ISAAC'S NEWSLETTER: APRIL 2025
Hello! I gotta be honest right out the gate here - it’s hard to focus on anything but tariffs right now. If you’re not familiar with what’s going on, Price did a great write-up in one of our Backerkit updates, but the TLDR is that the current US administration is imposing an exorbitant tariff rate on (most) goods coming in from China, and it is in the process of shutting down the US board game industry.
Which is pretty terrifying!
We’re working out a plan to fulfill the rest of our Backerkit project - that is the number one priority - but basically not being able to sell our games through US distribution necessitates some big shifts for the company to stay in business.
Which I would like to do! This is my livelihood, and I very much enjoy making games. It’s just the selling of them has become incredibly difficult, which is what you need to do to make more games.
So, look, I could go on and on about the ridiculousness of these policies, and how I can’t even give you what the actual tariff rates are, because I’m writing this the week before it goes out, and they change every week. It’s all nonsense designed to create chaos, and chaos is exactly what it has caused.
Even if you are not a board game creator and just a board game enjoyer (which I assume you are), I would be very concerned about the negative impact that this chaos will have on the US board game market. Some publishing companies are already shutting their doors, and those that remain are looking at having to drastically increase their prices. If this keeps up, the average consumer will soon be very limited in what games they’ll have access to.
Anyway, that’s what I've been thinking about a lot recently. I know it’s a little cliché, but if you are concerned, the best thing you can do is reach out to your representatives, Republican or Democrat, and let them know that you don’t want to see this hobby, which has brought so much joy to so many people, disappear from the US.
Leave a comment
Comments will be approved before showing up.
Also in Blog
Tariffs & Tabletop: A Message from Cephalofair Games
Price Johnson, the Chief Operating Officer of Cephalofair Games, discusses the implications of tariffs on our game production and examines how the current tariff situation is influencing the tabletop gaming industry as a whole.
Isaac's Newsletter: March 2025
Isaac talks about his involvement with Frosthaven Digital and reveals how much of the board game he’s played.