"Tariffs and Boardgames" Topic

Be careful of any [my emphasis] reporting which takes a political tone

Good advice, Parzival. I ignore them all, as a matter of principle. Principles are something that all media and commentators seem to lack, these days.

For me, it's more about being on my guard and discerning where bias or emotional language arises, and whether due diligence has been done in researching, interviewing, canvassing, etc.. whatever the topic is. If they go to one "expert," or go to online statements made by "Joe Public", or don't bother to seek out alternative or opposing views, I treat it with caution. I can still learn from it, but I must consider what may be missing.

I can still learn from it, but I must consider what may be missing.

You have more patience than I do. Here the media is highly politicised. I still watch the news, even though the ABC (Oz, not US) is notoriously biased and will doctor video evidence ("Sorry, we accidentally added extra gunshots and quoted the witness out of context so it seemed he was criticising the people we're trying to disgrace, but it wasn't done on purpose" *) to support their claims.

The commercial media are no better. Sometimes the BBC or US PBS seem to give a more accurate/pertinent report than our media.

* link Independent review? Very ing unlikely. Not one reporter or editor was sacked, or punished in any way.

Beware of PBS. It is notoriously biased, and has been for decades. Its "news" is intended to make wealthy liberal donors feel "safe" and "intellectually elite." Has been ever since they lost William F. Buckley, Robert McNeil, and finally John McLaughlin. Yes, Buckley and McLaughlin were very much conservative, but they were public and above board about it, and did not expect you to take their word for anything. Today we're supposed to believe that clearly biased and partisan hacks are "objective" journalists and that everything they say is the unvarnished truth and anyone they attack are Nazis.

The age of unbiased journalism in America died with Tim Russert.

The bias is discernible, mate, and it's no different to the other news organisations, even the BBC. You can judge the quality of our media by the fact that they carry less reliable news than your PBS or Fox. Plus "our" ABC has been caught out falsifying a story, again- I'll let you pick your preferred media report:

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Why they did it- to increase controversy over the new work at the War Memorial link

As I keep saying- Lies, Damned Lies, Statisticians and journalism (it doesn't deserve a capitsal letter).

Spot on.

"Journalism" is a fancy word with no real meaning behind it, and certainly separate from its origins. A journal at one time was nothing more or less than the record of a journey. Anybody with access to recording device— be it pencil and paper, computer, tape recorder, camera, etc.— can do a journal.
There is NO objective standard for what makes someone a "journalist."

Freedom of the Press is NOT a reference to a certain branch of media that declares it is reporting "news." It's a reference to a device— a printing press. Convention has extended that reference to any device capable of mass producing written, audible, or visual product. But that's all it means. Freedom of the Press is open to literally anyone; it is not just reserved for the self-described "journalists" or "reporters." The guy handing out leaflets he made on an ancient mimeograph is protected by Freedom of the Press as much as some waxy-haired pundit expounding on the nightly news. It's not their freedom, it's ours. Indeed the term "the Press" didn't become common as a term for newspapers until the 1920s— which is when they also began declaring themselves the Fourth Estate, though no such grand division is considered in any legal fashion, nor even truly culturally.

So, yeah, I take all such swelled-heads with a big grain of salt.

grain of salt

More like a shovelful.

I agree with you, mate. When pollies, journo's and self-appointed "experts" start criticising Aussies for being "too cynical", they're forgetting that cynicism is a reaction to their own, or their predecessors', breakings of trust.

Perhaps we should revert to using journo's old, and more accurate, job description- "Gossip mongers"? If it catches on, mate, we may even reap the benefits of apoplexy in the news rooms.

Returning to the tariff thing, I received an e-mail today from Troll Lord Games (publishers of Castle & Crusades and other games) discussing their situation with regards to the tariff… and the gist is, they don't have one, because they make their game books and game accessories in the USA. This includes rulebooks (both paperback and high-quality hardbound), cards, game screens, etc., etc.. They contract with multiple US printers, and have their own internal print shop in Little Rock, Arkansas. And all their paper and ink are sourced within the US as well. Indeed, the only thing not made in the US of A is their dice— and they're working on that.
They made this commitment decades ago, both because it was less stressful and didn't put them at the mercy of overseas production and governments, allowed them to support local businesses, was patriotic, and didn't cause the environmental concerns of overseas shipping or nations that don't actually have responsible environmental practices— as China notably does not.
So they expect little to no impact from the tariff situation, for themselves or their retailers, at least with regard to their products.

So what does this tell us? It tells us that claims that game companies can't make gaming product in the US are either misled or misleading. The printing capability is here, the machines are here, the raw materials are here… it's all here. A company just has to make the effort to find it and use it. (TLG uses printers in several states, so it's not just a local thing, either.)

In any case, I would advise concerned retailers or small game publishers to contact the Department of Commerce to find out what exemptions might be made for their wares. (Yes, call them up. They work for you.) After all, as observed earlier, the point of the tariffs isn't about games or minor products— it's about essential and high tech/high dollar goods— automobiles, heavy equipment, computers, electronic devices, semiconductors, pharmaceuticals and other products not only crucial to the US economically but also strategically— it is extremely foolish to allow our medicines and communication devices be subject to the control of any foreign power, especially a potentially hostile and indeed actively belligerent one. In the face of that, a comparative handful of plastic or metal figurines is hardly either significant nor even worthy of notice. Nobody wants to hit the toy industry. Though maybe making the things in the US isn't such a bad idea… it certainly isn't for Troll Lord!

I'm not surprised, mate. There's been a lot of politically- and business-driven comments, claims and counter claims being made across not just the US, but the rest of the world. Some of it is driven by the gossip mongers, who want to sensationalise everything to build ratings/clicks/newspaper sales- generally so they can increase advertising revenue. Not much of it seems to be too accurate, something the new president and his staff seem to be playing on.

I'd have been surprised if printing had shut down in the US. There's always a need for wedding and other gathering invitations, restaurant menus, merchandising flyers, etc, that need to be available quickly and in relatively small numbers- where getting the job done in SE Asia is not a viable option to consider. Add that into the large board wargame presence (CoA, GMT,Decision, etc), which generally gets its maps and rules printed in the US (I'm not sure about the counters) and there had to be a reasonable number of good quality printing businessess still in business.

As I said earlier, it's the injection-molded plastic which is probably the biggest problem for low run gaming production (as our niche version of the game market is). But there are several US based firms that do it; I just don't know enough about these to know if they can handle the comparatively low batch numbers that a typical small game company would expect. Hasbro, sure, should they decide to return production to the US (not an impossibility). But for little guys that could be a stretch. Or not— again, I don't know on this one, and am fine with admitting it.

Neither do I. Revell and Monogram used to have two (from memory) big injection-moulding factories in the US, and there's still one working in NY. What the capabilities are, and whether they'd take on short-run jobs, would be the question.