News Digest Brainwaves Episode 160
This is a copy of the “script” we used to organise Brainwaves Episode 160. It is not a full transcript but should give you an overview of the news as we reported it. Quotes are in italics.
Headlines
Trump tariffs terrify tabletop
https://us8.campaign-archive.com/?u=036529e593805041d1127c76d&id=c7c5d971eb
https://rowanrookanddecard.com/what-the-new-usa-tariffs-mean-for-us/?v=7885444af42e
- On the 2nd of April, President Donald Trump revealed the tariffs he had so long promised as part of his re-election campaign. No country was immune, including the Heard and McDonald Islands, which are populated only by seals and penguins.
- Tariffs are taxes imposed by a government on incoming goods, usually with an eye to raising revenue to try to encourage the domestic manufacturing of those goods.
- The one of interest to the tabletop hobby was the massive 54% levied against imports from China. This tariff went into effect on the 5th of April.
- The majority of tabletop games are made in China, and companies large and small across the hobby have been reacting with dismay to the news.
- One of the first to post anything was Steve Jackson Games. Describing the tariffs as a seismic shift, CEO Meredith Placko laid out what it meant for their bottom line
- Here are the numbers: A product we might have manufactured in China for $3.00 last year could now cost $4.62 before we even ship it across the ocean. Add freight, warehousing, fulfillment, and distribution margins, and that once-$25 game quickly becomes a $40 product. That’s not a luxury upcharge; it’s survival math.
- Meredith goes on to say that manufacturing games in the US is just not possible at the moment due to the many myriad components they need made and the lack of infrastructure that exists. They address the large implications of tariffs:
- Tariffs, when part of a long-term strategy to bolster domestic manufacturing, can be an effective tool. But that only works when there’s a plan to build up the industries needed to take over production. There is no national plan in place to support manufacturing for the types of products we make. This isn’t about steel and semiconductors. This is about paper goods, chipboard, wood tokens, plastic trays, and color-matched ink. These new tariffs are imposing huge costs without providing alternatives, and it’s going to cost American consumers more at every level of the supply chain.
- Boardgamewire interviewed several companies about the tariffs
- Robert De Meglio, production director at War of the Ring publisher Ares Games, said:
- “[My] gut reaction was ‘the board game industry in the USA will be killed by these tariffs’… together with the rest of the US economy.”
- Robert goes on to say that they think the industry will tend towards fewer high-end products, try to have less of a reliance on Chinese manufacturing and American consumers.
- Over on Stonemaier games, Jamey Stegmaier, in a post titled ‘The Darkest Timeline’, laid out what he sees as the issues and potential future of the industry. Like De Meglio, he believes that publishers will concentrate on smaller games and that those companies with low cash reserves are least able to weather the storm.
- He says this in the post:
- Crowdfunding and direct sales (online and at conventions) will become the backbone of most publishers. Tariffs will have a smaller impact on those direct prices than on retail prices, which involve a multiplier so distributors and retailers have sustainable margins. There will be far more games that are available exactly once and never again. Also, as proposed by Gamefound, we’ll probably see crowdfunding platforms allow creators to select different prices for customers in various regions due to tariffs.
- He rounds up the post by saying that it is a ‘lose, lose, lose’ for everyone involved.
- GAMA, the Game Manufacturer’s Association, a US organisation that represents publishers and retailers, said this in a news release
- “The latest imposition of a 54% tariff on products from China by the administration is dire news for the tabletop industry and the broader US economy. As an industry highly dependent on producing goods overseas and importing them into the US, this policy will have devastating consequences.
- “Tariffs are essentially taxes on consumers, not on the countries where the products are produced,” it continued. “Publishers will be forced to pass these costs along to their customers or face the prospect of ceasing operations. Nearly a third of all US consumer goods — including clothes, food products, appliances, cars, and entertainment items like games — are imported. This means higher prices across the board as all these products will need to increase prices to compensate for these new Trump Taxes.”
- Cephalofair Games, the publishers of Gloomhaven, put out a statement on the tariffs which includes many links to press releases from other companies.
- Price Johnson, COO of Cephalofair, starts that statement by saying this:
- 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.
- Price goes on to back up statements from others we have quoted: that moving manufacturing to America is a short term non-starter, that margins are incredibly tight on tabletop gaming products, predicting retail price and future planning are impossible under a regime that changes its mind on a whim, that games that can get made will get more expensive, and that these tariffs will likely see the end of many games companies.
