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Should I ship a Mystery Board Game?
Board Game + Mystery
Of 35 developers who shipped a Mystery 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.. 49 more are announced, ×2.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.0k, ×2.2 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $90; 1 in 20 cleared $62k, ×133 the market median. Revenue is down 75% on the market; 49 games are announced against 22 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $90 (exactly $90) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.0k (exactly $1,048) |
| Top 25% | $6.5k (exactly $6,472) |
| Top 5% | $63k (exactly $62,968) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 35 |
| Released games | 109 |
| Announced | 49 |
| Effort | 3 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | High |
| Typical price | $5.99 |
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 75% on the market, supply 40% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 11%, excluded from money figures.
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
- Mystery
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
- Systems
- Board Game; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Investigation, Adventure, Simulation
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $12.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Stylized, Text-Based
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $12.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 81% positive over 1,406 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $90. 8 in 10 of the 19 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 49 games are announced against 22 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.2 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
Depersonalization 2024 · $3.6M 
Clue/Cluedo: Classic Edition 2018 · $1.6M 
Danganronpa S: Ultimate Summer Camp 2022 · $456k 
The Horror at Highrook 2025 · $276k 
Clue/Cluedo 2023 · $220k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Depersonalization | older | $19.99 | 6,041 92% | 181k | $3.6M (exactly $3,622,788) | MeowNature |
| | Clue/Cluedo: Classic Edition | older | $16.99 | 3,096 88% | 93k | $1.6M (exactly $1,578,031) | Marmalade Game Studio Ltd |
| | Danganronpa S: Ultimate Summer Camp | older | $19.99 | 761 62% | 23k | $456k (exactly $456,372) | Spike Chunsoft Co., Ltd. |
| | The Horror at Highrook | $19.99 | 461 90% | 14k | $276k (exactly $276,462) | Nullpointer Games | |
| | Clue/Cluedo | older | $14.99 | 489 89% | 15k | $220k (exactly $219,903) | Marmalade Game Studio Ltd |
 | King of the Bridge | older | $2.99 | 1,667 95% | 50k | $150k (exactly $149,530) | Finn Schuuring |
 | Mysterium: A Psychic Clue Game | older | $6.99 | 526 76% | 16k | $110k (exactly $110,302) | Twin Sails Interactive, Playsoft |
 | 你已经猜到结局了吗 | older | $7.99 | 388 92% | 12k | $93k (exactly $93,004) | 橘音 |
 | Fury of Dracula: Digital Edition | older | $12.99 | 213 72% | 6.4k | $83k (exactly $83,006) | Nomad Games |
 | Moves Of The Diamond Hand | · EA | $19.99 | 105 100% | 3.2k | $63k (exactly $62,968) | Cosmo D Studios |
 | How 2 Escape: Lost Submarine | $12.99 | 161 83% | 4.8k | $63k (exactly $62,742) | Breakfirst Games | |
 | Deduce Together | $5.99 | 217 68% | 6.5k | $39k (exactly $38,995) | PushForward | |
 | Deadly Trick | · EA | $8.99 | 141 95% | 4.2k | $38k (exactly $38,028) | Finalblow Co. |
 | Lateral Thinking Together | · EA | $5.99 | 85 43% | 2.6k | $15k (exactly $15,274) | PushForward |
 | Anomaly Mahjong | $4.99 | 94 65% | 2.8k | $14k (exactly $14,072) | YUTAMARO WORLD | |
 | 초동수사 - 증언/증거 추리게임 | $4.99 | 60 80% | 1.8k | $9.0k (exactly $8,982) | leeroom shin | |
 | PENTALOOP -ペンタループ- | $3.99 | 55 72% | 1.7k | $6.6k (exactly $6,584) | イバラユーギ×ひろゆ～プロジェクト | |
 | Heroic Aegisio: Origins | $7.99 | 27 77% | 810 | $6.5k (exactly $6,472) | Vview Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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