Since 1984, Cincinnati-based Late for the Sky Production Company has been making specialty board games, beginning with MIAMIOPOLY and growing its college-themed games into a catalog covering about 80 major U.S. universities. The company also creates custom games built from a client’s own ideas, images and traditions. Its games are made in the USA at its Cincinnati facility, using domestic components and an evolving mix of recycled and recyclable materials.
Elakai OutdoorBased in Ohio, Elakai Outdoor makes games designed to look at home in a living room, on a patio, or wherever people gather. Its small-batch pieces use materials such as solid wood and hand-poured resin, so natural grain, tonal variation, and artisan finishes give each game its own character. Elakai also creates custom game sets and gifting experiences for weddings, corporate events, and other occasions, and donates 1% of annual sales to environmental organizations.COLDWATER, OH
Evermade, LLCHusband-and-wife team Shaun and Lauren Salzberg run Evermade, a U.S.-based family business that creates award-winning games and puzzles designed to make learning feel like play. Shaun started the company in 2016 with Snippets, a road-trip word game, and the lineup now includes brainy math games such as Proof! alongside illustrated puzzle books and hidden-message jigsaws. Evermade produces its card games and puzzle books in the USA and uses recycled, responsibly sourced materials and vegetable-based inks where possible.
Fun In Games IncFun In Games began when five high-school friends in Boca Raton turned a rainy-day Euchre game into a licensed sports card-game business. Decades later, the company remains known for custom playing cards and helps organizations develop branded projects for wholesale and retail sale.MASON, OH
Doolittle GamingColumbus, Ohio-based Doolittle Gaming is an independent board game publisher founded by Taylor Doolittle. Its first game, Reincardnated, launched successfully on Kickstarter in 2021 and turns players’ incarnations through 60 unique beings into competing Life Lines shaped by Karma and personal Life Purpose cards. The company says it plans to build a broader catalog of games in the years ahead.