Do I ship it?

GamesPuzzlePuzzle + Tabletop

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Tabletop Puzzle game?

Puzzle + Tabletop

Of 253 developers who shipped a Tabletop Puzzle 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.. 191 more are announced.

Verdict: dead, for a 2 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $180 in the last 2 years and $450 over 4, against a market of $120 for a 2 / 10 build. 162 developers shipped in the last year and 191 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 1.5 times the market baseline, revenue flat on the market, 191 announced, ×1.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Puzzle + Tabletop
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 253
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $959 → $748 → $592 → $449 → $356 → $299 → $150 (still earning) → $60 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Puzzle + Tabletop: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 253
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $179 (exactly $179)
Top 25% $1.4k (exactly $1,438)
Top 5% $27k (exactly $26,861)
Developers, 2 yr 253
Released games 1,351
Announced 191
Effort 2 / 10
AI-buildability High
Typical price $3.99

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 flat on the market, supply 60% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 7%, 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.

Puzzle
effort 2 / 10 · high · discrete rules, levels are data
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
2 / 10 · static 2D art, simple logic
Systems
Puzzle, Tabletop; 3 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Board Game, Turn-Based Strategy
Price point
$3.99 typical · top 25% priced $11.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Relaxing, Colorful
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $11.99 or above; the middle game at $3.99.

The top 10 games average 89% positive over 55,382 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 $180, 1 in 4 over $1.4k, 1 in 20 over $26k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. 9 in 10 of the 150 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 191 games are announced against 162 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Job SimulatorFair57 devs · median $8.2k · 53 announced
  2. + Medical SimFair17 devs · median $6.1k · 27 announced
  3. + Roguelike DeckbuilderFair40 devs · median $3.6k · 54 announced
  4. + Escape RoomFair161 devs · median $1.8k · 150 announced
  5. + VampiresFair46 devs · median $1.7k · 37 announced
  6. + CatsFair281 devs · median $1.2k · 334 announced
  7. + DemonsFair233 devs · median $1.2k · 248 announced
  8. + God GameFair27 devs · median $1.2k · 30 announced
  9. + RomanceFair209 devs · median $1.0k · 251 announced
  10. + AutomationFair135 devs · median $1.0k · 164 announced
  11. + Tower DefenseFair64 devs · median $1.0k · 67 announced
  12. + LemmingsFair13 devs · median $959 · 11 announced

All 246 pairs on the Puzzle page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Liar's Bar · EA $6.99 48,708 89% 1.5M $10M (exactly $10,214,068) Curve Animation
BOOK OF HOURS older $24.99 4,129 89% 124k $3.1M (exactly $3,095,511) Weather Factory
Root older $14.99 5,049 90% 151k $2.3M (exactly $2,270,535) Dire Wolf
Clue/Cluedo: Classic Edition older $16.99 3,096 88% 93k $1.6M (exactly $1,578,031) Marmalade Game Studio Ltd
Drop Duchy $14.99 2,962 89% 89k $1.3M (exactly $1,332,011) Sleepy Mill Studio
Just Go older $9.99 3,227 92% 97k $967k (exactly $967,132) Studio Amateur
Faerie Solitaire older $14.99 1,361 89% 41k $612k (exactly $612,042) Subsoap
Carcassonne - Tiles & Tactics older $9.99 1,978 83% 59k $593k (exactly $592,807) Artefacts Studio
Hitman GO: Definitive Edition older $7.99 2,120 85% 64k $508k (exactly $508,164) Square Enix Montréal
HackHub - Ultimate Hacker Simulator $16.99 937 88% 28k $478k (exactly $477,589) HotBunny
The Conquest of Go $14.99 581 94% 17k $261k (exactly $261,276) Wolfey Studios
Bogos Binted? $5.49 1,134 91% 34k $187k (exactly $186,770) underbadger
Drop Pockets · EA $14.99 243 83% 7.3k $109k (exactly $109,277) Children of Madness
Cascadia $14.99 210 98% 6.3k $94k (exactly $94,437) Dire Wolf
A Solitaire Mystery $9.99 278 91% 8.3k $83k (exactly $83,317) Hempuli Oy
Puzzling Places - 3D Jigsaw Sim $7.99 150 98% 4.5k $36k (exactly $35,955) Realities.io Inc
Bonesaw $6.66 179 89% 5.4k $36k (exactly $35,764) Blood Pact Studios

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