- Towards the end of the post, under the heading What can you do to help?, Price says this:
- 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.
- Some companies have already announced that they are cancelling projects, and many across the industry are asking customers to be kind to companies as the tariffs take their toll. Any company mid-crowdfunding is going to have a very hard time making the numbers add up.
- We’ve spoken to a couple of publishers who have been good enough to share their stories with us. First up is Richard Kelly, who is an indie RPG publisher mostly through itch.io
- Our second interview is with Terri Litorco, the managing editor of Monte Cook Games.
- Insert Interviews
- Richard Kelly – https://kumada1.itch.io/
- Terri Litorco – Monte Cook Games
- I also communicated with an indie publisher by the name of Breeze Grigas who is a board game developer and has designed their own game called Combining Robots.
- They said this:
- Have you ever been on a highway, and suddenly the tolls have gone from $0 to $25,000? You can’t get off. You can’t escape.
- The concept is a horrifying nightmare, but this is my life now.
- And it could apparently be even more. It could be even higher without warning.
- It could also be lower, because maybe my shipment left early enough. Another publisher I was speaking to left before the previous tariff deadline and was charged at the increased rate anyway. I literally won’t know what financial burden this is going be until I receive the bill, and thus I can’t communicate any concrete information or promises to my backers.
- Of course, those who have been following the news will realise we have buried the lede a little on this story.
- After a massive U-turn by Trump on the 10th of April, many tariffs that were promised have been delayed by 90 days. As China put in place tariffs against US goods at 84%, the Trump Administration has raised the tariffs on Chinese goods to 145%. The amount affecting boardgames is 125%, with the last 20% being specifically aimed at fentanyl based products. China has now raised its tariffs to 125% to match the US amount. A lot of the pieces we are quoting were written at the point of the tariffs being 54%. Our audio interviews were after the increase to 125%.
Updates
CMON delays publishing results
CMON’s profit warning: https://www1.hkexnews.hk/listedco/listconews/sehk/2025/0312/2025031201125.pdf
CMON’s statement on the delay of publishing results: https://www1.hkexnews.hk/listedco/listconews/sehk/2025/0325/2025032502165.pdf
HK Stock Exchange suspension notice: https://www1.hkexnews.hk/listedco/listconews/sehk/2025/0401/2025040103643.pdf
- As we reported in our previous episode, CMON, the US-based publisher of games such as Zombicide, Blood Rage, Rising Sun and Ankh, issued a profit warning on the 12th of March, stating it could face losses of up to $2.1 million in 2024.
- Now, board game news website BoardGameWire reports that, two weeks after the profit warning, CMON announced a delay in publishing its annual financial results for 2024, attributing it to an understaffed finance department following key personnel changes and ongoing recruitment efforts. The company stated that releasing unaudited figures could mislead shareholders and investors and insisted that the delay would not impact its operations.
- Under Hong Kong stock exchange regulations, CMON was required to submit its results by the 31st of March. As CMON failed to do so, its stock was suspended on the 1st of April and is still not trading as of the date of writing (7 April 2025).
- Alongside announcing that it would delay the release of its annual financial results, CMON also revealed that it is seeking legal advice after two prospective investors failed to provide an agreed $1.39 million for a 16.66% stake in the business, which CMON was relying on to strengthen its working capital and liquidity.
- We would like to remind listeners that CMON currently have 10 outstanding Kickstarters waiting to be delivered plus the Kickstarters they bought from Mythic Games, Hel and Anastyr.
News
Corey retires
- In a news post on their website, board game publisher Unexpected Games announced on the 28th of March that Corey Konieczka will be retiring as Head of Studio. Corey Konieczka is perhaps best known as the designer of Battlestar Galactica the board game, Eldritch Horror and being a co-designer on Twilight Imperium Fourth Edition.
- Unexpected Games is an Asmodee studio known for games such as The Mandalorian: Adventures, 3000 Scoundrels and Voices In My Head, and was founded by Corey in 2019 to create novel, fun, thematic and accessible games.
- In their news post, Unexpected Games thanked Corey for his contributions to the company and the tabletop industry as a whole, saying:
- “His vision, talent, and passion for designing great games will continue forward with the ongoing support of current and future Unexpected Games titles.”
