So many things have been happening over the last couple of months that it’s been hard for me to keep up. I made a basic statement on the tariff situation when they first happened at the start of April.
Osiyo, friends. Not to make this all about Coyote & Crow, but yesterday’s news from the US Gov may have some devastating impacts on C&C Games as a whole. A cumulative 54% import tariff on goods from China will essentially kill my company (and the games industry). Sadly, it’s partially our own hobby’s fault that we’re in the worst position to weather this storm. For years, board games have operated on razor thin margins because many fans are resistant to price hikes. But even with the amazingly generous and awesome folks that support Coyote & Crow, we won’t survive this. I’m not going to ask anyone to “dig deep” or to in any way stretch themselves to support us. We’re /all/ going to be in bad shape in the coming months and years if this plays out like it look like it will. Instead, I’m going to do what Natives always do: we adapt, survive, and carry on. What that exactly means in this situation, I don’t know, but I have ideas and in the coming months, I’ll be working on those behind the scenes. For now, we have a “fair” amount of inventory of existing games here in the US and Canada, we’ll continue working with our digital partners, and we’ll be pushing on with Ahu Tiiko – if nothing else to at least get you the PDF. The fate of the print edition is up in the air for the moment, but I will get back to you and all of the backers as my options start to come into focus. I hope you all are planning for your own situations as best you can. We’re going to need community to get through this. Stiyu (stay strong).
Since then, there’s been layer upon layer of chaos. The tariffs shooting well past 150%, debates over what tariffs apply to what, how long they’ll last, if they’ll change. There’s all of the news coming from places like CMON, Greater Than Games, Diamond Comics/Alliance Distribution and now Polygon. I’ve got friends questioning whether they can stay in business. Companies canceling and delaying Kickstarter launches.
When I spoke about the Changing Face of Coyote & Crow a few months ago, I had some pretty big things on the horizon and lots of things I was shooting for. Some of those, like our consulting arm, my Alien adventure with Fria Ligan, our announcement of Primacy and other things landed successfully. On the other hand, other things, like our new t-shirts, completely fell through. Such is life.
But where does that leave us now? I can’t ignore the current state of the world. But I also have a deep connection to the gaming world and I believe in my mission to bring Native games, ideas, and representation to the hobby. While I have some plans in motion, nothing is concrete yet. It’s possible that I could sell Coyote & Crow. It’s possible that I could let it go quiet while I attempt to get another full time job. There are other options too. Ones I’m working on. I think the key to Coyote & Crow’s survival will hinge on the word “flexibility”.
But let’s get more specific. Lets talk about games and projects here at Coyote & Crow and where they stand.
Ahu Tiiko
Our horror & mystery expansion for Coyote & Crow the roleplaying game is getting close to completion. For the full breakdown, check out our most recent update. Our biggest challenge at the moment is figuring if and how we want to go ahead with a physical print run of the game and how that would all play out in a way that benefits backers, while not bankrupting C&C.
Primacy: A Coyote & Crow Card Game
Our two player, competitive, expandable card game has been on hold while we waited to see what was going on with tariffs. However, I’ve decided to go ahead with the crowdfunding and we’ll launch on May 27th. The game is basically ready to go and I feel confident that one way or another, we can get the game into fans hands.
Of course, the big question is, how will we deal with tariffs. Currently they stand at 154%. I’m not going to cover how tariffs work here or how they affect the game industry. You all can do your own homework on that. There are a ton of articles on it recently. Specifically for Primacy, what I’m going to do is crowdfund as normal. I may be modifying the stretch goals to include somethings like a mobile app version or a browser based version of the game. I’ll decide that over the next couple of weeks as we get closer to launch. Here’s the catch. We won’t know what the actual tariffs are for the game until they arrive in the US from our partners in China. I’m going to do my best to make sure everyone is getting the best deal they can, but in the end, backers will have to help cover that cost. Remember, Kickstarter isn’t a store. It’s an investment. Sometimes they don’t pay off. You’re investing in Coyote & Crow and your dividend is your reward. You can opt not to pay the tariffs. That is your call. If the tariffs are more than I can bear financially, I’ll lose the shipment and all of the money I spent on it. So it’s in my best interest to make sure the game arrives here in the US in a way that is doable for everyone.
And not to get hyperbolic here, but this crowdfunding effort will have a direct and immediate impact on the future of Coyote & Crow Games. We succeed? A way forward. We fail? Things will have to be reevaluated.
Other Games
I’ve got some other games in the wings, like Adela and Skoden!. I want to see those come to light, but at the moment, I’m keeping them on pause. Until we have a clearer production and financing route or another publishing partner, I don’t want to put more money into them.
Final Note: Everything I’ve written here is subject to change at any moment by any degree. Because that’s the world we’re living in. But I wanted to at least give you my perspective as of…May 1st, 2025. We’ll see what May 2nd brings.
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