China

I might have a Kickstarter problem. I went to all the campaign pages for the games I haven’t yet received to find out how tariffs were affecting them.

It’s that time of the month when I pull out the old atlas and scour the world for my Kickstarter projects! Where could they be this month??? Let’s find out together! Star Scrappers Orbital First up is Star Scrappers Orbital, a game designed by the same fella that designed Terraforming Mars, a game that we have had hundreds of hours of fun playing – it’s right up there with the top board games I have ever played, and a purchase I never regret. It’s described as an “engine building, worker placement” game, which only means that it’s made in Europe, where they love that kind of stuff. This game is being shipped to me from Portugal, and is currently sitting somewhere in a warehouse in Köln, waiting for a jet to the USA, I assume. It’s scheduled to arrive next week, sometime. ...

Spoiler alert: They’re in China. Last week, game developer Todd Walsh and publisher Mike Gnade held a live preview of their new game expansion, “Set a Watch: Swords of the Coin”. During the Q&A session afterward, they expanded on how difficult it is to print games with lower print runs or custom components in the US or the EU. So, everyone goes to China. But with world shipping in upheaval, getting the games from China… that’s an issue. Rock Manor Games had to do a Go Fund Me (it was some other fundraising site, but same diff) to raise money to get the games out of China. ...

It’s just gotten worse with time. The Kickstarter you were so excited for funded! YAY! The creators are as excited as you are, and they are showing every bit of the process and you just can’t wait to get your hands on what you funded and start playing the incredible game or whatever. Perfect Christmas present! Gonna be a hit at Game Night! And then… and then your game is put on a slow boat from China. You don’t know where it is or when you’ll get it. Why do you do this to us, creators? Can’t you just make it in the USA or Europe? ...