Monopoly Maker Learns US-Made Dice Are a Problem

Monopoly fans might cheer a made-in-America edition, but the company behind it says the patriotic move was no simple one. NPR's Scott Horsley reports that WS Game Company, stung by a seven-figure tariff bill tied to its China-made products, tried to manufacture a special "Americana" Monopoly edition in the United States—and quickly ran into the realities of the modern supply chain. CEO Jonathan Silva says dice ultimately had to be imported, even as he sourced the board, packaging, and custom tokens—cowboy hat, covered wagon, apple pie—from scattered American suppliers.

"We turned over every single leaf trying to find someone who would make 10,000 dice for us in the US," Silva says. "It requires special machinery. It requires investment. And that type of stuff just can't happen on a random Tuesday and be ready in a couple of months." Piecing together the other items from suppliers located in various states took more than a year to pull off, cost at least twice as much as making the game in China, and caused WS Game to miss half of the prime "250th" selling window for the $80 product. Industry experts tell NPR this is exactly why roughly 80% of the toys and games sold in the US still come from China. Read the full piece here.