Lindsey here with a more personal update than usual. Instead of our standard monthly check-in, this is a comprehensive company-wide message to address how the recent tariffs are affecting Rose Gauntlet and our current and future game projects.

Before we dive in, I want to sincerely thank everyone who reached out with kind words and support after our unasked for “Liberation Day”. Your messages were a bright spot in what’s been a tough couple of weeks. I also appreciate your patience waiting for this update—we wanted to make sure we had a complete and accurate understanding of the situation before communicating our path forward. For a while, the information seemed to be changing by the hour. I still worry that this info may be outdated soon after I post it.

This update is going to be very transparent and includes our actual estimated tariff costs. Our goal is to clearly explain how these new tariffs are impacting us, share the actions we’re taking, and provide insight that may also help other publishers facing similar challenges.

 

Currently, the U.S. tariff rate for game and toy imports from China is set at 145%. That’s not a typo—145%. This means that for every game we import, we pay a tax that is greater than the cost of manufacturing the game itself.

Since all of our products (like the majority of the toy and tabletop industry) are made in China, this has enormous implications for our pricing, profitability, and even the types of projects we can afford to produce.

We’re not the only ones being affected by this ridiculous charge, and several industry leaders have provided helpful breakdowns of the situation. If you want to learn more, we recommend reading the following:

 

We’ve looked into U.S.-based production several times over the years. Domestic manufacturing would offer faster turnaround times and avoid international shipping headaches—but the truth is, no U.S. manufacturer currently exists that can meet the quality and scale we require for our games.

Beyond logistics, there’s also a personal element that doesn’t get talked about enough. We’ve worked with Panda Manufacturing since the start of Rose Gauntlet. These aren’t just vendors—they’re friends we’ve known for most of our careers. We’ve had meals together at conventions, played games together, and supported each other through the ups and downs of the industry. Suggesting that publishers simply “move production to the U.S.” not only ignores the lack of infrastructure—it overlooks the real people behind these partnerships.

 

We’ve reviewed every area of our business, made some difficult decisions, and adapted our projects accordingly. We’re sharing the details below, including the original and current tariff projections, so you can see the scale of the impact for yourself. Please keep in mind that this is an evolving situation, and our strategies may continue to change.

Here are a few key takeaways:

 

Keystone was already in production when the tariff hikes were announced. As rates began climbing, we made the tough call to pause the print run to reassess our options. We’ve now decided to resume production, and the project is moving forward again. However, this pause means fulfillment is now expected in June, instead of our original estimate.

Nothing else has changed about the project—just a temporary delay while we navigated this unexpected cost.

 

The Bird Series (Pebbles, Rook Requiem, Flock, and Birds on Birds) was scheduled to begin printing right about now. Instead, we’ve pushed production to June in the hopes that there will be more clarity—or even relief—on the tariff situation.

We also made the decision to reduce the print quantity of each title from 5,000 units to 3,000. This allows us to lower our immediate tariff costs, but it also means we’ll have 8,000 fewer units to sell long-term, which hurts our ability to fund future games or pay for reprints without a new crowdfunding campaign. It also raises the per-unit cost of each game significantly.

Despite these tough choices, we’re still on track for our originally estimated delivery window, and the development of all four games is moving ahead smoothly.

Wild Gardens has been one of the best-performing titles for our company, and we’re close to selling out worldwide. We had originally planned to launch the reprint and Foraging Club Expansion in April, but we decided to delay the campaign to June 3rd in order to re-evaluate our pricing, timeline, and funding goals.

After carefully reviewing everything, we’re confident we can still move forward and deliver an excellent product. A further explanation of tariffs will be added to our TAX and VAT section of the project.

This was the most difficult project to evaluate in light of everything. Gone to Gaia is big, bold, experimental—and everything the current advice says not to make right now. But it's also exactly the kind of game Isaac and I created Rose Gauntlet to publish. We’re passionate about it, and after a lot of discussion and soul-searching, we’ve decided to move forward with development and plan to crowdfund later this year.

We will be restructuring the retail version to reduce production costs. Some of the premium components and quality-of-life upgrades will likely become optional add-ons. But the heart of the game—the innovation and creativity—will remain intact.

 

To save costs, we’ve made the difficult decision to not have a booth at any conventions this year. These events require large upfront investments, and while they’re often successful in the long run, we can’t justify the financial risk this year.

That said, Isaac and I will still be attending Gen Con, and we’re working on low-cost options to showcase Gone to Gaia and meet with fans and partners during the show.

 

Although it’s easy to feel powerless against the might of an entire government there’s still things we are doing to try and get help.

 

If you’d like to support Rose Gauntlet and other indie publishers through this tough time, here are a few things you can do:

1. Contact your elected officials
Let them know this is hurting small businesses like ours. 

2. Support publishers directly
Buying a game directly from a publisher’s site or crowdfunding campaign makes a huge difference—much more than buying from big box stores or Amazon. If you have a favorite locally owned game store, consider supporting them directly instead of heavily discounted online resellers.

Thanks for sticking through that wall of text. I hope it helped you better understand where we’re at—and why your support matters more than ever.

A huge thanks to our partners who’ve helped us work out solutions through countless meetings and emails these past weeks. To our creative team, who kept bringing beauty and imagination to life in the middle of chaos. And to Isaac—my co-founder, partner, and friend—thank you for your unwavering calm and commitment. 

Running this company has never been easy, but it’s always been worth it. And even now, as we face one of our biggest challenges yet, I still love doing what we do every day.

If you have questions, we’re always here—just comment or email us at [email protected].