Many tabletop game companies have already spoken out about the recent US tariffs and how they will be affected. I will add to this thread as and when I hear of new statements.
Steve Jackson Games — “Some people ask, “Why not manufacture in the U.S.?” 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. We aren’t the only company facing this challenge. The entire board game industry is having very difficult conversations right now. For some, this might mean simplifying products or delaying launches. For others, it might mean walking away from titles that are no longer economically viable. And, for what I fear will be too many, it means closing down entirely.”
EN Publishing — “We at EN Publishing have four Kickstarters fulfilling (Voidrunner’s Codex, Gate Pass Gazette Annual 2024, Monstrous Menagerie II, and Split the Hoard) which have been paid for, including shipping, by the customer already. Two of those (Voidrunner and Split the Hoard) involve boxes and components, which meant they were manufactured in China. The other two are printed in the EU (Lithuania, specifically). All four inventory shipments will arrive in the US after the tariffs come in. We haven’t yet worked out exactly what that means, but it won’t be pleasant.”
Kobold Press — “The short and sweet reality is that each hardcover printed outside the US will cost from 20% to 54% more to produce, and like a lot of TTRPG companies, we simply can’t absorb that tax hike and stay in business. The Steve Jackson Games statement makes it abundantly clear; while tariffs can be part of a national strategy, this is a very high, very sudden tax hike for a printing industry that doesn’t have a lot of US capacity. There’s no way to “just move” these projects to the US. So, prices are going up to allow game publishers to pay the new import taxes. There’s very little we can do about it. If you are unhappy with the price hikes, we strongly recommend that you contact you representatives in Congress.”
The Arcane Library (Shadowdark)– “The current tariffs, severe though they are, are not going to impact pricing or deliverabilty of [The Western Reaches]. We planned for this in our margins and can safely absorb the costs.”
Evil Baby Entertainment (The Broken Empires) — “Those of us living in the U.S. know that a whole bunch of new tariffs (read: taxes) have been levied on many imports. There’s no question that I’m going to get hit with at least an extra 20% tax on every product that comes in from my overseas manufacturers. I have heard horror stories about other Kickstarter creators who charged backers additional fees to cover such unanticipated costs. Rest assured: my backers will NOT be charged any additional fees. I will eat the cost of the tariffs myself. Not gonna lie, that’s gonna hurt — but we had a deal, and I have no intention of altering it in the face of this unwelcome development.”
Stonemaier Games — “65% of our sales are in the US, so this will take a heavy toll on Stonemaier Games. We’re fortunate that yesterday’s launch product, Tokaido, arrived in the US just before the original 20% tariffs took effect. We won’t be so fortunate when Vantage–a project I’ve worked on for 8 years–ships from China in May and June. I’m not sure yet what we’ll do about that… Manufacturing the types of games we make is not an option in the US. People have tried, even recently. Even if a company wanted to invest in the infrastructure to try to make it happen, the short-term losses from the tariffs will eat too deep into their cash to make it possible (plus, many of the machines used to make games are also made in China, so you’ll pay a huge tariff even if you invest in the machines needed to make games in the US). Plus, many publishers currently have print runs in production in China–it simply isn’t possible to change course for those print runs. So with costs (tariff taxes) due to skyrocket in a few months, prices will also significantly increase.”
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