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Should I ship a Board Game Card Battler?
Card Battler + Board Game
Of 168 developers who shipped a Board Game Card Battler 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.. 240 more are announced, ×2.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $480, level with the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $90; 1 in 20 cleared $85k, ×180 the market median. Revenue is up 45% on the market; 240 games are announced against 108 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $90 (exactly $90) |
|---|---|
| Median | $479 (exactly $479) |
| Top 25% | $6.3k (exactly $6,287) |
| Top 5% | $85k (exactly $85,472) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 168 |
| Released games | 413 |
| Announced | 240 |
| Effort | 3 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | High |
| Typical price | $6.99 |
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 45% on the market, supply 75% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 22%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is high: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Card Battler
- effort 3 / 10 · high · card rules plus simple encounter logic
- Board Game
- effort 2 / 10 · high · effort 2 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
- Systems
- Card Battler, Board Game; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Card Game, Deckbuilding
- Price point
- $6.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.
The top 10 games average 90% positive over 13,926 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $90. 8 in 10 of the 74 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 240 games are announced against 108 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.2 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Card Battler with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + ArcadeFair
- + Bullet HellFair
- + GamblingFair
- + 2D FighterFair
- + ZombiesFair
- + Point & ClickFair
- + CollectathonFair
- + Traditional RoguelikeFair
- + Party GameFair
- + SolitaireLong shot
- + Asynchronous MultiplayerPoor odds
- + CRPGPoor odds
Comparable games
Tainted Grail: Conquest 2021 · $4.6M 
Gremlins, Inc. 2016 · $3.9M 
Depersonalization 2024 · $3.6M 
StarVaders 2025 · $2.8M 
Trials of Fire 2021 · $1.8M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Tainted Grail: Conquest | older | $19.99 | 7,589 90% | 228k | $4.6M (exactly $4,551,123) | Questline |
| | Gremlins, Inc. | older | $19.99 | 6,562 85% | 197k | $3.9M (exactly $3,935,231) | Charlie Oscar Lima Tango Interactive En… (Charlie Oscar Lima Tango Interactive Entertainment) |
| | Depersonalization | older | $19.99 | 6,041 92% | 181k | $3.6M (exactly $3,622,788) | MeowNature |
| | StarVaders | $24.99 | 3,760 97% | 113k | $2.8M (exactly $2,818,872) | Pengonauts | |
| | Trials of Fire | older | $19.99 | 2,975 86% | 89k | $1.8M (exactly $1,784,107) | Whatboy Games |
 | NEOVERSE | older | $19.99 | 2,882 84% | 86k | $1.7M (exactly $1,728,335) | Tinogames Inc. |
 | Vault of the Void | older | $17.99 | 2,529 92% | 76k | $1.4M (exactly $1,364,901) | Spider Nest Games |
 | Dice & Fold | older | $12.99 | 3,491 83% | 105k | $1.4M (exactly $1,360,443) | Tinymice Entertainment |
 | Drop Duchy | $14.99 | 2,962 89% | 89k | $1.3M (exactly $1,332,011) | Sleepy Mill Studio | |
 | Warhammer Underworlds - Shadespire Edition (Classic) | older | $29.99 | 1,059 70% | 32k | $953k (exactly $952,782) | Steel Sky Productions, Tin Man Games |
 | Guilty as Sock! | $5.50 | 4,836 89% | 145k | $798k (exactly $797,940) | Demon Max | |
 | HEART of CROWN Online | $29.99 | 412 84% | 12k | $371k (exactly $370,676) | illuCalab, FLIPFLOPs, quziralab. | |
 | Viractal: Will You Trust Your Party? | $24.99 | 448 88% | 13k | $336k (exactly $335,866) | Sting | |
 | Lost In Fantaland | $13.99 | 631 84% | 19k | $265k (exactly $264,831) | Supernature Studio | |
 | Turnbound | $14.99 | 446 78% | 13k | $201k (exactly $200,566) | 1TK | |
 | Master of Piece | · EA | $14.99 | 197 86% | 5.9k | $89k (exactly $88,591) | I M GAME, I M fine |
 | Culdcept The First | $29.99 | 95 74% | 2.9k | $85k (exactly $85,472) | CITY CONNECTION | |
 | Stellar Orphans | $16.99 | 139 71% | 4.2k | $71k (exactly $70,848) | Artifex Parvus |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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