Last week, I saw a link to a blog post by Steve Jackson Games, bemoaning the fact that tariffs on Chinese goods are going to cause board game prices to rise significantly.
As both a gamer and a manufacturer, I have several thoughts on the matter.
Trade with China has been both a blessing and a curse—not only for our industry but also for our country in general. The Chinese engage in all sorts of unfair trade practices, not just their tariff regime. Dumping, predatory pricing, intellectual property theft, copyright violations, to name just a few. Every so often I get a solicitation from a Chinese company to produce my products. I don’t accept.
Yes, products have been produced more cheaply there but there have been unseen costs. As Jackson’s post points out, there is a limited capability in the U.S. to produce at least some of the things he needs for board games. The same is true for miniatures. Who produces minis in the U.S.? Just a few companies.
If you want a spin caster, for example, they are hard to come by. Casting metal is harder to source than it used to be and much more expensive, as are mold sets. My 20-year-old spin caster is worth much more today than when I bought it. (In a related note, spin casting of jewelry, once a thriving industry in the northeast, has disappeared.)
The technology for making minis has changed. The U.S. hasn’t kept up. My 3D printer is made in China. My resin is made in China. There aren’t alternatives made in the U.S.—at least, not now. But there are sources in other countries who trade with us and who don’t rip us off like China does.
Since the late 90s, we have lost 90,000 factories in this country—in industries far more significant that gaming, which is, after all, a hobby that we can play with pencil and paper and the dice we already have.
So my message to Steve Jackson is: Put on your big boy pants and get to work innovating.
My products are proudly made in the U.S.A. My prices are not going up in the short term and in the longer term I’m looking for ways to reduce them. I’m looking to increase the international sales that have been devastated by tariffs and shipping costs.
Whatever setbacks we see now are temporary. We are already seeing benefits: 75 countries are lining up to reduce reciprocal tariffs. This will be good for everyone engaging in international trade.
Because of the volume, President Trump has put tariff increases on hold for 90 days to give time to work out agreements.
Yes, there is going to be some short-term pain, but the end result is well worth it. We will have a world with real, free and fair trade.
