.7k (exactly $6,736) Pinch Games
okey.gg · EA $9.99 16 50% 480 $4.8k (exactly $4,795) yilmaz.games

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