Do I ship it?

Games › Mechanics › Board Game

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Board Game?

Board Game

Of 985 developers who shipped a 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.. 1,156 more are announced.

Verdict: dead, for a 2 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $360 in the last 2 years and $480 over 4, against a market of $120 for a 2 / 10 build. 624 developers shipped in the last year and 1,156 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 3.0 times the market baseline, revenue up 45% on the market, 1,156 announced, ×1.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Board Game
Fig. 1 · this niche among 355
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 985
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.2k → $1.1k → $899 → $838 → $330 → $598 → $418 (still earning) → $179 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Board Game: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 985
Bottom 30% $90 (exactly $90)
Median $359 (exactly $359)
Top 25% $3.4k (exactly $3,356)
Top 5% $95k (exactly $95,305)
Developers, 2 yr 985
Released games 3,314
Announced 1,156
Effort 2 / 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 45% on the market, supply 65% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 14%, 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

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
2 / 10 · static 2D art, simple logic
Systems
Board Game
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $15.99 or above
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $15.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 89% positive over 67,084 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 $360, 1 in 4 over $3.3k, 1 in 20 over $95k.

3 in 10 developers made under $90. 9 in 10 of the 509 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 1,156 games are announced against 624 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · every pair with this tag

All pairs with Board Game

113 pairs with a mechanicwith: mechanics · settings · any
  1. City Builder + Board Game Poor odds $1.1k 42 devs
  2. Deckbuilding + Board Game Poor odds $1.0k 192 devs
  3. Board Game + Dice Poor odds $1.0k 41 devs
  4. Investigation + Board Game Poor odds $1.0k 19 devs
  5. Board Game + Choose Your Own Adventure Poor odds $899 19 devs
  6. Survival + Board Game Poor odds $898 35 devs
  7. Building + Board Game Poor odds $839 54 devs
  8. Tower Defense + Board Game Poor odds $839 24 devs
  9. Platformer + Board Game Poor odds $839 13 devs
  10. Action-Adventure + Board Game Poor odds $839 11 devs
  11. Traditional Roguelike + Board Game Poor odds $779 24 devs
  12. Turn-Based Combat + Board Game Poor odds $719 186 devs
  13. Auto Battler + Board Game Poor odds $600 35 devs
  14. Turn-Based Strategy + Board Game Poor odds $598 393 devs
  15. Multiple Endings + Board Game Poor odds $598 28 devs
  16. Combat + Board Game Poor odds $539 46 devs
  17. Grand Strategy + Board Game Poor odds $539 33 devs
  18. Card Battler + Board Game Poor odds $479 168 devs
  19. PvP + Board Game Poor odds $450 286 devs
  20. Trading Card Game + Board Game Poor odds $450 60 devs
  21. Economy + Board Game Poor odds $450 46 devs
  22. Turn-Based Tactics + Board Game Poor odds $449 408 devs
  23. Action + Board Game Poor odds $299 61 devs
  24. Collectathon + Board Game Poor odds $269 18 devs
  25. Inventory Management + Board Game Poor odds $239 25 devs
  26. Racing + Board Game Poor odds $239 9 devs
  27. Board Game + Minigames Dead $3.6k 7 devs
  28. Open World + Board Game Dead $3.2k 6 devs
  29. Tanks + Board Game Dead $2.5k 8 devs
  30. Level Editor + Board Game Dead $479 26 devs
  31. Board Game + Gambling Dead $475 55 devs
  32. FPS + Board Game Dead $475 9 devs
  33. Board Game + Hidden Object Dead $450 27 devs
  34. Board Game + Trivia Dead $449 18 devs
  35. Crafting + Board Game Dead $419 26 devs
  36. Action RPG + Board Game Dead $419 6 devs
  37. PvE + Board Game Dead $359 102 devs
  38. Grid-Based Movement + Board Game Dead $359 97 devs
  39. Life Sim + Board Game Dead $359 15 devs
  40. Mystery Dungeon + Board Game Dead $359 12 devs
  41. Immersive Sim + Board Game Dead $299 32 devs
  42. Board Game + Word Game Dead $299 32 devs
  43. Board Game + Spelling Dead $299 19 devs
  44. Board Game + Typing Dead $299 16 devs
  45. Board Game + Puzzle Dead $298 315 devs
  46. Score Attack + Board Game Dead $298 53 devs
  47. Puzzle Platformer + Board Game Dead $270 36 devs
  48. Board Game + Chess Dead $269 84 devs
  49. Physics + Board Game Dead $269 29 devs
  50. RTS + Board Game Dead $239 30 devs
Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Tabletop Simulator 2015 · $28M Pummel Party 2018 · $21M For The King 2018 · $19M Gloomhaven 2021 · $14M UNO 2017 · $13M
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
Pummel Party older $14.99 46,134 88% 1.4M $21M (exactly $20,746,460) Rebuilt 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
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.
Guilty as Sock! $5.50 4,836 89% 145k $798k (exactly $797,940) Demon Max
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
Supercar Collection Simulator $12.99 1,528 85% 46k $595k (exactly $595,462) Kiki Games

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