Do I ship it?

GamesBuildingBuilding + Tabletop

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Building Tabletop game?

Building + Tabletop

Of 56 developers who shipped a Building Tabletop 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.. 58 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.9k, ×3.1 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $360. Revenue is up 80% on the market; 58 games are announced against 36 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.1 times the market baseline, revenue up 80% on the market, 58 announced, ×1.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Building + Tabletop
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 56
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $599 → $37k → $2.1k → $18k → $1.1k → $7.5k → $2.1k (still earning) → $719 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Building + Tabletop: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 56
Bottom 30% $359 (exactly $359)
Median $1.9k (exactly $1,946)
Top 25% $21k (exactly $21,384)
Top 5% $113k (exactly $113,173)
Developers, 2 yr 56
Released games 160
Announced 58
Effort 5 / 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 up 80% on the market, supply 80% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 12%, 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 medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Building
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Tabletop
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
Building, Tabletop; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Management, Strategy
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, 3D, Realistic
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 81% positive over 3,617 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $360, median $1.9k, 1 in 4 over $21k, 1 in 20 over $110k.

3 in 10 developers made under $360. 8 in 10 of the 20 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 58 games are announced against 36 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Job SimulatorStrong odds66 devs · median $28k · 70 announced
  2. + CatsFair52 devs · median $4.5k · 59 announced
  3. + Grid-Based MovementFair50 devs · median $719 · 57 announced
  4. + Interactive FictionFair17 devs · median $449 · 20 announced
  5. + Vehicular CombatPoor odds14 devs · median $303k · 40 announced
  6. + JRPGPoor odds10 devs · median $89k · 20 announced
  7. + Dating SimPoor odds28 devs · median $85k · 61 announced
  8. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds112 devs · median $71k · 251 announced
  9. + Real-TimePoor odds14 devs · median $62k · 20 announced
  10. + CrimePoor odds13 devs · median $55k · 52 announced
  11. + SailingPoor odds13 devs · median $52k · 40 announced
  12. + DiplomacyPoor odds32 devs · median $51k · 75 announced

All 210 pairs on the Building page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Stacklands older $7.99 29,244 96% 877k $7.0M (exactly $7,009,787) Sokpop Collective
Wingspan older $19.99 9,807 94% 294k $5.9M (exactly $5,881,258) Monster Couch
TaleSpire · EA older $24.99 4,391 89% 132k $3.3M (exactly $3,291,933) Bouncyrock Entertainment
Terraforming Mars older $19.99 5,194 71% 156k $3.1M (exactly $3,114,842) Artefacts Studio
BOOK OF HOURS older $24.99 4,129 89% 124k $3.1M (exactly $3,095,511) Weather Factory
dotAGE older $17.59 2,560 94% 77k $1.4M (exactly $1,350,912) Michele Pirovano
Cardboard Town older $19.99 2,051 79% 62k $1.2M (exactly $1,229,985) Stratera Games, cukuto
As Far As The Eye older $24.99 1,640 73% 49k $1.2M (exactly $1,229,508) Unexpected
Card Shop Simulator Multiplayer $11.99 1,609 82% 48k $579k (exactly $578,757) ShaneGame
Ticket to Ride® older $14.99 1,057 69% 32k $475k (exactly $475,333) Marmalade Game Studio Ltd
Stack to Ascension $12.99 331 54% 9.9k $129k (exactly $128,991) Stack to Ascension
Battle On! Hero Academy $4.99 756 83% 23k $113k (exactly $113,173) MMUnit
Mushroom Nook $4.99 392 98% 12k $59k (exactly $58,682) HyperstasisGaming
Amberspire $24.99 58 86% 1.7k $43k (exactly $43,483) Lunar Division
Toads of the Bayou $9.99 137 72% 4.1k $41k (exactly $41,059) La Grange
Puzzling Places - 3D Jigsaw Sim $7.99 150 98% 4.5k $36k (exactly $35,955) Realities.io Inc
Headquarters: Cold War $29.99 37 64% 1.1k $33k (exactly $33,289) Starni Games
Master of Realms · EA $39.99 27 81% 810 $32k (exactly $32,392) TheMasterForge LLC
Casino Island Simulator · EA $8.99 120 61% 3.6k $32k (exactly $32,364) Clap Games

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