Stonemaier Games is Suing Donald Trump

Stonemaier Games, a popular board game company based out of St. Louis, MO, is joining an upcoming lawsuit planned to be filed against U.S. President Donald Trump over international tariffs that company leadership feels put their employees’ livelihoods in jeopardy. The small tabletop company of eight U.S.-based employees, popular for its bird-based 2019 board game Wingspan, is speaking out against the president’s trade actions, and it’s employing other means to stay afloat amid the tariffs.

Founded in 2012, Stonemaier Games is probably best known for Wingspan and similar game spin-offs, Wyrmspan and Finspan. Wingspan and its expansions have won numerous Game of the Year and Expansion of the Year awards, and the base game had sold more than 600,000 copies by March 2021. In 2024, Stonemaier also acquired the rights to Funforge’s Tokaido Japanese world-building game franchise.

Related

Nintendo Switch 2 Price Could Be Hit Hard by Latest Trump Tariff Change

A manufacturing industry firm shares a grim update on how much the Switch 2 could cost in the US due to the Trump administration’s tariffs.

Speaking out on its official website, Stonemaier stated it has joined a multi-plaintiff lawsuit against Trump, which challenges the ability of the office of the president to issue tariffs. Due to the 145 percent tariff on goods coming in from China, for every $10 of manufacturing costs, Stonemaier states that it has to pay an additional $14.50 to move products to the United States from China, which company officials estimate will cost Stonemaier nearly $1.5 million. The announcement does not list the name of the law firm filing this specific suit but states that the suit currently has as many joint plaintiffs as it can handle. The announcement is similar to the stand against tariffs by Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo during Trump’s first term.

Wingspan’s Creator is Suing Donald Trump Over Tariffs

The threat of legal action may already be working. National news outlets today are reporting Trump’s announcement that tariffs against China will come down substantially, with the president hoping to secure a new trade deal. In the meantime, Stonemaier is relying on its roughly 35 percent sales outside the United States and keeping much of its stock in China for now. Raised prices from tariffs are common, but Stonemaier’s statement suggests that company leaders will try their best to avoid price increases, with plans to offer the upcoming exploration game Vantage to customers in the United States with no increase in its planned price but an option at checkout that will let buyers cover the tariff cost on the small business’ behalf.

Tabletop games aren’t the only entertainment industry affected by the Trump administration’s tariffs, as video game publishers have also been taking caution with the U.S. market. Nintendo originally did not announce pre-orders for the United States when unveiling the Switch 2, though those pre-orders are now set to open on April 24. More recently, Square Enix has halted pre-orders in the United States for certain game-related merchandise, citing the tariffs as the catalyst for its decision.