Do I ship it?

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Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Word Game Board Game?

Board Game + Word Game

Of 32 developers who shipped a Word Game 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.. 29 more are announced.

Verdict: dead, for a 2 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $300 in the last 2 years and $450 over 4, against a market of $120 for a 2 / 10 build. 21 developers shipped in the last year and 29 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 2.5 times the market baseline, revenue down 10% on the market, 29 announced, ×1.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Board Game + Word Game
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 32
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $89 → $5.4k → $1.6k → $298 → $1.0k → $299 (still earning) → $150 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Board Game + Word Game: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 32
Bottom 30% $30 (exactly $30)
Median $299 (exactly $299)
Top 25% $1.8k (exactly $1,798)
Top 5% $46k (exactly $45,869)
Developers, 2 yr 32
Released games 85
Announced 29
Effort 2 / 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 10% on the market, supply 60% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 8%, 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
Word Game
effort 1 / 10 · high · dictionary logic and simple UI

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
2 / 10 · static 2D art, simple logic
Systems
Board Game, Word Game; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Deckbuilding, Puzzle
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $13.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Family Friendly, Colorful
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $13.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 78% positive over 817 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $50, median $300, 1 in 4 over $1.7k, 1 in 20 over $45k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. 8 in 10 of the 14 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 29 games are announced against 21 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

The Jackbox Party Pack 7 2020 · $3.6M The Jackbox Party Pack 8 2021 · $1.0M The Jackbox Party Pack 9 2022 · $544k The Jackbox Survey Scramble 2024 · $95k What The Dub?! 2021 · $93k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
The Jackbox Party Pack 7 older $29.99 4,001 96% 120k $3.6M (exactly $3,599,700) Jackbox Games, Inc.
The Jackbox Party Pack 8 older $29.99 1,134 90% 34k $1.0M (exactly $1,020,260) Jackbox Games, Inc.
The Jackbox Party Pack 9 older $29.99 605 84% 18k $544k (exactly $544,318) Jackbox Games, Inc.
The Jackbox Survey Scramble $9.99 318 90% 9.5k $95k (exactly $95,305) Jackbox Games, Inc
What The Dub?! older $7.99 386 91% 12k $93k (exactly $92,524) Wide Right Interactive, Mark Zorn, Kurt… (Wide Right Interactive, Mark Zorn, Kurt Wojda)
RiffTrax: The Game older $9.99 219 91% 6.6k $66k (exactly $65,634) Wide Right Interactive, Mark Zorn, Kurt… (Wide Right Interactive, Mark Zorn, Kurt Wojda)
AI: Art Impostor · EA older $4.99 432 65% 13k $65k (exactly $64,670) Pocketpair
Beyond Words $14.99 102 84% 3.1k $46k (exactly $45,869) MindFuel Games
Trivia Vault: 1980's Trivia 2 older $13.99 98 61% 2.9k $41k (exactly $41,131) Ripknot Systems
Deduce Together $5.99 217 68% 6.5k $39k (exactly $38,995) PushForward
Lateral Thinking Together · EA $5.99 85 43% 2.6k $15k (exactly $15,274) PushForward
Watchword $13.99 33 90% 990 $14k (exactly $13,850) Big Quail Games
Letterlike $7.99 29 93% 870 $7.0k (exactly $6,951) Puzzlelike Studios
Yesterday's News $11.99 18 83% 540 $6.5k (exactly $6,475) Rooibos Games
Play Together: Party Games $14.99 5 60% 150 $2.2k (exactly $2,248) Plot Interactive
Jargon $11.99 5 100% 150 $1.8k (exactly $1,798) Damon D'Amico
SPELLCAST $10.99 5 100% 150 $1.6k (exactly $1,648) BEDiBUG Concepts

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