Do I ship it?

Games › Grid-Based Movement › Grid-Based Movement + Board Game

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Grid-Based Movement Board Game?

Grid-Based Movement + Board Game

Of 97 developers who shipped a Grid-Based Movement 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.. 103 more are announced.

Verdict: dead, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $360 in the last 2 years and $420 over 4, against a market of $480 for a 3 / 10 build. 64 developers shipped in the last year and 103 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.8 times the market baseline, revenue flat on the market, 103 announced, ×1.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Grid-Based Movement + Board Game
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 97
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.3k → $570 → $597 → $719 → $359 → $478 → $119 (still earning) → $719 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Grid-Based Movement + Board Game: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 97
Bottom 30% $59 (exactly $59)
Median $359 (exactly $359)
Top 25% $3.1k (exactly $3,055)
Top 5% $35k (exactly $35,065)
Developers, 2 yr 97
Released games 272
Announced 103
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 flat 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.

Grid-Based Movement
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
Grid-Based Movement, Board Game; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Turn-Based Tactics, Turn-Based Strategy
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $15.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Top-Down
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $15.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 84% positive over 2,235 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 $360, 1 in 4 over $3.0k, 1 in 20 over $35k.

3 in 10 developers made under $59. Nearly all of the 40 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 103 games are announced against 64 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Grid-Based Movement with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + HistoricalFair22 devs · median $3.0k · 30 announced
  2. + EconomyFair20 devs · median $1.2k · 29 announced
  3. + AutomationFair28 devs · median $959 · 26 announced
  4. + MiningFair12 devs · median $899 · 14 announced
  5. + CollectathonFair17 devs · median $809 · 17 announced
  6. + BuildingFair50 devs · median $719 · 57 announced
  7. + HackingFair14 devs · median $719 · 11 announced
  8. + SokobanFair143 devs · median $657 · 135 announced
  9. + ProgrammingFair23 devs · median $599 · 24 announced
  10. + DogsFair14 devs · median $599 · 7 announced
  11. + PlatformerFair23 devs · median $539 · 18 announced
  12. + Puzzle PlatformerFair62 devs · median $449 · 56 announced

All 126 pairs on the Grid-Based Movement page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Talisman: Digital Classic Edition 2014 · $1.2M Demeo x Dungeons & Dragons: Battlemarked 2025 · $1.1M Lara Croft GO 2016 · $981k Abalon: Roguelike Tactics CCG 2023 · $533k The Warlock of Firetop Mountain 2016 · $211k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Talisman: Digital Classic Edition older $6.99 5,557 80% 167k $1.2M (exactly $1,165,303) Nomad Games
Demeo x Dungeons & Dragons: Battlemarked $29.99 1,235 82% 37k $1.1M (exactly $1,111,130) Resolution Games
Lara Croft GO older $9.99 3,274 94% 98k $981k (exactly $981,218) Square Enix Montréal
Abalon: Roguelike Tactics CCG older $29.99 592 95% 18k $533k (exactly $532,622) D20Studios
The Warlock of Firetop Mountain older $19.99 352 76% 11k $211k (exactly $211,094) Tin Man Games
Pawnbarian older $9.99 450 91% 14k $135k (exactly $134,865) j4nw
Dead Season $19.99 182 69% 5.5k $109k (exactly $109,145) Snail Bite
Master of Piece · EA $14.99 197 86% 5.9k $89k (exactly $88,591) I M GAME, I M fine
Cell Command $17.99 159 97% 4.8k $86k (exactly $85,812) Alpherior
Table of Tales: The Crooked Crown older $19.99 110 77% 3.3k $66k (exactly $65,967) Tin Man Games, Zero One Studio
Touhou Rinrinki ~ Crafts of the Lucky Beast · EA $9.99 117 92% 3.5k $35k (exactly $35,065) Starcrow Dev
ColdRidge $9.99 97 73% 2.9k $29k (exactly $29,071) Frog Collective
Tactical Annihilation $15.99 56 98% 1.7k $27k (exactly $26,863) B.G. Game Studio
WizardChess $14.99 56 83% 1.7k $25k (exactly $25,183) TwoPM Studios
Beacon Patrol $11.99 70 97% 2.1k $25k (exactly $25,179) Shapes and Dreams, BrutalHack
Astro Protocol $11.99 66 93% 2.0k $24k (exactly $23,740) Null Vector Studios

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