There are always a contingent of people who say that you should keep politics out of gaming... the problem is that politics affects everything, your games included! There has been no more obvious, on-the-nose example of this than the American Republican regime's intention to put huge tariffs on countries across the world without any seeming rhyme or reason. And this is going to hit everything, tabletop games included.
In fact, one might argue this is going to hit tabletop gaming particularly hard.
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| We're doing what we can, but you need to understand what's happening. |
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What's Happening (And What You Should Be Ready For)
For those who've been living under a rock, the U.S. is currently doing the same thing it did in the early 20th century that was a major contributing factor to the Great Depression... putting tariffs on across-the-board imported goods. A tariff, for those who don't know, is basically an extra tax the government puts on a good imported from a specific country. The company pays that tax to the government, and then (typically), they pass that cost along to the customer by increasing the price of a good.
So if you wanted to get a 12 pack of a particular soda that comes from overseas, and there's now a 10% tariff on that good, the company importing it has to pay the U.S. government that extra cost, and they'll typically just raise their prices to compensate. So if it cost you $5 before, that extra 10% tariff will now raise it to $5.50... at least.
And that's not a big deal for an individual unit, perhaps. But when your inventory is thousands, tens of thousands, or hundreds of thousands of units, that cost adds up. And that tariff has to be paid as soon as the goods come in, and you pay it regardless of whether or not those goods sell.
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| With me so far? Good. |
Now, the stated purpose of a tariff is generally to discourage trade with a particular nation, and to make businesses and customers seek out goods produced in their own country. Given the massive interconnected modern world we live in, that isn't what happens, but that's at least the stated purpose.
The problem, however, is that America is not a nation of manufacturing, and hasn't been for decades. Ever since the 1980s (and arguably earlier), corporations have been moving manufacturing overseas, shutting down domestic operations, and reaping the benefits by paying foreign labor a pittance to make goods they then sell to the American public, pocketing the difference. This is how it's possible at all for us to buy goods that seem ridiculously low-priced. From fast fashion to Wish.com's rock bottom prices, it's a shell game of companies making things overseas for a cheaper cost, then shipping them to the U.S.
And this is where we circle back to tabletop RPGs and board games.
Because practically every part of your games are manufactured overseas and imported. Books, dice, board games, playing cards, and all the little bobs and bits that go into these games are all made somewhere else. And there are two major reasons for that. The first is that companies who make these games have paper-thin profit margins, and so they are forced by necessity to seek out the lowest-cost options possible just to make sure they don't take a loss on their games. I believe my own RPG Army Men: A Game of Tactical Plastic was printed in China because it was the only viable option for keeping costs down.
The second reason is, of course, these facilities don't exist in the U.S. So when there is no alternative for you to turn to, you're just stuck with your costs being blown up astronomically for no real reason by the government, which has the potential to take a bat to the knees of the entire gaming industry.
We're Going To Need Your Support More Than Ever
Making a living in TTRPGs is already hard. Anyone who's watched my series Tabletop Mercenary over on the Azukail Games YouTube channel knows that already. This obsession with tariffs and trade wars is already leaving gaming companies scrambling because even if companies started setting up U.S. manufacturing today for the things we need, it will be at least 5 years (and more likely a decade) before there's even a robust enough sector to handle what it is gaming companies would need to produce.
And, honestly, that's really unlikely to happen. The best case scenario is that we manage to hold out long enough for someone to undo these disastrous decisions, and ensure that the industry can function at least as well as it was this time last year.
Between now and then, though, there's going to be a lot of creators and companies scrambling to stay afloat. And we are going to need you to help us get to the other side of this!
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| As the war bonds posters said... we need you! |
If you aren't sure how to help the companies and creators you like, but you want to make sure we can keep making games for you to play, then consider the following options:
- Purchase Digital Options: Whether you get digital supplements and books, or if you want to purchase 3D printing schematics to make your own minis at-home, putting something in the coffers is going to be key to helping people survive. If you want to help me out specifically, you can find my 191 titles on Drive Thru RPG at this link, or you can check out my Pinboard for them!
- Subscribe To Their Channels and Social Media: A lot of creators and companies make more than just games. So check to see if the people you want to support have podcasts, blogs, YouTube channels, and follow them on every social media platform you can. The more engagement they get, the more views, listens, and comments you provide, etc., the more they will get paid, which will help balance out the hits from the current tariffs. Again, subscribe to the Azukail Games YouTube channel if you want to help me out!
- Donate To Their Crowdfunding: Whether there's a Kickstarter going on, something on BackerKit, or there's a Patreon or Ko-Fi that you can drop some cash into so they can survive one more month, consider getting directly involved. And even if you don't have the money to do a lot right now, use your social media presence to boost signals, and spread the word. And if you're inclined to help me out, I have a Patreon and a Ko-Fi.
Everyone is reeling, and a lot of us are tightening our belts. But if you have the ability to help creators get through this storm, that's the only way they're going to still be making games when we come out on the other side of it. We're all in this together, and escapism is going to be a big part of what is going to help a lot of us maintain our sanity.
So please, help if you can, and understand why things are getting so ridiculously expensive right now. We are (for the most part, at least) just trying to keep making stuff so we can keep you all entertained!
Like, Follow, and Stay in Touch!
That's all for this week's Moon Pope Monday. To stay on top of all my content and releases, make sure you subscribe to my newsletter at the bottom of the page!
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