Never Be Bored Again with Boarders

Image credit: Boarders Tabletop Games

We have introduced in our earlier post several board/card games someone can give a shot at when at a gathering or a hangout. European board games usually come with a hefty price tag, but with the emergence of board games cafe such as Boarders, not only do they provide a comfortable venue for players to forge (or destroy) friendship, they also give players the option of trying out the the game before deciding to take a game home.


All About Boarders

Boarders is the largest board games café and board game retailer based in Kuala Lumpur. Despite their short history (only 10 months into business), they have established themselves as one of the more popular hang-out spots in the area for locals and students especially from UIAM, TARUC, Dasein etc. Seeing how well the board game industry has developed worldwide especially in recent years, they felt that board games should have a wider audience in Malaysia. Therefore, they strive to cultivate the board gaming interest here and hopefully in years to come, board gaming is more of an everyday thing (casual activity) rather than just a hobby.

Currently, they operate as a café business and allow patrons to enjoy 300+ board games in their ambient place, with a wide selection of light food and drinks available in their menu to go along with the games. Boarders also sell board games in its outlet and online at very affordable prices!

Image credit: Boarders Tabletop Games
Image credit: Boarders Tabletop Games

Getting On Board with Boarders

Board gaming is not entirely new in Malaysia, and there were established board game cafes in the scene such as Meeples European Board Games Café in Subang Jaya which are patronized from time to time. There are also many small board gaming communities throughout their country.

However, outside of the community, there are still many people who did not know about the modern board games. Even if they did, there was this stereotype and negative perception towards gaming as a whole due to the bad influence it brings to the young generation, especially from video and mobile gaming.

“We felt that this is totally underserved because board gaming brings a lot of virtues we do not see in its peers such as face-to-face interaction, sharing, waiting, taking turns etc. which all can improve the social skills of a person. We also have fond memories of playing board games like Scrabble, Monopoly, Uno, Jenga etc. with our parents in our younger days. Unlike the yesteryears, board games too have evolved and now we have far more exciting and mind-blowing games to play such as Catan, Carcassonne, Ticket to Ride, Splendor and it generally suits people of all ages. It is not coincidence that in developed countries like Germany, almost every household plays Catan for example!” Boarders shares with TallyPress.

All in all, they have a lot of passion in board games and after a little careful study of the industry, one day they just decided to give up their working careers and venture into this business for good.

Image credit: Boarders Tabletop Games
Image credit: Boarders Tabletop Games

Boarders Mean Business

Christopher Yong is the person in-charge of Boarders Tabletop Games Café premise, a wholly owned brand of Paxion Trading Sdn Bhd. He is also the business controller of this company. He co-founded the company along with 2 other partners. Their small-business team comprises of partners, and supervisor level staffs at its café outlet.

They take pride in the level of service they provide to their customers. It can be a very tedious and time consuming thing for customers to go through the rule books on their own, and even knowing the rules might not be enough to enjoy the games. As their staffs are well trained (it goes without saying staff training is very tedious), they do their best to facilitate their customers through the sessions as much as possible and the feedback is often very positive. The rate of return customers is something that they take pride in.

They also have many attractive Packages and Theme Nights to suit customers of different needs. From Monday to Friday, they run Theme Nights with various packages and themes such as Ladies Night, Party Games Night, Students’ Night etc. and customers can enjoy their desired games and themes at attractive prices. For Packages they have normal 2-hour Weekday Package, Combo Packages with food and beverages, Student Package and Birthday Packages.

To top it all they also have a Ranked Loyalty Membership program to reward members who spend more hours in their outlet. The higher their ranks are, the more benefits they are entitled to.

Image credit: Boarders Tabletop Games
Image credit: Boarders Tabletop Games

All Aboard Before Taking Off

Games at Boarders are mostly imported from United States, Germany or China. One of the notable achievements so far is that they have been approached by various groups, whether it’s educational, welfare or corporate sectors or even international embassies, to conduct board game sessions or exhibit board games at their events. Boarders feel very honoured by their invitations and it is a testament and faith to their work. They strive to cultivate the board gaming culture in Malaysia. Whether it is creating more exposure and interest, changing the negative perceptions towards board gaming, developing local games etc., they aim to make Malaysia the board gaming hub in South East Asia.

Image credit: Boarders Tabletop Games
Image credit: Boarders Tabletop Games

In the digital era we live in, board games are not a thing of the past, but rather a symbol of what is lost and can be found again if we embrace it once more.

— Boarders Tabletop Games


Click here to check out Boarders Tabletop Games and bring yourself and your friends there!