- Corey elaborated on his departure by saying:
- “After 19+ years making board games, I have made the difficult choice to leave Unexpected Games at the end of March to pursue other interests. With the help of many talented individuals, I had the pleasure of creating every game I could conceive of. We worked on amazing licenses, internal IPs, and fresh ideas; each providing its own rewards and challenges. After living and breathing board games for so long, my muse yearns to travel beyond the tabletop.
- “This job provided opportunities beyond my wildest dreams, and it introduced me to some of the most wonderful people I’ve ever met. I am forever grateful. I want to thank you, the fans, for all your support over the years. It is a rare gift to make a living designing board games and that has only been possible because you have bought them. Seeing you play and enjoy my games over the years has warmed my heart, and I’ve enjoyed meeting many of you at conventions.”
- Unexpected Games will continue to release games after Corey’s departure, including a new game system designed by Corey, and will attend Gen Con and PAX Unplugged later this year.
Greg Stafford recognised at Garycon
- On the 22nd of March, Greg Stafford was named the 2025 recipient of the E. Gary Gygax Lifetime Achievement Award.
- The award is presented annually at Gary Con, a convention that is run in memory of E. Gary Gygax, the co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons, and is named after him.
- It recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to the gaming industry.
- Stafford, who passed away in October 2018, founded Chaosium in 1975, a publisher of roleplaying games such as RuneQuest, Call of Cthulhu, King Arthur Pendragon and HeroQuest. He is considered one of the most innovative and influential game designers.
- The award was presented by Luke Gygax, CEO of Gary Con, to Jeff Richard, Vice President and Creative Director for Chaosium, on Greg’s behalf.
- Receiving the award, Richard said this:
- “Short of Gary Gygax himself no one else is so worthy of that recognition. Thank you Luke Gygax and Gary Con.”
Amy Lowe leaves GAMA
https://icv2.com/articles/news/view/59242/people-move-gama-marketing-communications-manager-out
- Amy Lowe, the marketing and communications manager for GAMA, announced her resignation on the 1st of April in a now-deleted LinkedIn post. This was reported on the 4th of April by ICv2, an online news outlet focusing on hobby games and graphic novels businesses,
- GAMA, which stands for the Game Manufacturers Association, is a trade association for the hobby games industry in the United States and owns the Origins Game Fair.
- Lowe’s departure comes just over six months after joining GAMA.
- In her post, Lowe heavily criticised the organisation, calling it:
- “deeply siloed and, in many ways, broken.”
- Lowe cites toxic leadership, gatekeeping and highly unprofessional behaviour and disrespect towards staff and members.
- Describing what she saw, Lowe says this:
- “I witnessed staff roll their eyes at members, members who literally fund the organization. I saw internal dynamics that were petty, power-hungry, and counterproductive. Then came a restructuring that had me reporting to someone who openly disrespected colleagues and talked s#!% about members.
- “I’ve worked in high-stakes environments. I’ve managed massive campaigns. I’ve dealt with complex teams. But I refuse to stay in a place that values ego over impact. So, I resigned, two days into the restructure.”
- In response to queries from ICv2, GAMA Executive Director John Stacy acknowledged recent internal changes and said this:
- “Over the past eight months GAMA has nearly doubled its staff to accommodate for our growing association. We now represent almost 1,700 tabletop game companies in three dozen countries. As part of this growth we have taken a hard look at how our staff was organized and made adjustments to better align with our ten year strategic plan for GAMA to be the epicenter of the tabletop industry. While I disagree with her [Lowe’s] categorization of our staff, we appreciate the brief time she was with us and wish her well in her future adventures.”
- At the time of writing, on the 11th of April, there is no official statement about Lowe’s departure on the GAMA website, bearing in mind that the website’s news section was last updated on the 26th of June 2024.
NSG fires head of product
- Null Signal Games (NSG), the fan-populated company behind the continuation of the Netrunner card game, has recently parted company with its head of product Kevin Tame.
- The reason we know this is that Kevin went to the Netrunner subreddit and posted under the title “I was abruptly removed from NSG without any explanation”
- Kevin starts that post by saying:
- This weekend, I was abruptly removed from NSG without any explanation. I have been with the organization since its inception in 2018, when FFG canceled the game and a group of us started discussing its future in the #future channel on Slack.
