Go hands-on with Singapore-made board games at Maker Faire

It’s the golden age for board games, and as the gaming form continues its onward march, Singapore is primed to be part of the parade. Besides 2017’s Game Start, nowhere has this been more evident than this weekend’s Maker Faire at Tampines Hub Community Auditorium, where the Singapore Game Makers have come out to play.

The Singapore Game Makers are a collaborative of local board game designers and creators brought together by Card Board Crew, a proudly Singaporean board game initiative that aims to be a driving force for board games in the Lion City. The Singapore Game Makers are made up of a mix of creative individuals (including secondary school students!) with an even more eclectic smorgasbord of games to offer, so no matter your tastes for games, you should have something suitable for your tastebuds.

Throughout the weekend, different games will be featured at the Singapore Game Makers booth at Maker Faire Singapore. For those new to gaming, fret not, for a majority of the games at this event are actually tailored towards tabletop newbies.

Broken Hearts is a light-hearted social game driven by an inspiring origin story that is bound to trigger either laughs or at least give you the possibility of interacting more intimately with that special someone in your group. Rats to Riches is a game popular amongst families for its combination of simple-to-learn mechanics and educational value for economics education. Word Explosion is a funky hybrid of push-your-luck and word-game mechanics that is simultaneously a relaxing party game and also a hardcore challenge for even the most battle-hardened Scrabble enthusiast.

For those who already have procured medals in geekdom, higher-level challenges await. The Artemis Project is a dice-worker-placement game that puts you in charge of your own colony on Europa, a frozen moon of Jupiter, where you have to construct undersea mines and surface outposts through shrewd placement of your dice. Wizard Strike is a simple yet challenging card game that tests both your intuition and strategic skills.

There will also be a table manned by secondary school students from Geylang Methodist who will be showing off the games they invented and developed during a game design workshop run by Card Board Crew. These inspiring creations are testament to the fact that all you need is passion and creativity (and a bit of guidance) to produce fun and unique games that all can experience. There are also DIY Game Creation Kits on sale for those who have been suddenly hit by divine inspiration.

Here’s where I remind you again that these are all games that were designed by your fellow Singaporeans, your friends of friends of family of friends, and they would really love it if you came out and gave their game a whirl. And who knows, you may leave with new ideas and come back next year on the other side of the booth!

Maker Faire Singapore runs from 10am to 5pm on 18 and 19 August 2018 at the Community Auditorium of Our Tampines Hub (Level 3). For more information on the Maker Faire and the Singapore Game Makers, please refer to this link: https://singapore.makerfaire.com/maker/entry/208/