Tabletop industry in full panic as Trump tariffs are poised to erase growth

https://www.polygon.com/tabletop-games/552558/tabletop-panic-tariffs-on-china-layoffs-bankruptcy-gama

by ndsipa_pomu • 1 year ago

8 7 1 year ago

That's a real shame as there's some top game companies in the U.S. (Steve Jackson Games springs to mind). Stonemaier Games makes some lovely games - Wingspan and it's variants are beautiful products, but it doesn't seem like they'll be able to survive in the U.S. (Here's a blog post from them: https://stonemaiergames.com/the-darkest-timeline/ ).

Ultimately, the manufacturers are going to have to leave the USA or risk going bust as they'll likely only have U.S. customers and even then their products will be expensive.

cratermoon• 1 year ago

SJ Games https://www.theverge.com/news/643173/trump-tariffs-steve-jac...

ndsipa_pomu3• 1 year ago

I think the tariffs are going to hit the small producers really hard and I can imagine that anyone that has already got the game being manufactured (e.g. in China) will then be bankrupted by the sudden extra costs of getting the product into the USA - I'm thinking of KickStarter games where they've already worked out the prices (and been paid) and have no practical means of recovering increased costs. Maybe some companies will just dump the manufacturing run and choose bankruptcy instead - better than losing more money over just trying to get the goods into the country.

throwawaybutwhy• 1 year ago

Not a fan or foe of protectionism per se yet getting books printed literally across the ocean and then shipped back on fossil fuel-guzzling container ships isn't my definition of an environmentally sound activity.

jltsiren• 1 year ago

If you drive to a bookstore a mile away to pick up the book, the carbon emissions from that final mile are higher than from shipping the book across the ocean. Large ships are very energy efficient and their payload fractions are high. Which is why it makes economic sense to ship even low-value bulk goods such as oil over long distances.

ndsipa_pomu3• 1 year ago

It's not ideal, but what's the alternative if nowhere else has a decent setup for producing boardgame components?

I don't know how boardgaming compares to other past-times in terms of CO2, but my hunch is that it would be a lot better than some other hobbies. Once the boardgame is purchased, it can be replayed many times without further CO2 emissions (ignoring snacks/drinks that may be consumed whilst playing).

Tabletop industry in full panic as Trump tariffs are poised to erase growth

Related Stories