Counterfeit Board Games and How to Avoid Them

The Game Nerdz "investigation team" tracked down some examples of counterfeit board games to bring attention to the problem. We show off four examples, explain how counterfeiting happens, and tell you how to avoid accidentally purchasing a counterfeit board game.

Chapters:
00:00 - Introduction
00:31 - The Ordering Process
01:22 - Unpacking the Delivery
04:53 - Unboxing the Counterfeits
19:26 - Interview with Tom Wetzel of GPI
26:30 - Final Words

Become a Game Nerdz member and get access to sweet perkz:

#counterfeits #tabletopgames #boardgames

[benlauson]

I grew up in Indonesia - They don't have the same copyright laws. Everything i bought was counterfeit. When I came to live in the US it was such a hard transition paying ten times more for everything haha!

[jokerES]

The worst part is that Amazon has continued to comingle products, so counterfeits keep getting into their supply chain, even after partnering with Asmodee to try to reduce counterfeits.

Also, the Root counterfeit sold in China is amusing. Leder Games showed off a copy that they found, and they went with their own art style for the board and the meeples.

[Licht.von.Stein.]

If you are trying to dissuade people from buying counterfeit games, try not to focus too much on minor aesthetic differences. For a fraction of the cost and just some minor inconvenience, people would still continue to buy. It is sad that this is happening, but if you present a 50% drop if quality but a 95% drop in price(not to mention easily accessible), they would go for the temu stuff.

[Robodob]

Not gonna lie, I would like a small version of Splendor, to carry around when travelling, but not with those paper chips. LOL

[sourround]

Some counterfeits are coming directly from the factories where the real product is made. Once the factory has fulfilled the order from the client, there's nothing stopping them making more copies with cheaper materials and selling them themselves. It's too easy to pull off since they don't have to do any extra work for manufacturing as they already have all of the files from the client.

[ekolozy]

As info regarding Deep Sea Adventure, when looking this up on your website, you have a picture of the counterfeit box as the product image.

[rogue]

This was VERY informative, helpful and a little scary. I appreciate your time making. This and helping the community as a whole. One reason I’ve switched most of my purchases to you guys. Good packaging, good prices, good service and good shipping! Ty!

[shelfhelpgaming]

Wow, my copy of Deep Sea Adventure is Coutetfit, and I had no idea! I looked at my copy to make my guess as to which one was fake, and I guessed wrong. I bought it used and didn't think anything of it. It did always bother me that the dice were off center. I guess that should have topped me off.

[andykaufman]

I got a package from Poland like that but they put little hard plastic (or you could use cardboard) corner pieces over the box protecting the corners and a literal black garbage bag for the wrap which was sealed tight. it worked, as it was heavy duty and was hard to puncture or tear. I got my game without a scratch or dent. I was AMAZED by this. I was like WTF when I got it, but it worked amazing me in the process.

[rulushe]

You say to avoid counterfeits, but we are getting to an age where counterfeits are more affordable, which is sad

[grantfraser]

Wow, hadn't even considered the concept of counterfeit games. Thanks for the heads up with this video. I prefer my FLGS to Amazon anyway but is good to be aware in the event of buying used games.

[barbaramazzocca]

I bought Ticket to Ride Europe and it was counterfeit. The board was warped, the colors of the trains were a little off. I actually contacted the company, sent them pictures and they confirmed it was counterfeit. I also bought a Ticket to Ride Nordic Countries. When I opened it I was knocked back by the chemical smell. I had to let it air out for about 4 months before we could even play it. I have no idea what kind of toxic materials they used in it. The board is actually Zoomed in a little, so bigger spaces for the trains. Bizarre.

[ABlokeCalledDaz]

There's so much wasted space in the normal Splendor box though, I'd be tempted to get the compact version to see if I could get the standard to fit in the smaller box anyway.

[boardgameaddiction]

That "pizza" box made me worry that my copy of Risk Legacy was counterfeit! Thankfully BGG images confirmed that's how the box was designed. I had a similar scare earlier this year when I read some threads on BGG that made me worry I'd bought counterfeits of Pandemic Legacy Season 1 and Season 2. Fortunately, my copies are legitimate.

[nicolascresposanchez]

wow thanks! I never considered counterfeit. They look really fine, and way cheaper! Thanks a lot !

[inoutsoccer]

I actually like that pizza box design 😅.

[kevinpineiro]

Thanks for the amazing content and your wonderful store in Allen and the people that worked there

[minohki]

If you want to see what was under that marker, a little acetone will take it off. ❤ It works wonders on glossy paper. I’ve done with to clean marker off of used books.

[hughjazz]

My copy of the Mind is also counterfeit! The rulebook is a tell, but the card looked very legit

[KradyOnesDeepRest]

Thanks for showing us this. I took all my kids gross board games and told them if it’s worth playing, we will buy the real ones next year.