New Tariffs Jeopardize American Board Game Publishers

A creative industry, known for its innovation, community, and modest profit margins, has just taken an economic hit that many fear may threaten its very survival. Jamey Stegmaier, award-winning designer of Scythe, Gloomhaven, and other recent breakout hits, opened up in bewilderment this week about a surprise 54 percent tariff on goods made in China and imported to the United States.

“The last night I tried to work on a new game I’m brainstorming,” Stegmaier wrote in a widely-read blog post. “It’s really hard to create something for the future when that future looks so grim. I mostly just found myself staring blankly at the enormity of the newly announced 54 percent tariff.”

For a designer whose games sell by the millions and are played by families and hobbyists around the world, it was a strikingly personal and emotional admission—and one that resonates throughout an industry that, like many others, sources much of its manufacturing from overseas.

Chinese Board Game Production in Focus

Most American board game publishers ship their products to China for printing, assembling, and packaging before bringing them home to the U.S. for sale. This isn’t unique to board games: many other kinds of products do it too, and Germany (the spiritual home of modern tabletop gaming) is home to some game production facilities of its own. But America’s board game industry, by and large, does all of its printing, box-making, molding, die-cutting, and shipping to or through China.

This has less to do with quality control and more to do with reality. Yes, it’s possible to find game manufacturers in the U.S., and some companies take on that work. But it’s vastly more expensive. Stegmaier says the first quote he received from an American manufacturer was $10 … just for an empty game box. By contrast, that $10 could cover the full cost of production and packaging for a full game in China.

Stegmaier’s point is a straightforward one, and it’s why this sudden new tariff is such a disruptive blow to the industry. If most U.S. board game publishers (the vast majority are small to mid-size) have their goods made in China, any sudden change to the status quo will make a big impact on a business that makes relatively little margin to start with, and gives no warning of time to find a workaround.

Other Designers Weigh In

Stegmaier isn’t the only board game creator aiming. Steve Jackson Games CEO Meredith Placko made a similar case to Twitter, warning fans that her own company, a business responsible for beloved titles like Munchkin, had the same set of economic realities as most board game publishers.

“A lot of people ask, ‘Why not manufacture in the US?’” Placko wrote in a recent blog post. “I wish we could. But the infrastructure to support full-scale boardgame production—specialty dice making, die-cutting, custom plastic and wood components—doesn’t meaningfully exist here yet. I’ve gotten quotes. I’ve talked to factories. Even when the willingness is there, the equipment, labor, and timelines simply aren’t.”

The problem, for Placko, is the sheer scope of the new policy. “This isn’t just a policy change,” she wrote. “This is a seismic shift that has the potential to hurt the entire industry.”

Rob Daviau, co-founder of Restoration Games and designer of the recent hit Pandemic Legacy, has been vocal for months on social media. In interviews, he called almost every business meeting he attended an “existential crisis about our industry.” But in an interview with BoardGameWire, he went further, predicting that such tariffs, if ever enacted, would lead to “a great collapse in the hobby gaming market in the US.”

Gamers and Retailers Will Pay the Price

The impact, if the tariff goes into effect, will not be limited to publishers and designers, either. Gamers are likely to be on the hook as well. Prices for new games will go up, companies will try to make up the difference with cheaper materials, and some will simply not produce new games at all.

It also won’t be great for brick-and-mortar retailers, who already face stiff competition online. If more gamers choose not to buy new games—or buy online to seek out cheaper prices—retailers, or at least those who aren’t part of large chains, may see even more profit pressure. Gamers may also turn to their shelves, many of which are packed with as-yet-unplayed titles (aka their “shelves of shame”).

“Within a few months, US companies will lose a lot of money and/or go out of business,” Stegmaier wrote. “And US citizens will suffer from extreme inflation.”

Workarounds Will Be Limited

For publishers looking to avoid the new tariff, there are limited workarounds. Many are pursuing the possibility of shipping through non-U.S. distributors in Europe and other markets, which haven’t seen the same tariff increase and can thus present an economic alternative. The problem is that, for an American company shipping goods made in China, there’s no real workaround.

Stegmaier estimates, for example, that 65 percent of his company’s games are sold within the U.S. It’s a lot of money to lose.

The industry has other frustrations as well. For games that are still in the design or early-production phase, publishers will at least have time to make changes and adjust the budget. But games that are already printed, assembled, and on their way from China to the U.S. have no way to get around the tariff. “I have 8,000 games leaving a factory in China this week and now need to scramble to cover the import bill,” lamented Chris Solis, head of Solis Game Studio in California.

Industry Lobbying and Other Efforts

The Game Manufacturers Association (GAMA), an advocacy group for board game publishers, has been lobbying against the tariffs. So far, to little avail.

For an industry that built itself from the ground up in just the past few decades, it’s a challenge on an almost unthinkable scale. For an industry based around bringing people joy, the new reality is unsettling.