Tariffs of 104% have been placed on the tabletop industry effective 4/9/2025
Today’s project update is dedicated to bringing awareness to the tariff crisis happening right now in the tabletop games industry.
(Mini Update: Wave 3-Gloomhaven(2E) factory freight pickups begin this week for Asia, UK, and EU!)
While this is not intended to be a politically partisan post, tariffs are implemented by elected politicians (constitutionally by Congress, but in this case by emergency claims and Executive Order of the President) so it will inevitably be political in nature, but from the agnostic perspective of a small business operator.
Regular updates will resume in 2 weeks, but we felt it necessary to explain the landscape as we march towards unknown and hard decisions across our entire company, slate of projects, and our personal lives.
Thank you for your time, understanding, and support over all these years. We intend to fight like hell and utilize every tool at our disposal to maintain our obligations to our backers, our employees, and our families.
Right now, that future is being made incredibly unpredictable.
Our next steps are uncertain and being forced to change daily. ____________________________________________________________
Hello Everyone,
This is Price Johnson, COO of Cephalofair Games. I asked the team to let me take lead on this week’s update so I can give all our incredibly passionate and patient backers an update on the situation currently unfolding in the tabletop games industry.
Speaking bluntly, our industry, our jobs, and our projects are under attack by volatile, and self-inflicted, U.S. trade policy. Our manufacturing costs in the last two months have seen an increase of 104% due to U.S. tariffs.
(See below for a more thorough explanation of how tariffs work.)
The impact that 104% tariffs will have on our industry, and our company, are nothing short of devastating and are already having immediate consequences that will be felt knowingly and unknowingly by everyone who enjoys this industry - from the hobbyist, the retail store owner, the publisher, and ultimately our communities.
But don’t just take my word for it. Here is what the industry, and our peers, have been feeling as well:
My visit to one of our Chinese factories to discuss a top secret project (Frosthaven) before it's announcement and pre-production. Shenzhen, China 2019.
Q. What is happening?
The U.S. has imposed blanket tariffs (meaning broad & general, not strategically targeted goods) on ALL imports from a multitude of international countries - most notably in our situation: China, where the majority of the tabletop games industry manufacture our games.
This is leading to mass and widescale manufacturing, pricing, and inventory concerns as most products have had their profit margins all but eliminated.
Q. What is an import tariff?
An import tariff is a tax on businesses bringing goods into a country, - in our case, the United States. It is charged against the cost of goods of our product (AKA how much we pay our manufacturer for the final product). This means it has a DIRECT impact on our costs as a U.S. Business, how much we have to charge customers, retailers, distributors, etc.
Q. What tariffs have been put on board games?
Prior to this administration = 0% on board games
A Brief Timeline: February 1st = 0% → 10% tariffs (link) March 4th = 10% → 20% (link) April 2nd = 20% → 54% (link) April 7th = We are being TOLD 54% may increase to 104% (link) April 8th = 54% → 104% (link)
Bringing this home: from the time Gloomhaven went into production our cost of goods has risen 104%.
For example, if a game costs $10 to produce, that company must pay the U.S. government an invoice for $10.40 on top, meaning the cost is now really $20.40 total.
“Yeah but the game is still $50, so you have lots of profit to work with”
Not really, no. To make games viable for nationwide distribution in retail stores (where most of our sales occur) publishers traditionally need to apply a x5 to x7 multiplier to our cost of goods to make wholesale pricing discounts viable and still provide us with a razor thin margin in which to cover additional costs and overhead such as freight, warehousing, staffing, product development, designer royalties, reprints, etc.
So that $50 game is really, typically, being sold at wholesale for $20, meaning a profit margin is gone.
If 54% or 104% tariffs hold and we don’t see reverse steps taken, this will all but eliminate our wholesale business as we know it today leading to some incredibly hard and scary choices to make.
P.S. Gloomhaven & Frosthaven cost considerably more than $10 to manufacture...
Board games are HIGHLY custom, and include a magnitude of custom parts made from a wide range of custom materials - made available to us under a single partner and project manager in China. Domestically, we'd have to bid individual producers for each custom good (assuming our print run is large enough to earn their attention) import raw materials, then provide or seek out our own assembly labor to bring it all together. This (if possible) would lead to exponentially higher prices than anywhere currently found in tabletop.
Plastic injection molding - highly desired for board game miniatures, most commonly and competitively found overseas. (My photo. China, 2019)
Q.Why is this a problem?
