Board game giant Asmodee's plan to reignite its strategy of buying up smaller board game publishers and distributors remains "completely unchanged" by the tariffs volatility, with company CEO Thomas Koegler saying the uncertain times in fact "present opportunities for strategic acquisitions".
Part 2 of our ongoing series exploring the trials and tribulations of launching a board game-focused YouTube channel in 2025. JC Wollslager is now seven months into his attempt to “flip the script” on How To Play videos with his channel How To Teach, which he believes fills an underexplored niche in the industry. But the chaotic US tariffs situation is affecting more than just publishers and manufacturers - and in this edition JC details the impact on his fledgling channel, his mental health, and what the future holds for the project.
Elevated tariffs continue to threaten the board game industry despite a 90-day 'truce' between the US and China - with publishers now facing a spike in shipping prices and a battle for limited container space as businesses race to take advantage of the lower-tariff window.
Board game publishing major CMON slumped to a loss of more than $3m in 2024 - almost double its total profits from the previous three years combined - as falling sales for its crowdfunding campaigns led the company to its lowest annual revenue since pandemic-hit 2020.
Board game crowdfunding giant CMON is laying off staff and halting new game development and campaign launches, citing the ongoing unpredictability in US tariffs.
Online board game retailer Boardlandia has become the latest tabletop-related victim of the skyrocketing US tariffs on Chinese imports, with its owners announcing they have closed down the business.
Wingspan publisher Stonemaier Games is suing US president Donald Trump over his decision to impose spiralling import tariffs on China - a situation which has already seen board game businesses shutter their operations and lay off staff.
Board game companies across the industry are bracing for price hikes, job losses and the potential shuttering of their businesses after US President Donald Trump unveiled sweeping import tariffs targeting countries across the world yesterday.
Board game publishers already battling the financial fallout of Donald Trump's trade war are now facing an even more volatile future, after the US President doubled the country's tariffs on Chinese imports to 20% and brought in 25% tariffs for goods from Canada and Mexico.
The board game industry has been awash with discussion about the potentially crippling effect of tariffs for several months now, with publishers, distributors and manufacturers all scrabbling to prepare for a leap in the cost of importing games to the US. Chief among the issues is the uncertainty surrounding the situation - tariffs of up to 100% on imports from China, where the vast majority of board games are made, were being talked about by then President-elect Donald Trump last November, stoking fears of a “great collapse” of the US board game industry. So far those tariffs have only reached 10%, but ongoing sabre-rattling from Trump and tit-for-tat tariffs on US goods introduced by China have created an unpredictable trading environment. In this article for BoardGameWire, Robert Geistlinger, president of US board game major Arcane Wonders, explains how even a 10% tariff rate will have an outsized effect on publishers already working on razor-thin margins.
