SHE grew up enjoying games, especially Boggle. When Goh Choon Ean was introduced to Carcassonne, a beautiful and clever tile-laying board game by a friend in 2011, she was immediately hooked on board games.
By 2017, the videographer had developed a passion for designing board games.
Her persistence and dedication led her to the release of her first board game, Kaki Lima (Five-foot Ways) in 2019 under her creative studio, LUMA. This was followed by Bansan (The Anything-Also-Got Market) in 2023 and Kaki Lima Downtown Kuala Lumpur in 2024.
“I remember the thrill I got from playing Carcassonne, my first modern game. The game was about building the French UNESCO city of Carcassonne, where they have castles and so on.
“Unlike Monopoly which depends heavily on luck, Carcassonne requires strategic thinking and resource management. It was exciting, and I began to play more games thereafter,” recalled Choon Ean, 52.
Explaining her creations, Choon Ean said Kaki Lima is a light strategy game about pedestrians navigating five-foot ways, a typical scene in George Town.
Bansan, as the name suggests, is about a local wet market. Players are vendors renting stalls, stocking and selling produce from the wholesale supply. They can also buy produce from other vendors to fulfil orders at the market’s hawker food court, with the goal of earning the most money to win the title of Bos Bansan.
“Through my work at Arts-Ed, an NGO, we brought secondary school students to Chowrasta Market to observe the local wet market system.
“This inspired the game Bansan, highlighting the relationships between vendors and wholesalers.
“The students who participated in the programme learned to value the hard work of the market vendors, like the uncles and aunties who must go out early to set up their stalls, and yet can put their kids overseas to study,” Choon Ean explained.
Kaki Lima Downtown Kuala Lumpur was created in collaboration with Taylor University, which included Kaki Lima in one of its stories in a book last year. This version of the game focuses on the lively activities in downtown KL, offering a vibrant contrast to the nostalgic George Town.
Besides her creations, LUMA also produced Trishaw Frenzy, designed by Ewe Boon How, and Petal Plotters, designed by Evan Cheah.
Trishaw Frenzy features illustrations by Yuki Koe Gaik Kee and takes players on thrilling journeys through George Town.
Petal Plotters, illustrated by Rebecca Duckett-Wilkinson, the founder of Tropical Spice Garden and a renowned artist, involves animals at war in the garden, where players choose to attack or defend the place.
To learn more about the games, the public is welcome to the Asian Board Games Festival Malaysia 2024, held in partnership with George Town Festival (GTF) at 1st Avenue. The festival runs today and tomorrow from 10am to 10pm and offers a Play Passport, granting exclusive access to hourly lucky dips and game discounts.
As the organising chairperson, Choon Ean shared that the festival features 30 booths showcasing over 50 games. About 17 local designers will be present, offering plenty of fun for board game enthusiasts.
Attendees can look forward to newly-released games such as Chock-A-Block, Cube Melt, Furmation of Rome, Kabuki Tricks, , Knights & Rebels, Makan Mania, Pantheon War Olympus, Petal Plotters and This Is My Card.
They can also try upcoming games like Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, Alkisah, Amazed, Campy Campers, Elemana Chronicles, Germ Attack, Jakarta Traffic, Jom Burger, Onstage, and Overparked.
“The Thais and Singaporeans are very much ahead of Malaysians in the board game culture. It is a nascent industry here, and I hope that by bringing the Asian Board Games Festival Malaysia to Penang, more Malaysians will embrace it and further develop the industry. I hope to have a bigger event next year.
“Many families here think board games are for kids, but they are for grownups too,” Choon Ean said.
This year, LUMA will participate in various overseas events, including the Taiwan Original Boardgame Expo (TOBE) and Spiel, the world’s largest board game expo in Essen, Germany, on Oct 3-5.
“I am really excited about Spiel as hundreds of thousands of people will attend. It’s very expensive, and we are seeking funding to promote the five creations published by LUMA.
Choon Ean’s favourite Malaysian designer is Faris Suhaimi, who often pitches to overseas publishers. Faris is showcasing his prototype, Amazed, at the ongoing ABGF.
“He makes pretty complex games, more complex than mine, but he makes everything work well together and fun. His first published game, Philharmonix, is on Kickstarter,” Choon Ean said.
As a designer and publisher, Choon Ean has faced product design, art, printing, logistics and marketing challenges.
She has joined the Table Top Game Designers of Malaysia (TTGDMY) group, which has about 2,000 members on Facebook, to exchange ideas and playtest games.
“They are really helpful and we regularly playtest each other’s games to improve. Since 2017, I have made many friends who are board game designers,” Choon Ean said.
Story by K.H. Ong
Pix by Alissala Thian
