Your Trusted
Board Game
Manufacturers
in China
Hero Time is a leading board game manufacturer in China. Founded by Hersh Glueck in August of 2019, we’re the first foreign-owned enterprise in China to deal exclusively with manufacturing board games and card games.
Learn More About Our Board Game Production in China
Hersh started Hero Time after realizing that the board game manufacturing sector is not very transparent or efficient.
Hero Time was founded to change this status quo and provide a platform for you to access all the information and assistance you need while making your board game.
Many great game creators and publishers find manufacturing and logistics challenging. At Hero Time, we make sure it’sEasy, Right, and Affordable,so you can focus on selling your games instead of worrying about making them.
Since childhood Hersh was a board game fan, playing various games with his three brothers and sisters. Hersh has been living in China since early 2015.
After his brother created his game Zaberias and faced challenges with manufacturers, Hersh decided to open Hero Time and make board game manufacturing accessible to all.
Below, you can find out more about our board and card games factory, how we work with you throughout the process of making your game, as well as what you should know about making your board game in China.
We’ll cover topics like:
- Why certification is so important (as well as our certifications and safety tests).
- Why you should manufacture your board game in China.
- Common risks of using a China board game manufacturer.
- How we solve these problems to ensure you have great results.
About Our Board
Game Factory in China
Our modern, eco-friendly factory is located in Yiwu, China in Central Zhejiang Province, about 1.5 to 2.5 hours from Shanghai. We use eco-friendly manufacturing techniques and state-of-the-art machinery to help you make your game on time, to the highest possible quality standards, and while limiting the impact of the production process on the environment.
Our Certificates
Approved by:
Disney FAMA Certified
FAC-115925
- ISO, ensuring our management and machines function at international standards.
- FSC, ensuring our materials are fully FSC-certified and environmentally friendly.
- BSCI, ensuring our workers are treated with respect, paid fairly and cared for.
- Worldwide safety tests, ensuring our factory and products are safe and compliant.
- Strict internal quality control, ensuring your game is made to the highest standards.
We Own Our Factory
Unlike other manufacturers, we completely own our factory, which means you stay in control of everything throughout the manufacturing process. We also work exclusively with experienced full-time manufacturing employees, not part-timers, and pay our team high salaries to ensure they’re happy at work and give your game all of their care, effort and attention.
Safety Standards and Quality of Life
Hero Time implements strict safety standards and ensures our team has a great quality of life. This process lets us deliver great quality games on time and build lasting relationships with our publisher partners, like yourself. Above all, it lets us fulfill our mission: to make board game and card game manufacturing easy for all.
Why You Should Make
Your Board Game in China
Manufacturing your board game in China offers numerous advantages, from competitive prices and higher efficiency to the ability to effortlessly ship your game to a huge network of fulfillment centers and warehouses around the world.
China is often referred to as the “workshop of the world,” and for good reason. Millions of unique products are manufactured in China per year, from advanced industrial equipment to consumer electronics, household items, toys and more.
As a board game creator, manufacturing in China gives you several big benefits:
- Lower machine costs. Many machines used to make board games are manufactured here in China. This allows us to purchase the same machinery as our competitors at a lower price due to no need for international shipping, duties and installation fees.
- Materials are made here. Many of the materials required for your game, such as paper, cardboard, wood, plastic and others, are produced locally in China, allowing us to source these materials for your game at the best possible price.
- Your game will be completed faster. China’s economies of scale allow for incredible efficiency, letting you produce your game faster and enter full production in a shorter amount of time.
- You can create more components. Because China has so many suppliers for small parts, materials and other necessary items for board game production, you have total access to any possible component you need for your game.
- Lower factory costs. Costs such as rent and building space are lower in China than in the EU or US. This reduces the overhead cost for a manufacturing company and means you get more competitive pricing on your board game.
- Lower labor costs. Believe it or not, lower labor costs are not the reason manufacturing in China is so cost effective. In fact, many countries with cheaper labor than China can’t match Chinese manufacturing prices due to poor infrastructure or machine availability.
However, labor costs are lower in China than in the US or EU, and this allows you to get a more competitive price on your board game. We pay all of our workers above-market rates to prioritize focus, quality of life and help us retain highly skilled staff. - You can easily ship to all countries. As the world’s #1 manufacturing location, China has excellent shipping services, allowing you to send your games directly to fulfillment centers in the United States and other locations worldwide.
Risks of Manufacturing
Your Board Game in China
Manufacturing your board game in China has a lot of potential advantages. However, there are risks to manufacturing in China, and it’s important that you, as a game creator, are aware of these risks and what can happen when things go wrong. At Hero Time, our #1 goal is to make sure the process of creating your board game is a smooth and successful one from start to finish. However, we understand that it’s natural to look at all of your options when it comes to creating your game.
When you’re assessing board game manufacturers in China, be on the lookout for the following common problems:
Lack of Communication
Many China-based manufacturers have a hands-on sales process to close the deal, but offer poor communication while actually manufacturing your board game or card game. This lack of communication can lead to lots of issues, including a difference between the game you thought you were ordering and what you actually receive. It can also result in disputes on pricing, materials and how your game will be shipped once it’s finished. To avoid this problem, look for a manufacturer with an established track record, as well as a history of good communication with customers.
English Language Barrier
When you’re making thousands of copies of your board game, you don’t want critical details to get lost in translation. Many board game and card game factories in China try to provide service in English, but don’t have a high enough English level to fully understand your needs. This can result in unclear or confusing communication and, in many cases, mistakes in your finished product. To avoid this problem, make sure that you’re working with English proficient staff who are directly involved in managing your game’s production. Our creator assistance staff have direct contact with our production team throughout the entire process of making your game.
Low Quality Materials
The right materials can make or break your board game. It’s essential that your game board uses the right cardboard, that your cards use the right card stock and printing method, and that your meeples, dice and other components are made using the correct materials and manufacturing techniques. Unfortunately, many manufacturers take advantage of the complexity of this process and select cheap, low quality materials to use during game production. To avoid this problem, make sure you understand the exact materials you need, or work with a manufacturer who will clearly explain the necessary materials to you.
Low Salaries & Low Employee Satisfaction
Unfortunately, many game factories pay low salaries that, expectedly, result in unhappy, poorly motivated employees. This not only produces a poor working environment with unmotivated, unhappy employees — it can also result in lower quality output for you as a board game creator. To avoid this problem, ask any company you consider about their employee satisfaction, work environment, and employee compensation. We offer significantly above-market compensation, a personalized management approach, and treat our employees as friends and partners.
No Accountability for Issues
If something goes wrong with your game, who can you trust to fix the problem? With many game manufacturers, there’s no one to bat for you if there’s something unexpected with your board or card game, its packaging, or any other part of the process. To avoid this problem, we work with you throughout the game design, development and manufacturing process to make sure everything is where it should be — with sample issue reports, production updates and detailed quality control so you know what’s going on as it happens.
