How can the tabletop gaming industry survive without China?

[Tonguez]

Is this a serious question?

Yes, the implication of "without China' is that China be cut out of the industry entirely, and there is no reason to do that.

Getting around US tariffs is a US specific question, the rest of the world still exists

 

[Deset Gled]

It would be helpful if a trade organization existed to help game manufactures organize. Whether by trying to use group bargaining for pricing, helping negotiate supply chain issues at a larger scale, or just lobbying.

Unfortunately, from what I have heard, GAMA is not that trade organization. Maybe they could be in the future? Or someone else?

 

[Jeff2222]

I think some companies could do a lot more to improve their routes to market to avoid the need for products made mainly in China from passing through the US on their way to the final customer.

I don't live in the US but there are games I would like to buy now which can only be ordered from a US location, so I would end up paying both US tariffs and high-priced US shipping charges. If the company would allow me to buy direct from China that would avoid both problems.

 

[Morrus]

I think some companies could do a lot more to improve their routes to market to avoid the need for products made mainly in China from passing through the US on their way to the final customer.

I don't live in the US but there are games I would like to buy now which can only be ordered from a US location, so I would end up paying both US tariffs and high-priced US shipping charges. If the company would allow me to buy direct from China that would avoid both problems.

Most printers/manufacturers don't ship directly to customers for you. They're not set up as fulfillment centres. They simply make your product and ship a bunch of pallets/containers to your warehouse. We have a warehouse in the US and one in the UK, and I think it would behoove smaller companies to seek fulfillment partners on either side of the Atlantic (even without tariffs), but there's no real advantage in setting up a warehouse and staff in China.

 

[Incenjucar]

The industry as a whole will survive even if the US is going to be a money pit, but it will necessarily contract a bit and lose some cultural cachet as game stores struggle to survive as third places and getting a given game becomes harder. US-based companies that heavily rely on little plastic bits are probably in a bad situation, and it may be a bit of a "dark age" of sorts, but gaming isn't going to be gone.

I would expect that the nature of games being released and how they are released may change. More paper and electronic, less plastic. More effort going into preventing unauthorized copying - perhaps more reliance on preorders and Patreons to make sure that a reasonable minimum payoff, skewing the kinds of successful games etc etc.

As an ancient being, I anticipate it feeling a bit more like the early days of anime availability in the US, but that's purely a hunch.

 

[lynnfredricks]

I think its worth looking at this as a form of business disruption and an opportunity reconfigure how games are made and distributed.

The tabletop game industry is made of companies that already make very different products (based on their component parts and what you need to play), so tariffs affect sub-sets differently.

It might be worth considering how to reconfigure what you want to keep producing. PDF was a big game (ha!) changer, and one that the RPG industry really has only gone part way to take advantage of its feature set.

 

[Theory of Games]

Making books is ecological terrorism. It's past the time Humanity should have gone 100% digital. It's just BETTER, short and long term.

What Is The Environmental Impact of Book Publishing? - Publish Your Purpose

The environmental impact of book publishing is significant. Here’s how publishers are reducing their impact—and what you need to know.

publishyourpurpose.com

 

[GMMichael]

PDF was a big game (ha!) changer, and one that the RPG industry really has only gone part way to take advantage of its feature set.

This. Maybe people will stop cutting down trees if it costs more.

 

[DarkCrisis]

Rest of the world gets better boards, cards, and cool plastic minis.

US gets cheap boards, cards, and chits instead of minis.