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Should I ship a Board Game Grand Strategy?
Grand Strategy + Board Game
Of 33 developers who shipped a Board Game Grand Strategy 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.. 45 more are announced, ×2.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $540, ×0.4 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $50. 45 games are announced against 21 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.1 per shipper, while revenue is down 50% on the market.
| Bottom 30% | $0 (exactly $0) |
|---|---|
| Median | $539 (exactly $539) |
| Top 25% | $2.2k (exactly $2,156) |
| Top 5% | $54k (exactly $53,978) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 33 |
| Released games | 113 |
| Announced | 45 |
| Effort | 7 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $9.99 |
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 50% on the market, supply 75% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 15%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Grand Strategy
- effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
- Board Game
- effort 2 / 10 · high · effort 2 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
- Systems
- Grand Strategy, Board Game; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Turn-Based Strategy, Wargame
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $15.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Top-Down
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $15.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 81% positive over 530 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $50. 9 in 10 of the 17 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 45 games are announced against 21 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.1 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Grand Strategy with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + RoguelikeFair
- + SportsFair
- + RogueliteFair
- + CrimeFair
- + RacingFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + Artificial IntelligenceLong shot
- + TabletopLong shot
- + Turn-BasedPoor odds
- + SandboxPoor odds
- + Real-Time with PausePoor odds
- + DiplomacyPoor odds
Comparable games
Ultimate General: Civil War 2017 · $7.5M 
Terraforming Mars 2018 · $3.1M 
Dune: Imperium 2024 · $2.6M 
Solium Infernum 2024 · $1.9M 
Spirit Island 2020 · $1.2M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Ultimate General: Civil War | older | $29.99 | 8,331 88% | 250k | $7.5M (exactly $7,495,401) | Game-Labs |
| | Terraforming Mars | older | $19.99 | 5,194 71% | 156k | $3.1M (exactly $3,114,842) | Artefacts Studio |
| | Dune: Imperium | older | $22.99 | 3,806 94% | 114k | $2.6M (exactly $2,624,998) | Dire Wolf |
| | Solium Infernum | older | $39.99 | 1,571 88% | 47k | $1.9M (exactly $1,884,729) | League of Geeks |
| | Spirit Island | older | $24.99 | 1,545 91% | 46k | $1.2M (exactly $1,158,286) | Handelabra Games Inc. |
 | A Game of Thrones: The Board Game - Digital Edition | older | $19.99 | 1,705 71% | 51k | $1.0M (exactly $1,022,488) | Dire Wolf |
 | Warhammer Underworlds - Shadespire Edition (Classic) | older | $29.99 | 1,059 70% | 32k | $953k (exactly $952,782) | Steel Sky Productions, Tin Man Games |
 | Line War | older | $24.99 | 1,076 80% | 32k | $807k (exactly $806,677) | Studio Centurion |
 | Tiny Civilization | older | $1.99 | 2,134 92% | 64k | $127k (exactly $127,400) | 喜人一个 |
 | Victory and Glory: Napoleon | older | $29.99 | 136 75% | 4.1k | $122k (exactly $122,359) | Electric Games |
 | Mr. President | $19.99 | 162 75% | 4.9k | $97k (exactly $97,151) | Exia Labs | |
 | Bonaparte - A Mechanized Revolution | $24.99 | 72 68% | 2.2k | $54k (exactly $53,978) | Studio Imugi | |
 | Tactical Annihilation | $15.99 | 56 98% | 1.7k | $27k (exactly $26,863) | B.G. Game Studio | |
 | Astro Protocol | $11.99 | 66 93% | 2.0k | $24k (exactly $23,740) | Null Vector Studios | |
 | SpaceCorp: 2025-2300AD | $9.99 | 73 83% | 2.2k | $22k (exactly $21,878) | Logix Interactive | |
 | Epoch of Guardians | $11.99 | 32 81% | 960 | $12k (exactly $11,510) | 伊洛维游戏 | |
 | Legacy of Sin: Ill-Boding | $12.99 | 23 69% | 690 | $9.0k (exactly $8,963) | Absolute Power Game Studio | |
 | Heroic Aegisio: Origins | $7.99 | 27 77% | 810 | $6.5k (exactly $6,472) | Vview Games | |
 | Shadow President | $5.99 | 12 100% | 360 | $2.2k (exactly $2,156) | D. C. True | |
 | Haulin' Oats | $9.99 | 7 100% | 210 | $2.1k (exactly $2,098) | Gramps Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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