- United States
- Calif.
- Letter
I’m writing to you not just as a constituent and veteran, but as the co-owner of a small business in Downtown San Diego that’s part of a multi-billion dollar industry now in freefall: tabletop games.
Our shop, Bards & Cards, serves players of all ages and backgrounds with board games, card games, miniatures, and RPGs. We’re a neighborhood fixture, a community hub—and like so many in this industry, we rely on the availability and affordability of printed games and accessories manufactured overseas.
As of April 9, 2025, a 104% tariff has been placed on imported tabletop games and components. That number isn’t a typo. Our entire supply chain—designers, publishers, distributors, and stores like mine—has been blindsided.
This tariff is a death sentence for independent publishers and small retailers.
Let me be clear:
Nearly every board game, deck of cards, set of dice, and miniatures kit we sell is made in China. Even games printed domestically rely on paper, wood, and plastics sourced from abroad.
There is no domestic manufacturing infrastructure capable of replacing these supply chains at scale or at speed.
These costs aren’t hitting China. They’re hitting us. U.S. businesses. Family-run companies. Veteran-owned shops. Creators who now have to either cancel projects, raise prices beyond what customers can afford, or close entirely.
Cephalofair Games—one of the largest independent publishers in the industry—just announced they're looking at a tax bill of $800,000 on a shipment already produced and paid for, before they can sell a single copy. If this is what the big players are dealing with, imagine what it means for the rest of us.
This isn’t about protecting American jobs. It’s wiping out American creativity, entrepreneurship, and community-rooted businesses like mine. The administration pushed this through under emergency authority—but you and your colleagues in Congress have the power to challenge, delay, or reverse this disastrous overreach.
I’m asking you to stand up for California’s creative economy, our small businesses, and the thousands of livelihoods tied to the games we make, sell, and love.
We need action. We need your voice. We need you off the sidelines.
Thank you for your service and for listening to those of us trying to hold the line.
