Board gaming’s biggest TikTok creators face uncertain future after Trump gives threatened app 75-day stay of execution

Board game-focused TikTok video creators attracting millions of views each year are preparing for an uncertain future on the site, which recently went dark for almost 24 hours amid a ban by the US government over national security fears.

TikTok, which has almost 2 billion users globally, shut down in the US on January 18 to comply with a ‘divest or ban’ law, leaving tabletop-focused creators in limbo about the future of their accounts – some of which boast hundreds of thousands of followers.

A surprise twist saw the app go live again for its 170 million US users the following day, with TikTok displaying a message to users thanking then President-elect Donald Trump “for providing the necessary clarity and assurance to our service providers that they will face no penalties” for restoring the app.

One of Trump’s first executive orders upon assuming office on January 20 was to block enforcement action against TikTok and its service providers such as Apple and Google for a 75-day period – but the pair have not reinstated the app to their stores amid fears they could be fined $5,000 per user through the original ban, which could reach a combined $850bn if applied across all of TikTok’s US user base.

The ongoing uncertainty about TikTok’s operations now, and when the 75-day order ends at the beginning of April, has put the future of individual creators and businesses using the site in jeopardy.

Board game publisher The Op Games, which has been posting on the site since 2020, drew in more than 23 million views for its videos last year – many of which centred around funny moments captured during plays of its colour-guessing game Hues and Cues.

Ray Billings, the publisher’s digital content specialist, told BoardGameWire, “TikTok has been invaluable to us as a publisher. In a market that’s becoming increasingly oversaturated – not necessarily a bad thing, just a thing – shortform videos help us break through the noise by actually showing people what it’s like to play our games.

“I can make the fanciest Instagram graphic ever, but it won’t convince you our game is fun the same way a video of real people laughing and playing the game will.”

Billings – who asked to make clear that these are her own opinions and did not necessarily reflect those of her employer – added, “For us, the biggest impact that a TikTok ban would have would be losing direct earnings through TikTok Shop. Other platforms might be able to replicate the discoverability of TikTok, but nothing has the same shop-ability.

“TikTok Shop has plenty of flaws, but it is seamlessly integrated into the platform and has a huge network of collaborators who will make shoppable videos in exchange for a commission. For some context, we have sold over 13,000 units of Tapple through TikTok Shop alone, and over 2,000 units of Tapple After Dark which is a title that only released on TikTok Shop [last month].”

Rainalyn Huang, the marketing manager at Pandasaurus Games, has built a personal TikTok following of more than 366,000 people outside of her day job on her 1minuteboardgames account, specialising in short learn to play and overview videos, lists and recommendations.

One of her most popular TikToks – also based around a funny moment from Hues and Cues – has drawn in more than 11.3 million views to date.

Huang told BoardGameWire she had been fairly certain ahead of the brief shutdown that TikTok was not going to be permanently banned – but added that the circumstances in which it was reinstated were “a bit suspicious”, adding that it “definitely makes me wary to continue to use it”.

She added that the knock-on impact of the site being unavailable in the US “would have had a huge negative impact on the board game industry”.

Huang said, “I’ve heard so many stories of games that have gotten into stores like Target and Barnes and Nobles because they went viral on TikTok.

“Board game creators don’t make nearly as much money as those in other industries – which is why I still have a full-time job – so it wouldn’t have a devastating financial impact on me.

“However, the impact would be still considerably negative and would impact my quality of living.”

She added, “I don’t think this makes TikTok too much of a long-term risk. I still think people and companies can benefit from TikTok as virality happens overnight, and that’s worth investing time and money into.

“Even if it does completely get banned, short-form content isn’t going anywhere and this is the app to learn it.

“Regarding other options, it might be a hot take but I would move to Instagram reels. Instagram as an app has been around for long and has survived plenty of changes and iterations, so I’m confident it’ll still be around in the next several years.”

Dani Standring, who has built a following of more than 192,000 people on TikTok since launching on the site six years ago, specialises in funny, personal takes and overviews of board games – which frequently feature comedy skits based around an obsession with milk.

Standring’s videos attract between tens and hundreds of thousands of views, with her most popular – a promotional spot for the Dungeons & Dragons board game The Yawning Portal – racking up almost 17 million views.

She told BoardGameWire that a TikTok ban would have a significant impact on her, saying, “TikTok is where I started, where a lot of people know me, and where my largest following is.

“A good portion of my content creation income – and to clarify, that income isn’t massive – comes from TikTok. While I still work a full-time job, this transition will feel strange.

“However, I’ve been strategic in preparing for this by establishing a strong presence on Instagram and gradually building my YouTube channel. Diversification is key, and I’m committed to making it work.”

She added, “It’s absolutely a risky proposition… I’ll keep posting until the platform goes dark for good (or some other insidious factor comes into play… stares at Elon). However, I’m not relying on TikTok as my be-all-end-all. That would be unwise.

“Platforms come and go, and adaptability is crucial for creators… I used to be very active on Twitter and had grown a solid following there, but the platform took a turn that I couldn’t support.

“If TikTok goes in a similar direction, I’ll do what’s necessary to distance myself. My values will always guide my decisions.”

Billings agreed that keeping options open was crucial given the platform’s instability, saying, “Honestly, I have never operated as if TikTok will be a sure thing forever. Its future has been dubious for a while – with places like India banning it very early on.

“We will continue to post on TikTok for now, and other platforms where we’ve been able to get some traction, like Reels and Shorts, while keeping a pulse on the sentiment of the TikTok user base as the new changes take hold.”

She added, “While I mentioned TikTok’s amazing discoverability earlier, I think this is a phenomenon that we can somewhat replicate on other shortform video platforms. We got 23 million organic views on TikTok in 2024, but we also had 15 million on Instagram. And in fact, our three most viewed videos last year were on Instagram Reels, not TikTok.

“Because The Op Games makes games for several different niches – everything from Guy Fieri Monopoly, to Tapple, to Gnome Hollow – I have focused more on the performance of individual videos rather than community building on TikTok.

“I’m very grateful for the dedicated community that we do have on the app, but ultimately the Venn diagram of fans who belong to all of our niches is quite small. So for me, the discoverability of individual videos was always the most important, and that is something I think we can get elsewhere.

“That said, I can’t imagine the fear that independent creators felt over the past few days. The threat of losing their community and their follower count must have been terrifying.”