Do I ship it?

Games › Board Game › Board Game + Chess

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Chess Board Game?

Board Game + Chess

Of 84 developers who shipped a Chess 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.. 95 more are announced.

Verdict: dead, for a 2 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $270 in the last 2 years and $450 over 4, against a market of $120 for a 2 / 10 build. 58 developers shipped in the last year and 95 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 2.3 times the market baseline, revenue up 20% on the market, 95 announced, ×1.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Board Game + Chess
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 84
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $4.8k → $1.3k → $3.6k → $899 → $90 → $269 → $896 (still earning) → $0 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Board Game + Chess: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 84
Bottom 30% $59 (exactly $59)
Median $269 (exactly $269)
Top 25% $1.5k (exactly $1,498)
Top 5% $29k (exactly $28,794)
Developers, 2 yr 84
Released games 254
Announced 95
Effort 2 / 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 20% on the market, supply 115% 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
Chess
effort 1 / 10 · high · fully specified rules and known engines

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
2 / 10 · static 2D art, simple logic
Systems
Board Game, Chess; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Turn-Based Strategy, Tabletop
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $11.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $11.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 79% positive over 3,327 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $59, median $270, 1 in 4 over $1.4k, 1 in 20 over $28k.

3 in 10 developers made under $59. 9 in 10 of the 35 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 95 games are announced against 58 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Board Game with a different second tag, 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 Gambonanza 2026 · $721k Chess Ultra 2017 · $714k Battle Chess: Game of Kings™ 2015 · $324k Master of Chess 2025 · $174k
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
Gambonanza $14.99 1,604 74% 48k $721k (exactly $721,319) Blukulélé
Chess Ultra older $12.99 1,832 76% 55k $714k (exactly $713,930) Ripstone
Battle Chess: Game of Kings™ older $29.99 360 52% 11k $324k (exactly $323,892) Olde Sküül, Sculptured Software
Master of Chess $19.99 290 83% 8.7k $174k (exactly $173,913) BRANE
King of the Bridge older $2.99 1,667 95% 50k $150k (exactly $149,530) Finn Schuuring
The Ouroboros King older $9.99 471 80% 14k $141k (exactly $141,159) Oriol Cosp Games
Fritz Chess 17 Steam Edition older $59.99 78 70% 2.3k $140k (exactly $140,377) ChessBase GmbH
Pawnbarian older $9.99 450 91% 14k $135k (exactly $134,865) j4nw
Fritz Chess 14 older $39.99 110 69% 3.3k $132k (exactly $131,967) ChessBase
Passant: A Chess Roguelike $11.99 363 79% 11k $131k (exactly $130,571) Marc Makes Games
Cat Chess $6.99 456 87% 14k $96k (exactly $95,623) Capricia Labs
Hyper Chess $2.99 321 92% 9.6k $29k (exactly $28,794) Grouch, SuitNtie
WizardChess $14.99 56 83% 1.7k $25k (exactly $25,183) TwoPM Studios
Chess Infinity $9.99 84 63% 2.5k $25k (exactly $25,175) Rockwater Games
Yes, My Queen $12.99 50 82% 1.5k $19k (exactly $19,485) Wall Spaghetti
Order Automatica $5.99 58 89% 1.7k $10k (exactly $10,423) New Beings
Chess Kingdom $4.99 45 91% 1.4k $6.7k (exactly $6,736) Pinch Games

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