Do I ship it?

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Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Idler Board Game?

Board Game + Idler

Of 28 developers who shipped an Idler 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.. 20 more are announced.

Verdict: dead, for a 2 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $240 in the last 2 years and $210 over 4, against a market of $120 for a 2 / 10 build. 17 developers shipped in the last year and 20 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 2.0 times the market baseline, revenue up 80% on the market, 20 announced, ×1.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Board Game + Idler
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 28
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $150 → $208 → $239 → $238 → $599 (still earning) → $600 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Board Game + Idler: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 28
Bottom 30% $90 (exactly $90)
Median $239 (exactly $239)
Top 25% $959 (exactly $959)
Top 5% $3.2k (exactly $3,164)
Developers, 2 yr 28
Released games 91
Announced 20
Effort 2 / 10
AI-buildability High
Typical price $1.99

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 80% on the market, supply 40% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 9%, 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
Idler
effort 1 / 10 · high · number growth curves and a UI

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
2 / 10 · static 2D art, simple logic
Systems
Board Game, Idler; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Automation, Incremental
Price point
$1.99 typical · top 25% priced $5.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Minimalist, Relaxing
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $5.99 or above; the middle game at $1.99.

The top 10 games average 85% positive over 563 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $90, median $240, 1 in 4 over $950, 1 in 20 over $3.1k.

3 in 10 developers made under $90. 9 in 10 of the 15 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 20 games are announced against 17 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

Lucky Hunter 2024 · $74k Meta Sudoku 2023 · $4.5k Gnome Jigsaw Puzzles 2021 · $4.2k The Little Trashmaid Puzzletime 2021 · $3.9k Buttons Up! 2025 · $3.2k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Lucky Hunter $5.99 413 89% 12k $74k (exactly $74,216) 159 Studio
Meta Sudoku older $1.99 75 80% 2.3k $4.5k (exactly $4,478) Matrix Science
Gnome Jigsaw Puzzles older $1.99 71 100% 2.1k $4.2k (exactly $4,239) Boogygames Studios
The Little Trashmaid Puzzletime older $4.99 26 96% 780 $3.9k (exactly $3,892) Josh Larsen, s0s2
Buttons Up! $1.99 53 84% 1.6k $3.2k (exactly $3,164) Jestercraft
Naked News older $0.99 102 66% 3.1k $3.0k (exactly $3,029) Randumb Studios
The Board is Yours $2.50 38 97% 1.1k $2.9k (exactly $2,850) Draelent
Ocean Cleaner Idle $2.99 28 57% 840 $2.5k (exactly $2,512) Watt a Day Games
Di-Da-Dobble older $2.99 22 95% 660 $2.0k (exactly $1,973) Sokpop Collective
CELESTIAL: FIRE & FORGE $4.99 12 41% 360 $1.8k (exactly $1,796) ERA Soft Studio
FLOWORKS · EA $7.99 7 71% 210 $1.7k (exactly $1,678) QUENCH FORGE
Diamond Painting $7.99 4 75% 120 $959 (exactly $959) LeiZna
Port Shipping Tycoon $4.99 5 0% 150 $748 (exactly $748) Urban Isotope
Imperial Wager: The Shattered Crown of Augustus $19.99 1 0% 30 $600 (exactly $600) Ke Zhou
99 Games: Puzzle, Action, Strategy, Simulation, Casual, Roguelike, Shooter, RPG & More $9.99 2 50% 60 $599 (exactly $599) Chongqing Xishou Technology Co., Ltd

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