Games › Tabletop › Tabletop + Detective
Should I ship a Detective Tabletop game?
Tabletop + Detective
Of 28 developers who shipped a Detective 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.. 47 more are announced, ×2.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $300, ×0.6 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $120. 47 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.6 per shipper, while revenue is up 20% on the market.
| Bottom 30% | $119 (exactly $119) |
|---|---|
| Median | $299 (exactly $299) |
| Top 25% | $1.5k (exactly $1,498) |
| Top 5% | $22k (exactly $21,649) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 28 |
| Released games | 74 |
| Announced | 47 |
| Effort | 3 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | High |
| Typical price | $4.99 |
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 20% on the market, supply 80% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 14%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is high: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
- Systems
- Tabletop; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Puzzle, PvP, Board Game
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $16.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Colorful
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $16.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 86% positive over 1,088 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $120. All of the 12 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 47 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.6 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Tabletop with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + BuildingFair
- + CRPGFair
- + RTSFair
- + MilitaryFair
- + HistoricalFair
- + DragonsFair
- + MahjongFair
- + WargameFair
- + SpaceFair
- + CapitalismFair
- + HorrorFair
- + Local Co-OpFair
Comparable games
Clue/Cluedo: Classic Edition 2018 · $1.6M 
HackHub - Ultimate Hacker Simulator 2026 · $478k 
The Test: Final Revelation 2020 · $316k 
Sacred Fire: A Role Playing Game 2021 · EA · $271k 
Clue/Cluedo 2023 · $220k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Clue/Cluedo: Classic Edition | older | $16.99 | 3,096 88% | 93k | $1.6M (exactly $1,578,031) | Marmalade Game Studio Ltd |
| | HackHub - Ultimate Hacker Simulator | $16.99 | 937 88% | 28k | $478k (exactly $477,589) | HotBunny | |
| | The Test: Final Revelation | older | $1.99 | 5,286 97% | 159k | $316k (exactly $315,574) | Randumb Studios |
| | Sacred Fire: A Role Playing Game | · EA older | $18.99 | 475 94% | 14k | $271k (exactly $270,608) | Poetic |
| | Clue/Cluedo | older | $14.99 | 489 89% | 15k | $220k (exactly $219,903) | Marmalade Game Studio Ltd |
 | Betrayal At Club Low | older | $9.99 | 538 97% | 16k | $161k (exactly $161,239) | Cosmo D Studios |
 | The Testing Chamber | older | $4.99 | 697 96% | 21k | $104k (exactly $104,341) | Randumb Studios |
 | Sunshine Shuffle | older | $9.99 | 156 76% | 4.7k | $47k (exactly $46,753) | Strange Scaffold |
 | Dance of Cards | older | $9.99 | 93 88% | 2.8k | $28k (exactly $27,872) | GoodMorningMrFrog |
 | 《奇门遁甲》 | older | $2.99 | 280 88% | 8.4k | $25k (exactly $25,116) | CSTG-小光 |
 | 3DMurderMystery TheAshenYou | $18.99 | 38 73% | 1.1k | $22k (exactly $21,649) | ぐだぐだぶとん | |
 | Scotland Yard – Hunting Mister X | $14.99 | 21 23% | 630 | $9.4k (exactly $9,444) | BitBarons GmbH | |
 | Double It | $5.99 | 23 91% | 690 | $4.1k (exactly $4,133) | Anisage Games | |
 | Escape Tales: The Awakening | $7.99 | 17 94% | 510 | $4.1k (exactly $4,075) | Bluekey Games | |
 | Detective 26 | $7.62 | 15 80% | 450 | $3.4k (exactly $3,429) | TestOneDev | |
 | Hexa's Gone | $9.99 | 5 100% | 150 | $1.5k (exactly $1,498) | DevloCore | |
 | Mole or Not | · EA | $2.99 | 15 53% | 450 | $1.3k (exactly $1,346) | EY GAMES |
 | 17 Steps | · EA | $3.99 | 10 100% | 300 | $1.2k (exactly $1,197) | SmilingMiles |
 | Only Cards | $4.99 | 7 85% | 210 | $1.0k (exactly $1,048) | Grim's Studio |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.