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Should I ship a Magic Board Game?
Board Game + Magic
Of 78 developers who shipped a Magic 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.. 109 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 $840, ×1.8 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $90; 1 in 20 cleared $200k, ×430 the market median. Revenue is down 30% on the market; 109 games are announced against 51 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $90 (exactly $90) |
|---|---|
| Median | $839 (exactly $839) |
| Top 25% | $3.7k (exactly $3,742) |
| Top 5% | $204k (exactly $204,232) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 78 |
| Released games | 225 |
| Announced | 109 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $7.99 |
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 30% on the market, supply 80% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 17%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Board Game
- effort 2 / 10 · high · effort 2 sits in the high band
- Magic
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Board Game; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, RPG, Turn-Based Tactics
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 5 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 $7.99.
The top 10 games average 88% positive over 2,294 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $90. 9 in 10 of the 33 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 109 games are announced against 51 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.1 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Board Game with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Party-Based RPGFair
- + Asynchronous MultiplayerFair
- + JRPGFair
- + Local Co-OpFair
- + Female ProtagonistFair
- + HistoricalFair
- + LGBTQ+Fair
- + SpaceFair
- + Alternate HistoryFair
- + MahjongFair
- + Party GameFair
- + DragonsFair
Comparable games
Cultist Simulator 2018 · $6.3M 
Demeo 2021 · $2.0M 
Dokapon Kingdom: Connect 2023 · $1.2M 
Spirit Island 2020 · $1.2M 
Clank! 2024 · $374k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Cultist Simulator | older | $19.99 | 10,496 82% | 315k | $6.3M (exactly $6,294,451) | Weather Factory |
| | Demeo | older | $39.99 | 1,703 87% | 51k | $2.0M (exactly $2,043,089) | Resolution Games |
| | Dokapon Kingdom: Connect | older | $49.99 | 801 86% | 24k | $1.2M (exactly $1,201,260) | Idea Factory, Compile Heart, Sting |
| | Spirit Island | older | $24.99 | 1,545 91% | 46k | $1.2M (exactly $1,158,286) | Handelabra Games Inc. |
| | Clank! | $22.99 | 542 92% | 16k | $374k (exactly $373,817) | Dire Wolf | |
 | Viractal: Will You Trust Your Party? | $24.99 | 448 88% | 13k | $336k (exactly $335,866) | Sting | |
 | Prime of Flames | older | $9.99 | 923 84% | 28k | $277k (exactly $276,623) | RAYKA STUDIO |
 | Erannorth Chronicles | older | $20.99 | 407 85% | 12k | $256k (exactly $256,288) | Spyridon Thalassinos |
 | Chaos Reborn | older | $9.99 | 819 74% | 25k | $245k (exactly $245,454) | Snapshot Games Inc. |
 | One Deck Dungeon | older | $9.99 | 783 81% | 23k | $235k (exactly $234,665) | Handelabra Games Inc. |
 | Dungeon Inn | · EA | $12.99 | 594 92% | 18k | $231k (exactly $231,482) | Cat Society |
 | Talisman: Digital 5th Edition | $29.99 | 227 70% | 6.8k | $204k (exactly $204,232) | Nomad Games | |
 | Worlds of Aria | $14.99 | 220 90% | 6.6k | $99k (exactly $98,934) | Ludogram | |
 | WizardChess | $14.99 | 56 83% | 1.7k | $25k (exactly $25,183) | TwoPM Studios | |
 | Touhou: Divine Land -Majesty in Game- | $14.99 | 53 92% | 1.6k | $24k (exactly $23,834) | Oct.Works | |
 | Yes, My Queen | $12.99 | 50 82% | 1.5k | $19k (exactly $19,485) | Wall Spaghetti | |
 | Magibrick | $7.99 | 77 72% | 2.3k | $18k (exactly $18,457) | Fourth Front | |
 | Fortune Fragments | $15.99 | 27 96% | 810 | $13k (exactly $12,952) | Runoi Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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