Board Game Maker Proves U.S. Manufacturing Still Works

A board game company just proved you can make things in America again, even if the journey takes patience, creativity, and a willingness to settle for imported dice.

Jonathan Silva, CEO of WS Game Company, faced a seven-figure tariff bill last year after importing his premium board games from China. Instead of just paying up, he decided to try something bold: manufacture a special 250th birthday edition of Monopoly entirely in the United States.

The experiment almost failed before it started. Silva spent months searching for someone to make just 10,000 dice domestically, but the specialized machinery and investment required simply didn't exist here anymore. He eventually had to import the dice, but refused to give up on the rest.

What happened next tells a hopeful story about American manufacturing's hidden strengths. A former Hasbro factory in Massachusetts stepped up to print the game boards. Pioneer Packaging created the money trays. A small Indiana business called Stateline Industries crafted custom metal game pieces shaped like cowboy hats, covered wagons, and apple pies.

Each partnership took time to build. Silva needed over a year just to coordinate all the different suppliers, missing half the birthday celebration selling season. The manufacturing cost ran at least double what China would have charged.

The Ripple Effect

Silva's journey revealed something important: American manufacturing isn't dead, it's just different. We haven't built the integrated factory ecosystems that China spent decades creating, where one facility can produce everything from dice to game boards under one roof.

But we do have skilled craftspeople, functioning factories, and businesses willing to take on challenging custom work. The Indiana company that made those apple pie game tokens now has a reference project showing what they can do. The Massachusetts printing facility proved it can still compete. Each connection Silva made strengthened a small piece of America's manufacturing network.

The toy industry isn't ready for a complete transformation. With nearly 80% of U.S. toys made in China and razor-thin profit margins, most companies are lobbying for tariff exemptions instead. Greg Ahearn, CEO of The Toy Association, questions whether anyone would invest serious capital in domestic toy manufacturing when so many better opportunities exist.

Silva agrees, at least partly. He's still making his other board games in China and has $6 million worth of inventory shipping for the holidays. But his Made in USA Monopoly game exists, retails for $80, and proves the possible.

"We're really good at a lot of great things here in America," Silva says. "But we're not really great at making certain items that are consumable goods. And that's OK."

Sometimes progress looks like accepting what we do well, supporting the manufacturers who remain, and proving that with enough determination, you can still build something meaningful in America.