KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 17 — Boardgames are a big deal these days, seeing a rise in popularity the world over. Tapping into that, Malaysian outfit Boxfox games has just released its first title in Pasaraya: Supermarket Manager.
Easy to play, cute in concept, Pasaraya is a game with an appeal that extends beyond borders.
The game is what is called a deckbuilder — the mechanics revolving around a set of playing cards, with each player optimising their selection of cards to reach an objective.
Seh Hui Leong is Pasaraya’s game designer who says he was inspired by one of his favourite boardgame reviewers Tom Vasel.
Vasel had mentioned once that he wished he could see a supermarket game and thus a seed was planted.
Leong also drew ideas from the game Trains and its gameplay—which is also card-based.
“I thought there might be some novel ideas I can incorporate (in the game) that could simulate running a business, “ Leong said.
While trying to figure out what to name the game, a friend casually mentioned “pasaraya” — the Malay word for “market” and thus the game got its name.
Leong said, “After all, there’s no shortage of names of foreign city and places in Europe being used for board games, so why not a Malay word that is fun to pronounce?”
The team behind the game is all-Malaysian: Krystine Chia is the game’s graphics designer, Macxell “MeowGod” Lim illustrated, Calvin Wong did the writing with Andrew Lye as production liaison. Leong also credited the game’s multiple play-testers for helping the team fine-tune it.
Easy-peasy, fun for all
Pasaraya is a simple game to play — players are dealt cards and during game rounds, are allowed to pick up more cards to use during their turns.
The objective is simple: make the most money by selling the most goods to be Pasaraya king. You can even play it on your own, but it plays best with three to four players.
Two is possible, but more players makes the game move faster—as a quick playthrough revealed.
Leong says the game is fairly easy to pick up, even managing to teach it to 11-year-olds. Who he truly targeted Pasaraya at were hobbyist gamers who wanted something unique thematically and mechanically.
When asked what his hopes were for the game, Leong said, “I really hope that it sells well and paves the way to more Malaysian games being made.”
What’s next for Boxfox? Leong has his eye on, perhaps, if things work out, a townbuilding game.
To get yourself a copy of Pasaraya, you can enquire at the following local boardgame outfits: Meeples, Boardgamecafe.net, Kohii and All Aboard Community Gaming Centre.
You can even contact Boxfox directly on Facebook to order a copy of the game, which currently retails for RM139.