- He goes on to lay out his contribution to Null Signal Games and says that he was removed shortly after uploading the final files for the next expansion for the game called Elevation. He says of this timing:
- It was unprofessional, and frankly disgusting
- He goes on to say that conflict has always existed within the organisation, which can happen in companies that attract passionate people. He says that over the last few months, it has gotten worse as people do not feel like they matter or belong anymore.
- Addressing the future of NSG, he says this:
- NSG is not in a good place. Over the past year, two executives have been bullied out and painted as villains. Another is likely to leave soon. Three producers have quit due to unprofessional treatment. Others have been dismissed or left because constant conflicts.
- I cannot pinpoint exactly what has gone wrong, but the organization is at severe risk. I hope NSG survives and Netrunner continues. I love this game and want it to thrive. But both those inside and outside NSG should be concerned.
- In response, Null Signal Games put out a statement on their site and said the following about Kevin:
- Kevin controlled numerous operational bottlenecks and often took on more work than was appropriate. This single point of failure resulted in delays. He refused to delegate, and resisted attempts to modify our structure or processes to solutions that were less reliant on his own contributions.
- Kevin directly operated NSG’s product fulfillment in North America (and was paid by NSG as an independent contractor for this work). This service was plagued by quality issues, and he again resisted initiatives to reshape the program.
- His position was responsible for facilitating EU and UK fulfillment, which suffered unacceptable delays under his leadership.
- Kevin was often involved in interpersonal conflict, some quite serious, with increasing frequency and intensity. This was severely impacting the mental health of many members of our team and their ability to continue to work with him.
- They go on to say that these delays in the run-up to Elevation put the relationship at a breaking point, and that is when they ultimately decided to part ways. At the end of the pos,t Null Signal Games says this:
- At present, Kevin retains admin control of some of NSG’s digital accounts, and remains in possession of approximately $40,000 of unsold product. As of the time of this posting, he has not responded to our requests to hand over the account controls or return said product.
- Kevin, for his part, says he has not locked folk out of accounts and that other people in the organisation have access. He points out he could not have been so easily removed if he had locked people out of the accounts.
Obituaries
Paul Sawyer passes away
- Paul Sawyer, ex-Games Workshop, former Editor of White Dwarf magazine, and co-founder of Warlord Games (amongst other things), passed away earlier this week.
- Last year, he fell suddenly ill at Salute, an annual tabletop skirmish event taking place in London, and was subsequently given a terminal prognosis.
- The following statement is from his family on his personal Facebook page:
- “To all that knew and loved Paul, it’s with a truly broken heart that we must share the news that our beloved husband and father passed away on the evening of March 27th surrounded by the immense love of his family. From the very beginning of his diagnosis, he showed nothing short of heroism with his bravery and strength and that carried through right until the end. We are truly devastated and will feel his loss forever.
- We want to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for the kindness that has been shared with Dad and to us as a family during this cruel battle.
- May he finally rest peacefully.
- All our love,
- Julie, Catherine & Holly”
Jobs, Opportunities, and Events
https://www.facebook.com/groups/TabletopJobs
Goldengeek Awards are open
Go and vote for the things you like
Tabletop RPG Grant
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScWfC5OMFE4woK5ryF9a-fYPlyVP2W4EsZcrez3QPbc11OnBw/viewform
- Ken Lowry is an award-winning RPG designer who operates under the imprint Bannerless Games. Ken has set up a grant to pay it forward as he has been helped out by so many people on his own journey.
- The grant is for $250 to help designers working on projects or setting up a business. Ken is accepting applications up till the end of this month and will announce the winners on May the 14th.
- Ken says he will likely do this again, so do keep an eye out if you don’t get in this time around.
Patreon Shoutouts
Kevin Bertram
James Naylor
Shaun Newan
game-a-lot.fun/en
facebook.com/gamealotboardgames
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Support Us
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Outro
- CMYK is a games publishing company in America who handles the US publishing for games such as co-op climate challenge Daybreak, dog-based dice dandy Spots and Quacks of Quedlinburg.
- They have just announced a TV show based on a game by Wolfgang Warsch, designer of Quacks.
- It’s not Quacks, and it’s not popular guessing game Wavelength either, it’s Illusion, a game where players have to line up cards in increasing proportions of a particular colour.
- The TV show, which CBS is heavily involved in, will swap colours for pop culture items and proportion of colour for a particular orders in order to win cash.
- The show will apparently go out next year in America.
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