HARRISBURG, PA — Harrisburg University of Science & Technology’s (HU) Greg Loring-Albright. Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Game Studies & Design, was recently quoted in a USA Today article examining the effects of tariffs and rising costs on the United States board game industry.
The article – “Want a cheap board game night? No dice.” – explores how increased tariffs on imports from China have caused price hikes, reduced production, and financial strain for many board game publishers. Dr. Loring-Albright provided context about the industry’s rapid growth over the past two decades and the pressure it now faces.
According to Dr. Loring-Albright, the US board game industry experienced a “golden age” in the 2000s and 2010s, fueled in part by crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter. By the 2020s, he said, the US market had become “definitely competing and comparable” to Europe’s long-established industry. Market research estimates the US industry’s value at $4.58 billion in 2024, with projections to more than double in the next decade.
But the momentum has slowed as publishers face rising costs – borne in part by US President Donald Trump’s pro-tariff agenda. Speaking about St. Louis-based publisher Greater Than Games, which reduced staff and suspended new projects earlier this year, Dr. Loring-Albright noted: “It’s not like Hasbro, it’s not a huge company. But within the hobby [game community], they’ve been a long-running, well-respected publisher. They were a leader in the 2010s US scene. They were one of the big names to go to if you were a hobby game designer.”
You can read the article here.
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