Games › Hex Grid › Hex Grid + Board Game
Should I ship a Board Game Hex Grid game?
Hex Grid + Board Game
Of 65 developers who shipped a Board Game Hex Grid 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.. 85 more are announced, ×2.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.5k, ×5.3 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $240; 1 in 20 cleared $160k, ×351 the market median. Revenue is down 35% on the market; 85 games are announced against 40 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $240 (exactly $240) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.5k (exactly $2,516) |
| Top 25% | $13k (exactly $13,486) |
| Top 5% | $167k (exactly $166,839) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 65 |
| Released games | 194 |
| Announced | 85 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| 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 35% on the market, supply 60% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 11%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Hex Grid
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
- Board Game
- effort 2 / 10 · high · effort 2 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Hex Grid, Board Game; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Turn-Based Strategy, Turn-Based Combat
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 4 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 $9.99.
The top 10 games average 78% positive over 2,881 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $240. 9 in 10 of the 33 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 85 games are announced against 40 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.1 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Hex Grid with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Local MultiplayerFair
- + Open WorldPoor odds
- + Post-apocalypticPoor odds
- + Turn-BasedPoor odds
- + SandboxPoor odds
- + ExplorationPoor odds
- + RPGPoor odds
- + Strategy RPGPoor odds
- + 4XPoor odds
- + Card BattlerPoor odds
- + RoguelitePoor odds
- + RoguelikePoor odds
Comparable games
For The King 2018 · $19M 
For The King II 2023 · $9.5M 
Armello 2015 · $8.3M 
Terraforming Mars 2018 · $3.1M 
Curious Expedition 2 2021 · $2.3M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | For The King | older | $19.99 | 31,038 87% | 931k | $19M (exactly $18,613,489) | IronOak Games |
| | For The King II | older | $24.99 | 12,708 71% | 381k | $9.5M (exactly $9,527,188) | IronOak Games |
| | Armello | older | $24.99 | 11,013 82% | 330k | $8.3M (exactly $8,256,446) | League of Geeks |
| | Terraforming Mars | older | $19.99 | 5,194 71% | 156k | $3.1M (exactly $3,114,842) | Artefacts Studio |
| | Curious Expedition 2 | older | $19.99 | 3,861 88% | 116k | $2.3M (exactly $2,315,442) | Maschinen-Mensch |
 | Thea: The Awakening | older | $19.99 | 3,318 87% | 100k | $2.0M (exactly $1,989,805) | MuHa Games |
 | Scythe: Digital Edition | older | $19.99 | 3,164 89% | 95k | $1.9M (exactly $1,897,451) | The Knights of Unity |
 | Curious Expedition | older | $14.99 | 3,951 91% | 119k | $1.8M (exactly $1,776,765) | Maschinen-Mensch |
 | As Far As The Eye | older | $24.99 | 1,640 73% | 49k | $1.2M (exactly $1,229,508) | Unexpected |
 | Frosthaven | · EA | $39.99 | 814 72% | 24k | $977k (exactly $976,556) | Snapshot Games Inc. |
 | Inkshade | $19.99 | 620 87% | 19k | $372k (exactly $371,814) | Studio Vezelle | |
 | Sandwalkers | $19.99 | 490 73% | 15k | $294k (exactly $293,853) | Goblinz Studio | |
 | Feed the Scorchpot | $14.99 | 371 87% | 11k | $167k (exactly $166,839) | Moravian | |
 | Conquest Tactics : Realm of Sin | $14.99 | 162 69% | 4.9k | $73k (exactly $72,851) | Singular Sunshine Studios | |
 | Folk Emerging | $24.99 | 73 86% | 2.2k | $55k (exactly $54,728) | Curious Dynamics | |
 | Space Imperia 4X | $22.99 | 70 92% | 2.1k | $48k (exactly $48,279) | Breich Games | |
 | Eclipse - 2nd Dawn for the Galaxy | $12.99 | 95 57% | 2.9k | $37k (exactly $37,022) | BrettspielWelt GmbH | |
 | Zero Orders Tactics | $11.99 | 89 91% | 2.7k | $32k (exactly $32,013) | Pauloondra | |
 | ColdRidge | $9.99 | 97 73% | 2.9k | $29k (exactly $29,071) | Frog Collective |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.