Games and puzzles posted one of the two biggest category gains in U.S. toys in early 2026. Here is what that means for stores, with new numbers from Games Workshop, IELLO’s new U.S. route to market and a dice maker with 1,200 ways to roll.
By Laura N. Larsson · November 2026 · Facts checked Nov. 1, 2026
Disclosure: This is free editorial. No company named here paid for this article, sent samples or was interviewed for it, and nothing here is a quote from any of them. We have not play-tested these products. Company facts come from each company’s own website or public filings; market and tariff facts come from the sources listed at the end. Everything was checked on Nov. 1, 2026. Some companies named here have advertised with ToyDirectory.com or TDmonthly in the past; that did not affect this coverage.
If your game shelf felt busier this year, it wasn’t your imagination. U.S. toy sales rose 17% in dollars from January through June 2026, and the games and puzzles category grew 45%, according to the market research firm Circana. Only “explorative and other toys” grew faster.
A fair warning before anyone reorders 40 copies of everything: Circana says the growth was “fueled primarily by trading cards, collectibles, and sports-related products.” Pokémon cards are doing a lot of the lifting. Still, the people behind that growth are worth noticing. Circana found that toy sales for adults 18 and up grew 25%. Teens 12 to 17 were the fastest-growing group, up 33%. Together, teens and adults brought in nearly 60% of the extra dollars. Those are the same shoppers who buy miniatures, dice and grown-up party games.
The numbers, January–June 2026
All U.S. toys: +17% in dollars, +12% in units
Games & puzzles: +45%
Toys bought for adults 18+: +25%; for teens 12–17: +33%
Adult-only households: 55% of all toy sales
Source: Circana, Aug. 12, 2026.
Games Workshop: the independent store is its biggest channel
Games Workshop, the British maker of Warhammer, published its results for the year to May 31, 2026, on July 28. Sales to independent retailers (the company calls this “trade”) rose 17.2% to £405.3 million. That is 65% of its core sales, and it was the company’s fastest-growing channel. The number of independent accounts rose by about 1,000, to about 9,100 in 71 countries. In North America, trade sales rose 13.5% to a record £170.9 million.
Tariffs show up in the report too. The company says it paid about £12 million in new U.S. tariffs during the year and expects to pay about £13 million in 2026/27. Retail Gazette reported that the shares fell as much as 6.5% on the day of the warning, even though sales and profit were records. For a store owner, the takeaway is simple: one of the hobby’s biggest makers is putting most of its effort behind independent shops, and it is also flagging tariff costs.
IELLO: a new U.S. distributor after a tariff shake-up
IELLO, the French publisher of King of Tokyo, announced in July 2025 that Blue Orange USA would distribute its games in the United States. BoardGameWire reported that the move came after IELLO’s former distributor, Flat River Group, cut back its hobby game business amid U.S. tariff swings. It also reported that the tariff turmoil made IELLO miss its planned 2025 window for new U.S. releases.
The first wave through the new route was set for November 2025. It included Little Soldiers, King of Tokyo Mindbug, Popcorn and the King of Tokyo Luchador monster pack. IELLO’s press release names Blue Orange’s sales team as the U.S. contact for stores. If you stocked IELLO through its old distributor, check who you order from now.
Koplow Games: the dice behind the games
When games sell, the extras sell too. Boston-based Koplow Games calls itself a full-line supplier of dice and game accessories. Its website lists more than 1,200 standard and polyhedral dice. It also sells pawns, timers, sorting chips, dice bags and cups, and novelty dice. There is a teaching line as well: math operator, fraction, decimal and place-value dice, plus alphabet dice. The company also makes custom dice.
That gives a store two places to sell dice: a bowl of polyhedral dice by the role-playing games, and teaching dice next to the math games for parents and teachers.
Tariff check (as of Nov. 1, 2026)
On July 24, 2026, the U.S. Trade Representative put new Section 301 tariffs on goods from 60 economies. There are three tiers:
10% for economies including Canada, Mexico, India, Indonesia, Malaysia and the U.K.
10% or 12.5%, net of the normal (MFN) duty for certain products of the European Union and Taiwan (topped up to 10% in total) and of Japan, South Korea and Switzerland (topped up to 12.5% in total).
12.5% for the other investigated economies, which include China, Hong Kong and Vietnam.
The duty follows the country where a toy is made, not where the brand has its head office. Some products are exempt; the exemptions are listed in the annexes to the notice.
China relief is not a rate yet. On Sept. 27 the U.S.-China Board of Trade published lists of goods recommended for reduced tariffs, and USTR said the Chinese imports involved include household goods and toys. The White House text says the two sides will “consider” the lists consistent with their own laws and processes. A Covington & Burling trade alert (Oct. 5) notes that USTR must first run a notice-and-comment process, which could take several months. At our Nov. 1 check, USTR had not announced a new, lower rate for toys from China. Other duties can also apply to some products from China on top of the July tariffs.
What to do with this
Shelve for grown-ups, too. Adults and teens are driving the growth, so put party and strategy games where adults shop for gifts, not only in the kids’ section.
Sell the extras. Dice, bags and timers are low-cost add-ons that ride along with every game sale.
Ask about price changes before you reorder. Tariffs follow where a game is made. Ask your distributor what changed on July 24.
Check who you order from. Some publishers have changed U.S. distributors since 2025.
Tariff information is general news, not legal or customs advice. Rates depend on each product’s classification and country of origin; check with a licensed customs broker before you price an order.
Free editorial: No company named here paid for this article.
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Writer's Bio: Driven by a fascination with how young people learn, grow, and connect, Laura N. Larsson has spent years researching the role of play and social media in child and adolescent development. Since 2012, she has combined her ecommerce background with in-depth interviews of children and teenagers, producing insightful articles that explore the evolving interplay between play, communication, and online interaction. Read more articles by this author
Writer's Bio: Driven by a fascination with how young people learn, grow, and connect, Laura N. Larsson has spent years researching the role of play and social media in child and adolescent development. Since 2012, she has combined her ecommerce background with in-depth interviews of children and teenagers, producing insightful articles that explore the evolving interplay between play, communication, and online interaction. 
