Nguyen Thien Toan (in black T-shirt) and Tran Ngoc Tue Man are the authors of "Len Mam" card game

Reporter: Hi Man and Toan! Welcome to VOV! Can you briefly introduce yourselves to our listeners?

Man: Hi Ngan and VOV! My name is Man. I’m 26 years old. I’m an RMIT Marketing Alumni. I’m a full time board game designer and CEO of Ngu Hanh Games Publisher.

Toan: My name is Toan. I’m 26 years old. I’m an RMIT finance alumni. Currently my full time job is Creative Director of Ngu Hanh Games.

Reporter: So you two are  the same age and you went to the same university but learned the subjects which are completely different from board games. When and why did you start becoming interested in board games?

Man: We went to the same high school and university. When we were in high school, we played our very first board game, as I remembered it was the werewolf. But it was not until when we studied at the university  that we started to dig deep into this board game hobby. Later, we graduated, went to work but still kept playing board games with friends. Back in 2018, there was a rising concern of fake board games from China, games that were manufactured without authority from the publisher. We fully support intellectual property. But you know, the authentic games are mostly from the US or Europe, and the prices are pretty high, like from 400,000 VND to over 1 million dong. We want to create a board game that is inspired by Vietnamese culture, which has great quality with an affordable price. We already had some ideas for games and entered a board game design contest before, so we have confidence to create our first game – “Len Mam”.

“Len Mam” is  the very first board game inspired by the lunar year-end’s signature dishes

Reporter: I am really curious about the making of board games in general and “Len Mam” in particular. What did you start with first?

Man: When designing a board game, first we will come up with an interesting mechanic. We believe the gameplay is the soul of the game. In order to win the buyer’s hearts, we need to make a good and elegant gameplay. So during the process of polishing the gameplay, we also brainstorm the topic that fits with the feeling of gameplay. We have a slogan which is “Bring Culture to Board Game”. Both of us agreed that food is one of the best ways to represent Vietnamese culture. We did research and found out there are about 20 Tet dishes across Vietnam. But we can only choose 5, so we decide to choose South Vietnamese Tet dishes . Hopefully, we will have a chance to do the Middle and North version of “Len Mam”.

Toan: In order to create a game there are several steps: deciding a mechanic, developing story, making illustration, and write a rule book. The mechanic will usually be developed by both me and Man. After we agreed on the main mechanic of the game, I will continue to balance and add detail to the game such as: on what condition the game ends, what is the effect of the special card. Man will research and comes up with the topic and story of the game in the time I balance and add detail to the game. After that, I will take care of the illustration for the whole game and Man will write the rule and prepare for playtest.

Reporter: You know what, looking at the cards has already made me hungry because there are so many illustrations of ingredients to make 5 signature lunar year-end’s dishes in the South. Which dish is your favorite?  

Man: “Len Mam” has 5 dishes: braised pork with duck egg, bitter melon soup, tradition rice cake, pickle vegetable, and spring roll. My favorite is braised pork with duck egg. Beside it is truly delicious, the dish has great meaning of harmony of life.

“Len Mam” features 5 lunar year-end’s signature dishes: braised pork with duck egg, bitter melon soup, tradition rice cake, pickle vegetable, and spring roll

Reporter: That’s my favorite, too! Getting back to the game, who can play it and how is it played?

Toan: Len Mam is easy and family friendly. You can play play in a group of 2 to 5 players. In this game, you will get ingredient cards, and together players will take a turn playing card into the center of the table, like putting ingredient to the cooking pot. Your goal is to complete as many dishes as you can to earn points, and at the end of the game, who has the highest points wins the game. The suggested age for Len Mam is 8+. I think it is the best game for parents to play with their kids, or cousin and sibling to play together.

Reporter: As far as we know, “Len mam” has 2 versions. What are the differences between them?

Toan: The first version was released on November 2018 and the second version was released last October. “Len Mam” is Ngu Hanh Games first game and it is also the first game ever has Vietnamese cuisine theme. And because of the culture theme, it attracted international interest. We are currently support a Taiwan’s organization using "Len Mam" as a way to enhance cultural exchange between Vietnam and Taiwan.

Man: Besides adjusting some minor rules which we gathered from player’s feedback, the most improvement of new “Len Mam” is the quality of the game. The box is updated to be stronger, card are lined to protect it from break or water and the illustration is in the next level. We truly think that the quality is no difference from what the buyer can get from the US or Europe.

Toan: We also include an English rule book so that you can buy “Len Mam” as a gift, a souvenir for international friends.

Len Mam's rule books are in English and Vietnamese

Reporter: That’s a great idea! Did you release any other board games in addition to “Len mam”?

Man: After “Len Mam” 1.0, in May, we released “Hoi Pho” - a board game inspired by the city port Hoi An in the 16th century. “Hoi Pho” gets good feedback from the critic as well as casual players because of it refreshed gameplay and has high quality components. Later we get a deal to Fahasa bookstore which is a huge deal for a small company like Ngu Hanh. And last November, “Grain Gear Game” - a Japanese retailer brought “Hoi Pho” to Tokyo Game Market to introduce. This is the first time a board game that was created and manufactured by Vietnamese has joined one of the biggest international board game market.

"Hoi Pho" is another board game created by Toan and Man. It was inspired by the city port Hoi An in the 16th century

Reporter: Wow! I must say I’m very impressed by what you two have done so far. Do you have any plans for the New Year?

Man: We are currently working on the third game and planning to put in on crowd-funding platform Comicola around May this year. And the story behind our third game is "Chu Dau Pottery - A forgotten legend".  When thinking about pottery, most of us think of Bat Trang, but actually there is an old kind of Vietnamese pottery that is famous internationally and having an amazing adventurous story. After 2 small box games, we want to challenge with a more complex, medium box style of game. The gameplay will be a bit more layered but still keep that simple and family friendly feel overall.

Reporter: It has been such a great time talking with you two. As the lunar New Year approaches, we wish you all the very best and we look forward to the release of your new game about Chu Dau pottery!

Toan: On New Year, Toan, Man and Ngu Hanh Games wish all VOV editors and audiences a success and happy year! Thank Ngan for this interview!