Russian strike destroys largest board game publisher’s warehouse in Vyshneve: 200,000 boxes burned
A warehouse belonging to Ukrainian board game publisher Rozum was completely destroyed during a Russian attack on the night of 1 August in Vyshneve, near Kyiv. The company lost its entire stock stored at the facility and estimates the preliminary damage at UAH 25–30 million.
Around 200,000 copies of board games were stored in the warehouse. The destroyed products included print runs of popular localized editions such as CATAN, Exploding Kittens, Stranger Things, Who Is on Top?, Club of Amateurs and other games.
According to the publisher, no employees were killed or injured in the attack. However, the logistics centre in Vyshneve burned down completely, meaning the company will have to rebuild its inventory and revise its production plans.
The entire available stock was lost
Rozum said that the destroyed facility contained all of the publisher’s products that were currently in stock. The preliminary loss estimate of UAH 25–30 million may still change after the damage assessment is completed.
The loss of such a large volume of goods may temporarily affect the availability of certain games in stores and delay order fulfilment. This primarily concerns editions whose print runs were stored entirely or mainly at the warehouse.
The company has already warned customers about possible delays but said it intends to restore operations. The publisher is now determining which products remain available through retail partners and which editions will have to be reprinted.
Some games may still appear as available on the Rozum website, but actual stock levels and delivery times may change following the destruction of the central inventory. Customers are advised to confirm the status of an order before making payment.
Which games the publisher produced
Rozum specializes in Ukrainian editions of well-known international board games and also publishes its own projects and games based on popular television programmes.
The publisher’s catalogue includes family, children’s, party and strategy games. One of its best-known localized products is CATAN, the Ukrainian edition of the globally popular board game about building settlements and trading resources.
Rozum also publishes Ukrainian editions of the Exploding Kittens series, games based on Stranger Things and projects created in cooperation with Ukrainian media companies.
The publisher has operated on the market for around eight years and is part of the Factor group of companies. The same group includes the Vivat publishing house, the Faktor-Druk printing company and other businesses.
Restoring the inventory will take time
Even with completed layouts, replacing 200,000 copies quickly will not be possible. Manufacturing a board game involves printing boxes and cards, producing game boards and components, assembling the sets and packaging them.
For licensed international titles, the publisher may also need to obtain approval for new print runs from the rights holders. Some components may be manufactured abroad, which could further extend the time needed to restore inventories.
The full impact on the company’s range of products will become clear after the inventory assessment and negotiations with production partners. Rozum has not yet said when it expects to fully replace the lost print runs.
The destruction of the Rozum warehouse has become another blow to Ukraine’s publishing industry. On the same day, a fire was also reported at a facility belonging to the Kharkiv-based Ranok publishing house, where printed products were stored.
Rozum’s immediate priorities will be finding a new warehouse, restoring its logistics operations and reprinting its most popular games. The company says it does not plan to cease operations.
Based on materials from: Rozum, Forbes Ukraine, Informator