1. Domestic manufacturing does not exist for the products we make. Nor do many of the materials. I wish they were. I like having my product when it’s ready and not having to depend on a 30-45 day buffer between manufacturing and ocean freight.
The reality is that China has been our industry’s gold standard for quality for decades, and continues leading the way in innovative new processes, materials, and capabilities. I’ve visited our facilities in person. I meet with our teams multiple times per year. We can bid a project with well over two dozen reputable and specialized board game manufacturers internationally on a new project. We don’t have anything that resembles that level of availability, competition, or experience here in the United States that could support our products, let alone those of our entire industry.
2. Suddenly punishing foreign manufacturing before standing a roadmap or solutions for building domestic options is backwards and will not lead to anything close to overnight manufacturing options. Especially when machinery, materials, raw goods, would all be subject to 104% import taxes as well. The cost has literally never been higher for a company/entity to consider such investments.
3. Publishers must know their definitive costs in order to calculate retail pricing. When tariffs are in flux, our pricing is in flux. Meaning we cannot responsibly produce, market, and sell our games. If we do, we’re having to plan and mitigate around unknown cost increases, and that comes at a cost to ourselves and our customers.
4. Publishers who have already raised funds via crowdfunding did not account for tariffs. These were not in place, nor was there any guidance ahead of the last few months as to what tariffs might look like. I can guarantee none of my publishing peers anticipated anything close to the 104% implemented this week.
5. Board games that ARE capable of being made ARE going to get more expensive.
6. Your favorite publishers will be canceling, delaying, or stalling exciting projects.
7. Many publishers/retailers will close their doors due to financial insolvency. Many others will have to make hard staffing choices, furloughs, layoffs, etc.
One of our many modern facilities we utilize in Shenzhen, China. This one produced over 400k units of Gloomhaven Jaws of the Lion for us. A volume unthinkable with current domestic options.
Foreign manufacturing allowed Cephalofair to achieve one it's proudest and most ambitious goals to date - mass market placement in Target, Barnes & Nobles, and Walmart. A 3+ year run for us that wouldn't have been possible without the expertise, timeliness, and execution of our talented teams overseas.
Q.Doesn’t China pay the tariffs?
No.We do. The U.S. business who produces internationally and imports for domestic sales. We don’t import into China, so China raising their tariff rates against the U.S. are effectively meaningless for our business operations.
We have approximately $1.2M in product produced and awaiting shipment from China currently. The United States generally accounts for ~60-65% of our business. If we shipped what we'd normally be allocating to the U.S. - we'd be looking at a U.S. tax bill of ~$800k+ once it lands at port and before we even start making any new sales (slower sales, at new higher prices.
Q.What does this mean for Gloomhaven: Grand Festival Projects?
Honestly, we’re still analyzing this and it will take us some more time to solve fully.
We do know this is already meaning some really hard decisions for Cephalofair in terms of release schedules, fulfillment timelines, project costs, staffing considerations, conventions, contracts, budgets, and more.
As you are likely aware, there are three Cephalofair projects due for fulfillment. One of which (Gloomhaven) has already been mass manufactured and was due to start shipping this week, and two of which are in pre-production and development (RPG & Miniatures).
2025 has yet to provide us with a stable and known playing field for what lies ahead. It is hard to “plan a journey” when the “price of travel” keeps going up monthly, weekly, daily, without warning and without much perceived rationale.
Ultimately, we take our obligation of delivering on crowdfunding projects very seriously and have a track record of delivering (development delays aside) 100% of our projects to date. Currently, our top priority is to uphold that promise and track record by protecting your backer investment to the best of our abilities - fighting as hard as we can against obstacles, interference, and sometimes the occasional global pandemic or trade war.
Support your favorite publishers, favorite local game stores, and creators however you can.
Understand that indie publishers, first time publishers, and crowdfunding publishers (like us) that funded prior to tariffs are hurting the most, and have the most difficult path forward.
~THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT & UNDERSTANDING~
On behalf of the entire Cephalofair Team, and so so many of our publishing peers:
Thank you for the opportunity to shed light on this giant obstacle in front of tabletop at this time. Our backers - YOU - helped build this company, our games, and continue to make this industry thrive as a whole. We appreciate your patience and understanding as we pull together as an industry to weather this storm.
We'll be back in two weeks with regular project updates and next steps being taken - until then be well and enjoy some games! Price Johnson Chief Operating Officer Cephalofair Games
