Game Creators Fear End of Golden Age as Costs Climb

The board game industry is built on innovation, community, and slim profit margins, and this week, one of the industry’s biggest names said it’s just suffered a financial shock that could spell the end of its future as we know it. Jamey Stegmaier, designer of Scythe, Everdell, Wingspan, and other top-selling games over the past few years, published a post this week venting his anger and frustration over the news that President Trump will be imposing a 54 percent tariff on goods produced in China and imported into the United States.

“I tried to work on a new game I’m working on last night,” Stegmaier wrote in his post on Thursday night. “But it’s really hard to make 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 one of the most successful designers of recent years, whose games sell and are played across the globe, it was a uniquely personal and raw post, and one that sums up the feelings of many in the industry.

Made in China, With Parts From China

Chinese factories make an enormous share of board games sold in the U.S., and the “made in China” label is a common sight on boxed games, from mainstream titles to those from small and independent publishers.

Germany is another country that hosts board game factories (Germany being the spiritual home of modern tabletop gaming), and there’s the occasional U.S. or UK-based manufacturer that can or will produce certain goods, like printed cards, for U.S. publishers. But when it comes to all-encompassing board game production—custom plastic miniatures, wooden tokens and blocks, die-cut boards, specialty dice, and more—China is the destination of choice.

The quality of those materials is high. But beyond that, making them is, in many cases, simply not an option. “I remember when I first got a quote from a U.S.-based manufacturer back when we were starting,” Stegmaier recalled. “$10. Just for an empty game box. And that’s not a fluke. I’ve talked to a lot of people who’ve been quoted similar amounts. And by contrast, that’s about the cost to have a complete game made and packaged in China.” (In his post, Stegmaier included the price quotes he’s been offered on materials both in the U.S. and China for his upcoming titles.)

For small and medium-sized board game publishers, the tariff increase announced this week is not just a problem; it’s an existential threat. Margins on games are tight enough as is, and the new tariff came with no notice or lead time.

“We need a third party to vet and then manufacture the components and box for us,” said Meredith Placko, CEO of Steve Jackson Games, in her post on the subject. “Just like most of the rest of the industry, we do that in other countries for several reasons, but cost is right at the top of that list.” Her company’s Munchkin line is a staple of game shelves everywhere and has sold more than six million copies since the first edition launched 20 years ago.

Placko echoed Jamey Stegmaier in describing this as a seismic shift for the industry. “As far as I can tell, this is not just a policy change,” she wrote. “It’s a seismic shift in the landscape we’re expected to function in.”

Rob Daviau, co-founder and designer for Restoration Games, publisher of the Pandemic Legacy games and an outspoken critic of the president for months now, has also been outspoken in interviews and on social media, calling almost every business meeting “an existential crisis about our industry” and, in an interview with BoardGameWire, foreseeing a “great collapse in the hobby gaming market in the US” if tariffs of this sort are enacted.

Worse for Gamers? Retailers Risk Revenue

All of this will impact publishers and designers, and in the coming months, consumers will begin to feel the effects as well. Games are likely to become more expensive, or less well-made, if companies attempt to cut costs to stay at existing prices, or perhaps some companies will simply scale back new releases altogether.

For brick-and-mortar game stores, which are already feeling the squeeze from online sales and competition, the news could not have come at a worse time. Home gamers may be less inclined to make new purchases if prices rise, or may be content to dig into their stacks of shame: the piles of unwashed game boxes already languishing on players’ shelves. Others may seek out cheaper prices online. With distributors, importers, and creators all taking major hits to their bottom lines, something will give. And as Jamey Stegmaier suggested, U.S. consumers may find their dollar doesn’t stretch as far as it used to.

“I understand not every American business will take this as hard as game companies,” Stegmaier concluded. “But the dollar price of toys is just going to go up. Within a few months, US companies will lose a lot of money and/or go out of business. And US citizens will suffer from extreme inflation.”

Limited Alternatives, Little Sympathy

If the tariffs last long, it’s not impossible that some publishers may attempt to route their shipments through a distributor or importer that isn’t based in the U.S. A European-based importer or distributor is less affected by the new tariffs, and in the long run, manufacturers may begin to look to other countries.

But such strategies would be limited for U.S. companies. In Stegmaier’s case, he points out, 65 percent of his sales are in the U.S., so the pain would be direct. Further, even if his customers are based in the U.S., he’s unlikely to get much sympathy from his European and Asian counterparts for the way he markets and prices his games to U.S. customers.

Most frustrating for companies is that they’ve had little to no time to prepare. It’s possible, if a game is still in design or in early production, that the publisher might be able to reprioritize its budget and find ways to work with the new cost structure. But for a game that’s already produced and set to ship from a Chinese manufacturer, there’s no avoiding the tariff.

Chris Solis, founder and head of the Solis Game Studio game publisher in California, shared his frustration in an email this week. He’s got 8,000 games currently set to leave a factory in China this week, he said, and now has to scramble to raise the money to cover the cost of the import bill.

Already Mobilizing

The Game Manufacturers Association (GAMA), which represents board game publishers, has been in active communication with the Trump administration, seeking to turn back the tariffs. So far, those efforts have had little effect.

At a time when board game popularity and sales have reached all-time highs, one of the fastest-growing segments of the game market may also be headed for its most challenging period yet. In a hobby that’s built on the simple pleasures of time with friends, good food, and creative design, it’s a tough moment for the industry and all who make and play its games.