In Malaysia, tabletop gaming is steadily growing beyond a niche hobby, bringing communities together through creativity, strategy and storytelling.
From Dungeons & Dragons (D&D), Pathfinder and Call of Cthulhu to modern board and card games, players are discovering experiences that foster imagination, critical thinking and collaboration. However, there has been a lack of local tabletop games, but that is now changing thanks to a few talented people.
Faculty of Fun team, comprising businessman Logan Ghanesh, lawyer Amarveen Malairaja, photographer Ravin Shanmugarajan, and veterinarian Nyanavelan Sivapalan, has had their games stocked up in many tabletop stores across the Klang Valley.
Known for Nasi Lemak: The Game, a card game in which two to five players compete as stall owners, collecting ingredients, sabotaging opponents, and racing to complete five packs of nasi lemak, they have built on their success with Roti Canai: The Game, a card game for two to five players in which participants compete to be the first to empty their hands by completing customer orders based on the roll of the dice, while also using bluffing to outwit their opponents.
“Similar to Nasi Lemak: The Game, the idea behind Roti Canai: The Game is to make something simple and relatable to all Malaysians, at the same time introduce our culture to foreigners who try the game,” shared the 32-year-old Nyanavelan.
If you’re looking for something to play during the upcoming Hungry Ghost Festival, Chinese Flower Card, a cultural card game inspired by the 24 Solar Terms, where players strategically collect flower cards representing different seasons to build the highest-scoring collection. Created by 38-year-old Buddhima Tham, the game has plenty of Chinese cultural concepts that might be familiar to some.
If you’re looking for a Southeast Asian inspired fantasy realm, the upcoming Kala Mandala might be for you. Players work together to overcome challenges and complete objectives as they explore the game’s South-east Asian-inspired world.
But if you’re looking for a family-friendly game, Jom Burger is a dice-drafting family board game inspired by Malaysia’s Ramly burger culture, where players select ingredient dice to create burger combinations. The game aims to indirectly help children with their math and critical thinking skills outside the classroom.
Hate having to travel to the office on Monday only to deal with virtual meetings? HR: The Toxic Workplace Game has you covered. The card game is where four players take on the roles of managers in a toxic company, competing to eliminate each other’s departments by issuing Warning Letters to remove rival employees. This is a great way to let your anger out without a HR warning.
In a world of Cards of Humanity and Dixit, there are local games like these for you to play.
