Asian Board Games Festival (Malaysia) 2025

The Asian Board Games Festival (Malaysia) was held at 1st Avenue Mall, Penang, on 11 - 13 Jul 2025. This was the second time this event was run. I was there last year too. This year it was held over three days, Friday to Sunday, compared to just two days in 2024. This meant more stamina needed. Elder daughter Shee Yun went with me last year to help out, but mostly I did the demos and game teaching. This year she didn't join me, and I looked for local assistants through the organisers.

Four of us travelled together from Kuala Lumpur to Penang - Jon, Nick, Buddhima and I. This was our fresh and energetic "before" shot. We took it so that we could compare it with an "after" shot at the end of the event. 

The event started on Friday, and by Wednesday the tables and chairs had been set up. Exhibitors could start preparing on Thursday. We arrived Thursday afternoon. The event space this year was much larger than last year. The event was held on Ground Floor and First Floor in 2024. This year it was all in one single larger area on Second Floor. 

After doing our setup, we took the opportunity to play some games. This is Jom Burger, the latest game from Specky Studios. This is a light dice drafting game. 

Hiro is a designer and publisher from Kyoto, Japan. We had connected on Facebook some time ago, but this was the first time we met in person. I tried his new game Olenon and was really impressed with the design. I immediately bought a copy and also asked for an autograph. 

Friday morning and ready to roll! (still at full batt) 

This time I had my own little wooden display rack

Helmer (left) is a gamer from Norway. He read my blog on BoardGameGeek.com and my upcoming game Malaysian Holidays caught his attention. That was how we got connected. This was the first time we met in person. He is an expert in Asian culture and history, including holidays and celebrations. 

Giant Trishaw Frenzy

Pinocchio's first public play after launch

My cousin Jackson lives in Penang and came to support me. 

My booth stamp this year featured Pinocchio

“If you lie, you die!”

Group photo Friday evening (courtesy Kee Sit)

Saturday (Day 2) morning and we were already showing some wear and tear

Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves was published last year after ABGF, so it wasn't at ABGF 2024. This year was its first ABGF too alongside Pinocchio. However quite a few visitors had already played Ali Baba because I had distributed it to Penang through retailers. 

The booth of Meja Belakang - one of the most successful Malaysian publishers

Pinocchio in play

This group wanted to play Pinocchio but I still had another group at my booth. I hunted around for an unoccupied table so that I could teach them to play while my assistant taught the other group at my booth. That's why the tablecloth is not red. I use red as my brand colour. 

Thank you for your support! Quite a few visitors told me they had already played Ali Baba before and that they liked the game. That was nice. 

A group of six playing Pinocchio. Pinocchio plays 3 to 7 players. Later this group moved on to play Snow White and the Eleven Dwarfs. When I show people Snow White at conventions, the first reaction is often "how do you get such a game played at a convention?" However I do usually get it played despite the minimum player count of seven. People are attracted by the art, and they come ask whether they can play. When they don't have enough players in the group, I ask them to go grab strangers to play with them, or I try to grab other people passing by. Most of the time we manage to assemble seven. 

I taught Dancing Queen to this publisher team from Indonesia - Whatt Play

I knew Gazelle through a business community. Prior to this we were only connected online. She lives in Penang and came to visit, and this was the first time we met in person. 

We had our lunch + dinner at 11pm, after the end of Day 2

Sunday (Day 3) we had dimsum / yumcha before showtime

Freddie of Ludus / Larong Atin is an industry veteran in the Philippines. I asked for his help to give me feedback on my games Dancing Queen and Pinocchio, in particular whether they would be a good fit for the market in the Philippines. He also bought some stock of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves and Pinocchio to sell in the Philippines, to test the market. Friends in Philippines if you are interest in either of these game titles do reach out to them. 

The biggest gain for me this trip was getting to know many industry players from other countries in Asia, especially South East Asia. I learned a lot from speaking to them, and that's something money can't buy. 

Heng Hee's Papermade Duel made an appearance

Sunday was a very busy day. My booth sales was better than the previous two days. 

This year I engaged several helpers for my booth, so I had the opportunity to go try the games at other booths. Last year I was 100% stuck at my own booth and I didn't get to play other people's games. This year I was able to meet many more people and have good conversations. Getting decent sales is good, but more important is the publicity, marketing, networking, exploring collaborations and opportunities, and learning from others. 

Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves

Over the three days, my booth was almost always fully occupied except for Day 1, which was Friday and a work day. I was lucky to get a booth right at the front. I had a very visible spot. 

BGN from Thailand had a giant poster

Thank you for supporting my game!

At the end of Day 3 I had a game exchange with Play Logue from Singapore

It always makes me happy to see a happy customer, and dayum he looks 5x happier than I am

Nicholas was of the helpers who assisted me at my booth

Tom (小东老师的卓游乐园) from Taiwan brought many fun party games and also showcased a few small and clever abstract games. After trying Coco Boom (爆爆椰) and having a blast I bought a copy. I'll write more about it later. 

Behind the scenes: packing up after 10pm on Sunday

Movers at work

We still looked full of energy, but actually we were all exhausted. I only had 3 or 4 hours of sleep every day. However it was great working together with friends who share the same passion and mission. 

Just to be a show-off, I quickly made this Instagram post after the event. I should have brought more copies. I was pleasantly surprised when Note from Wisebox (Thailand) told me that Snow White is being sought after in Thailand, and he wanted to buy all the copies I had with me in Penang.