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Nguyen Thien Toan
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Ngu Hanh Games is a Vietnam-based board game studio dedicated to creating original games inspired by local culture, folklore, and everyday life. Founded by passionate game designers, the studio crafts experiences that are both accessible and meaningful, blending storytelling with strategic depth. With a growing portfolio of more than 10 titles including highlighted games such as Hoi Pho, Du Ky, Kinh Luoc, Len Mam, etc., Ngu Hanh Games aims to bring Vietnamese creativity to tabletops around the world.
We wanted to create games where players could see themselves, their traditions, and their stories reflected on the tabletop.
Ngu Hanh Games was born from a deep passion for storytelling, culture, and play. As board game designers in Vietnam, we were motivated by the lack of locally made games that reflected our culture, history, or way of thinking. Most games on the market were either imported or disconnected from Vietnamese contexts.
We wanted to change that — to create games where players could see themselves, their traditions, and their stories reflected on the tabletop. Our goal is to solve two key problems:
(1) the underrepresentation of Southeast Asian voices in the global board game industry
(2) the limited access to quality, locally-relevant games for Vietnamese players, especially youth.
By combining accessible mechanics with rich cultural narratives, we aim to create games that are both fun and meaningful — tools for education, connection, and pride in one’s heritage. One of our biggest challenges has been building trust in an emerging industry. When we launched our first game in 2018, the idea of “Vietnamese-made board games” was still unfamiliar to the public, and we struggled with distribution, financing, and visibility.