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.
Food Chain Magnate publisher Splotter Spellen says US distribution major GTS has cancelled a "large order" for its game Indonesia at short notice, citing uncertainty over further changes to import tariffs in the country.
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.
One of North America's biggest tabletop gaming distributors, Alliance Game Distributors, has received a $39m buyout bid from Canadian peer Universal Distribution after its long-time owner Diamond Comics filed for bankruptcy protection yesterday.
When it comes to taking the temperature of the board game industry, few are in a better position than a business which works across everything from freight and trade selling to e-commerce and spare parts. James Naylor, founder of BoardGameWire sponsor Naylor Games and its one-stop shop board game outsourcing operation Back Office, unpacks the state of the industry across 2024, and casts his eye on the potential positives - and pitfalls - of the coming year.
Polish board game publisher Portal Games has ended its almost decade-long US distribution partnership with GTS, saying it will focus on partners it believes can best inform retailers about its games.
Hachette Boardgames has added another publisher to its ever-growing distribution business, scoring a deal to distribute MicroMacro publisher Edition Spielwiese's games in the US and UK.
Punishing import tariffs threatened by US president-elect Donald Trump could lead to a "great collapse" of the US board game industry, with publishers, distributors and retailers of all sizes facing the threat of going under, professionals within the industry have told BoardGameWire.
Sky Team and Decrypto publisher Hachette has agreed a deal to distribute Parisian board game company Super Meeple's games in the US, taking over from Asmodee USA.
