Wingspan developer Stonemaier Games intends to sue Trump over tariffs

Wingspan and Vantage publisher Stonemaier Games announced on Monday its intention to join a lawsuit against United States President Donald Trump over his new, sweeping 145% tariffs on goods imported from China. For weeks, the tabletop industry has been in a state of panic as the ever-increasing tariffs devastate makers who largely rely on manufacturers in China for printing and to make the pieces that go into tabletop games.

The Trump tariffs, which were announced on April 2, have already caused disruption in the board game industry specifically. At least one company has officially suspended operations, while others — including fan favorite Cephalofair Games, maker of Gloomhaven and Frosthaven — have effectively seen their products trapped overseas. According to Stonemaier, the lawsuit is being handled by Pacific Legal Foundation, a nonprofit law firm that champions “individual liberty,” and which as of 2024 has won 18 of its 20 cases before the United States Supreme Court.

St. Louis-based Stonemaier Games’ co-founder Jamey Stegmaier wrote in a blog post published Monday that the company he founded in 2012 must now reckon with the same difficulties as other tabletop publishers: “We face an unprecedented $14.50 tariff tax for every $10 we spent on manufacturing with our trusted long-term partner in China,” he wrote. “For Stonemaier Games alone (a US based company in which all 8 employees are US citizens), that amounts to upcoming tariff payments of nearly $1.5 million.”

So, the company is joining a larger lawsuit that intends to challenge Trump on the tariffs. “We will not stand idly by while our livelihoods–and the livelihoods of thousands of small business owners and contractors in the US, along with the customers whose pursuit of happiness we hold dear–are treated like pawns in a political game,” Stegmaier wrote.

Stegmaier’s blog originally solicited queries from other businesses impacted the Trump administration’s tariffs, but less than 24 hours later, the law firm had “as many clients as the case can handle.” Stegmaier updated the post to include a form for others to express how the tariffs are “directly damaging” livelihoods, saying that information will be used to “reinforce the case by continuing to gather information from sole proprietors and companies who are directly impacted by the tariffs.”

Stegmaier told Polygon via email that the law firm intends to file the lawsuit later this week. He said he’s unable to comment on the details of the suit or the other plaintiffs until it’s been filed. However, Stegmaier told Polygon that he’d been contacted by “over 100 companies” impacted by the tariffs since the blog post was published on Monday.

Stonemaier Games is also taking other action to mitigate the impact of the tariffs on the business and its customers. Its upcoming game, Vantage, is scheduled to be published later this year; Stonemaier Games has 50,000 units of the game and even more accessories to ship from China “in a few weeks.” Stonemaier Games intends to still send Vantage directly to U.S. buyers, though the price may be slightly impacted.

“I’ve spent too long trying to make this game affordable that I’m not going to let one person with unchecked power get in the way of me serving my customers,” Stegmaier wrote in the post. “The tariffs may have a slight impact on the US price, but the plan is to largely keep our direct price the same and give customers the option to cover the tariff cost at checkout. The plan to release Vantage to US distribution and retail may need a delay–the lack of margins there have a bigger impact on a new game than on reprints.”

Similarly, out-of-stock games will be restocked as planned in the United States. Finspan is currently out of stock, and Stonemaier Games said it’ll absorb most of the tariff costs, which it says “more than doubles” its cost to produce the hit game. The company will also continue to sell directly to other countries, both to consumers and through distributors and at retail. Some stock it intended to send to the U.S. will now be stored in China, with the hope that tariffs decrease before the company needs it.

“Again, these strategies are focused on products we have already manufactured, as the tariffs did not carve out a grace period for such products,” Stegmaier wrote. “We are fortunate to have a buffer at Stonemaier Games to weather this storm, and my heart goes out to the many other small businesses–in the US and beyond–who invested their resources in products that they can no longer afford to bring into the US.”