Hello again! I have a few updates. Last week, Best of the Rest was featured at an Indie Board Game Showcase in Chicago! There were 8 indie board games at the event, and attendees got to try the games and chat with the designers. (For those who signed up for this newsletter through that event, welcome! You can read our introductory newsletter here.)
Getting things ready for the showcase!
It was a great time meeting fellow board game lovers in the city. Playing Best of the Rest with people you’ve just met is a fun challenge. Some people are very good at sussing out a stranger’s favorite things. Me? Not so much. But getting to know people through the game always makes good memories.
Two particular memories of mine:
After playing a few rounds next to someone I just met, just knowing that she must love waterfalls (she did!).
Playing with someone at the showcase and discovering that he is much better at guessing my wife’s preferences than I am (😭😭😭).
It was a great event. Hopefully there will be more to come!
The less fun news
As you’ve probably heard, we’re in unchartered waters regarding international trade policy. Most board games are manufactured in China, and U.S. tariffs on Chinese products (in the last two months alone) have increased from 10% to 30% to 145% (more detailed info here).
These trade policies have put enormous pressure on board game publishers in the United States. Many have released statements explaining the potential damage this could wreak on their companies (see here, here, and here). Most will have to absorb the costs, pass them on to consumers, or a combination of both. Others have closed for business or laid off nearly their entire staff. A few publishers have joined a lawsuit challenging the legal basis for the tariffs. It’s big enough news that even the press has noticed. Of course, some companies are less affected by the tariffs than others.
This uncertainty forces small, first-time publishers like me to scramble and re-chart next steps. I’ve continued to talk to some manufacturers in China. One I’ve spoken to has plans to open up production in New Jersey (although I am skeptical on the timeline and how competitive their pricing will be). Another, fortunately, has facilities in Vietnam (subject to a paltry 46% tariff), but the minimum order quantities to produce in that facility are much higher. And some, of course, will just have to weather the storm, forced to eat some of the costs themselves and to expect much less business until things change.
I’ve also been looking into existing manufacturing in the U.S. So far what I’ve found is very, very expensive and not practical. But I’ll keep looking.
Hopefully, these are just bumps in the road. Although this may delay my plans, I’m still committed to getting Best of the Rest manufactured on a larger scale and broadly available. The work continues!
Robbie
If you have any questions or comments, please send them my way. If you’d like to try this game or any of the others I’m working on (there are many), I’m also happy to show them to you online (or in person if you're in Chicago!). Just let me know. And if you’d like to unsubscribe to this newsletter, there should be an obvious way to do that, but if not, just let me know too.
