Stonemaier Games, the board game publisher most known for Wingspan, has announced its intention to sue US President Donald Trump over the implementation of high tariffs on goods entering the United States from China. As the company noted in a recent blog post, these tariffs have significantly impacted its business, and the business of other board game publishers, and it will “not stand idly by” as “the livelihoods of thousands of small business owners and contractors in the US … are treated like pawns in a political game.”
As the Stonemaier Games team noted, it began a print run of board games within China prior to Trump taking office – and now, with an 145% tariff placed on goods imported from the country, it’s facing ” an unprecedented $14.50 tariff tax for every $10″ spent on manufacturing with its long-term partner.
In the company’s particular case, it now faces unexpected tariff payments of nearly USD $1.5 million. As Stonemaier Games makes clear, this cost is not something that can be absorbed. While legal action was very low on the list of ideal ways for Stonemaier to cope with this situation, the 145% tariff has seemingly made the situation unworkable. The company won’t accept going under, so it’s “compelled to take action.”
Stonemaier Games has also noted the situation for them – and likely other board game publishers – is urgent. It reportedly has 200,000 units of reprints and 50,000 units of Vantage (as well as accessories) currently waiting to ship out from Shenzhen, China. These are fully manufactured products that are waiting to be sold, but they remain in limbo.
Read: Trump’s US tariffs are likely to make board games unaffordable
What is Stonemaier Games doing to cushion the impact of tariffs?
To deal with the situation overall, Stonemaier is planning to sell stock to countries other than the US. While there are units of popular games still bound for the US, the company is currently paying for them to be held “in the hopes that the tariffs will decrease” by the time stock sells out, and needs to be replenished.
For Finspan in particular, Stonemaier is still sending board games from the US to China, but it’s currently eating most of the tariff cost without passing this onto distributors, retailers, or consumers. Should the high tariffs remain in place, this will not be sustainable.
For Vantage, which is ready and waiting, the game will be shipped to the US, but the tariffs “may have a slight impact on the US price” and there may also be a delay to account for a lack of margins. Customers may also be given the option to cover the tariff cost on checkout, should they be in a position to do so.
As made clear by Stonemaier, these strategies have been put into place as a rapid fire means of addressing tariffs, as “the tariffs did not carve out a grace period for such products.”
Stonemaier Games has joined the aforementioned lawsuit to take on these tariffs and how they’ve been implemented, in the hopes the board games industry may have a better, more stable future ahead. In an update to its original blog, the company has also confirmed the law firm handling the case now has “as many clients as the case can handle.”
In the coming months (and possibly years, given how long the necessary legal process takes), the law firm will build a case against the tariffs, outlining the exact impact on the livelihoods of suppliers, and how tariffs may derail production of board games entirely. Stay tuned for more as this Stonemaier Games-led lawsuit advances.
