nPips
Tactics in every turn, strategy in every choice
What is your name and day job?
(Faculty of Fun consists of 4 individuals) I’m Logan, I was a doctor, and now I’m trying to venture into various businesses. The main business I’m focusing on is medical supplies. I’m Ravin running my own gig as a professional photographer, I’m Nyanavelan, a veterinarian and I’m Amarveen, ex-doctor as well and currently in my journey to become a medicolegal lawyer.
What is your boardgame company/brand and how long has it been?
Our company name is Faculty of Fun, and our first game is Nasi Lemak. Faculty of Fun was established in 2021. We thought the name was fun and we wanted to do tabletop games, so we just registered the company. Ravin, who is my childhood friend, came from an advertising background. Through him, we hired a brand consultant, and both of them worked together. With Ravin’s creative direction, they came up with the logo, the colour, and the meaning of our brand.
Designer Logan with his game Nasi Lemak The Game
Faculty of Fun team
How long have you been gaming?
I (Logan) started gaming around 2018. During our final year exam, when we get too stressed studying, we would find some time to relax by gaming. One of the games we played a lot that time was Coup: Reformation. After my medical degree while waiting for my housemanship, I did some research and bought Catan. I was amazed and intrigued by its design, I even bought the expansions.
Nasi Lemak The Game
What was the first game you designed?
Back then Amarveen, who was going to be a lawyer, came up with an area control game about gangsters. After playtesting it for a bit, we felt that the theme was too heavy for the mechanics. It didn’t do justice to the theme. So we converted that game into a business themed game. We have a fully functioning prototype, and this was back in 2021. However, we felt that it was going to be really hard to sell in our country, so we decided to put it aside for now and scale our game down.
What was your guiding principles in designing Nasi Lemak?
After putting aside our first game, we brainstormed to design a simpler game. Our guiding principles in creating Nasi Lemak were a game that is simple to learn and something everyone can relate to. One thing we are committed to as a brand is that we want to produce all of our games in Malaysia. It is easier to do so when your games are simpler.
When did you decide to publish your games and start your own brand?
A big part of it was our group dynamic, we were all jobless, and we needed to do something with our time. We need a product to sell, so that was the push that made us publish our game. Luckily, now we all have our own stream of income, so this is now our hobby business.
Faculty of Fun demoing Nasi Lemak The Game in Asian Board Game Festival Malaysia 2024
Photo Credit: Kee Sit
What challenges did you face before publishing?
Getting the game out, it took us 2 years to get Nasi Lemak into the market, and we started doubting ourselves if this was actually going to work.
What challenges did you face after publishing?
Our first batch of games had a lot of problems. The 4 of us actually checked each and every deck of the first print run. We spent nights removing all the errors, and they were replaced by the printer. From the 2nd batch onwards, we made sure the printer’s QC was good.
What is the most negative comment you have received for one of your games?
“This is not a strategic game." We received this comment from a gamer. Well, this is not a strategic game to begin with, it is a fun party game. With that said, we did make sure that the game is well balanced, not one card is overpowered.
Faculty of Fun's booth in Asian Board Game Festival Malaysia 2024
Photo Credit: Yoke Ping
What is the most positive comment you have received for one of your games?
Everyone loved the game. They didn’t say it in words, but through body language, we can tell everyone enjoyed playing the game.
What is Faculty of Fun next step forward?
We are actually quite pressured now. It has been more than 1 year since we released Nasi Lemak. We are always planning to produce a new game, but it is difficult. Before this, we were just a bunch of random guys trying to make a new product, now we have the pressure of people comparing our new game with Nasi Lemak. We have a couple of prototypes, and of course we have that completed prototype that is not cost effective to produce.
1 tip you would give new designers.
In terms of business, price point. The feedback we received from retailers is that the price point of our games is very important. In terms of creativity, finish what you start. If you jump from idea to idea, you will end up not finishing anything. At least get a functioning prototype working.