As Trump Moves Tariff Pieces Around the Board, Tabletop Games Face Calamity

I've been playing board games for decades, from crowd-pleasers like Settlers of Catan and Sushi Go to King of Tokyo and Descent -- and in recent years, I've seen them show up in even my most mainstream social gatherings. In a world overrun by digital screens, tactile games are a novelty that gather people around a table rather than in tiny squares on a Zoom call. With bold, vibrant art styles and creative pieces to play with, tabletop gaming has expanded beyond mainstream favorites like Monopoly and Settlers of Catan with ever more intriguing games like Gloomhaven and Hive. It's these physical components that set board games apart, as their makers think up creative scenarios that players engage with using well-designed pieces. Picking up and moving these parts around is core to the magic of tabletop games, of ideas rising out of the board and fitting in players' hands. But the Trump administration's tariffs are crashing hard into that domestic scene, with dire financial consequences ... Read full article.