The Chinese way

The sheer variety of table top games was on display at the Toy Fair, held at Olympia at the end of January. But almost all are produced in China. The publishers point to the difference in cost of production in Europe compared to China as the main reason. 

This was apparent in the escape room board games shown by The Mystery Agency, set up by actor Henry Lewis. It features a padlock or two, perhaps a torch, invisible messages, casino chips along with the printed material, some inserted in envelopes, that come with the game. QR codes link to a website for further clues or hints on how to solve the puzzles. That sheer complexity make this impossible to produce in Europe.

Alley Cat Games, with much simpler card based games, is also tied to production in China through its inclusion of wooden laser cut cat figures. Like injection moulded plastic, the Chinese seem to have a huge advantage in laser cutting. And whenever Alley Cat drops the characteristic cat from a new game, it seems that that game does not sell as well.

That may change as sustainability grows in importance: several companies made bold statements about becoming plastic-free or switching from distinctive plastic boxes to fibre based alternatives for card games. Another declared that “65% of our games are 100% plastic free”. This was Big Potato Games, a games publisher that both develops its own games and works with independent designers and developers. It can receive 365 outside submissions a year, indicative of just how vibrant the market is. Not all are taken on.

Those that pass the first hurdle will receive some design input and will go to testing. The company has an army of game play testers who may be asked to print out the game playing area and components to assess the fun factor in playing the game. These influencers are asked to video themselves playing the game and will perhaps receive a Deliveroo token for a pizza to eat while playing. Reactions and responses are more genuine than in a focus group setting.

The outer box packaging undergoes its own testing with groups asked if they understand what the game is and who it’s for from the packaging alone. Eventually the game is added to the portfolio and can sell upward of 100,000 a year for one of the Big Potato big sellers. All are produced in China.

The exception on the day is Kosmos Thames, the UK arm of a German games producer. “We print in Germany,” says the stand host. “The quality is better than from China and as our games are about quality, we cannot compromise.”

Nor was China the automatic choice for a US game developer. It sought a US printer but failed to find one capable of producing the work, selecting a company from Mexico instead. 

When demand outstripped that company’s capacity, production was only then shifted to China. 

“We are looking for good sustainability, FSC papers so we are looking at more local suppliers, though it is still more cost efficient to produce in China.”

A further factor is around continuity. The card games have a distinctive look and feel, achieved in Europe by printing on linen surface paper and in China by a varnish and with a red colour on the back of the cards. As players can mix decks in the game, this colour should be utterly consistent. It is easier to do this with production in China alone. “But we are constantly looking for new suppliers and if a local printer can be price competitive we will definitely look at them.”