Do I ship it?

Games › Strategy › Strategy + Board Game

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Board Game Strategy game?

Strategy + Board Game

Of 800 developers who shipped a Board Game Strategy 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.. 980 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $450, ×0.7 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $90. Revenue is up 55% on the market; 980 games are announced against 522 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 0.7 times the market baseline, revenue up 55% on the market, 980 announced, ×1.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Strategy + Board Game
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 800
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.8k → $2.2k → $899 → $719 → $359 → $599 → $421 (still earning) → $210 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Strategy + Board Game: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 800
Bottom 30% $90 (exactly $90)
Median $449 (exactly $449)
Top 25% $4.3k (exactly $4,316)
Top 5% $97k (exactly $97,151)
Developers, 2 yr 800
Released games 2,485
Announced 980
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $5.00

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 55% on the market, supply 80% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 14%, excluded from money figures.

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Plate 2 · systems and tooling

Can AI deliver it?

AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Strategy
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium 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
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Strategy, Board Game; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Turn-Based Strategy, Turn-Based Tactics, Tabletop
Price point
$5.00 typical · top 25% priced $16.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $16.99 or above; the middle game at $5.00.

The top 10 games average 89% positive over 62,615 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 $450, 1 in 4 over $4.3k, 1 in 20 over $97k.

3 in 10 developers made under $90. 9 in 10 of the 394 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 980 games are announced against 522 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Strategy with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + FMVStrong odds50 devs · median $65k · 27 announced
  2. + Job SimulatorFair62 devs · median $16k · 74 announced
  3. + BaseballFair14 devs · median $7.5k · 7 announced
  4. + LGBTQ+Fair89 devs · median $6.7k · 91 announced
  5. + WuxiaFair23 devs · median $4.7k · 41 announced
  6. + FarmingFair44 devs · median $4.3k · 42 announced
  7. + Martial ArtsFair81 devs · median $3.0k · 94 announced
  8. + SubmarineFair21 devs · median $2.4k · 23 announced
  9. + NavalFair66 devs · median $2.2k · 88 announced
  10. + IdlerFair696 devs · median $1.9k · 988 announced
  11. + Shop KeeperFair159 devs · median $1.8k · 264 announced
  12. + HackingFair96 devs · median $1.2k · 132 announced

All 275 pairs on the Strategy page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Tabletop Simulator 2015 · $28M For The King 2018 · $19M Gloomhaven 2021 · $14M UNO 2017 · $13M Dorfromantik 2022 · $12M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Tabletop Simulator older $19.99 46,875 95% 1.4M $28M (exactly $28,110,937) Berserk Games
For The King older $19.99 31,038 87% 931k $19M (exactly $18,613,489) IronOak Games
Gloomhaven older $34.99 13,628 82% 409k $14M (exactly $14,305,312) Flaming Fowl Studios, Saber Interactive
UNO older $9.99 42,019 70% 1.3M $13M (exactly $12,593,094) Ubisoft Entertainment
Dorfromantik older $13.99 27,441 96% 823k $12M (exactly $11,516,988) Toukana Interactive
Liar's Bar · EA $6.99 48,708 89% 1.5M $10M (exactly $10,214,068) Curve Animation
Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus older $29.99 11,279 91% 338k $10M (exactly $10,147,716) Bulwark Studios
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
Ultimate General: Civil War older $29.99 8,331 88% 250k $7.5M (exactly $7,495,401) Game-Labs
StarVaders $24.99 3,760 97% 113k $2.8M (exactly $2,818,872) Pengonauts
Drop Duchy $14.99 2,962 89% 89k $1.3M (exactly $1,332,011) Sleepy Mill Studio
Demeo x Dungeons & Dragons: Battlemarked $29.99 1,235 82% 37k $1.1M (exactly $1,111,130) Resolution Games
Frosthaven · EA $39.99 814 72% 24k $977k (exactly $976,556) Snapshot Games Inc.
Gambonanza $14.99 1,604 74% 48k $721k (exactly $721,319) Blukulélé
The Legend of Fancy Realm Remake $24.99 897 86% 27k $672k (exactly $672,481) USERJOY Technology Co.,Ltd.
Stripjong - Super Real Mahjong Venus Returns $29.99 740 80% 22k $666k (exactly $665,778) ILLUMINATION
Let Them Trade $17.99 1,070 84% 32k $577k (exactly $577,479) Spaceflower
Ark Nova $22.99 825 94% 25k $569k (exactly $569,002) Dire Wolf

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