While the world has been swept up in the technological wave of digital games in the 21st century, there are those who believe “old-fashioned” board games still have their place for entertainment, including in Indonesia. Among them is Manikmaya Games, an Indonesian-themed board game publisher based in Bandung that wants to popularize the games in Indonesian society.

Business manager Andre Dubari says the idea for the company came from his visits to Kummara, a board game café located in the West Java capital, in 2009-2010. He noticed that among the 200 board games there were several foreign ones, mostly from Germany, with Indonesian themes and bearing Indonesian place names.

“All of the board games’ content was very closely tied to Indonesian local content, but even though the gameplay was impressive and intense, it was a pity that they were very weak and shallow in exploring the theme of Indonesia,” he said in an email interview.

However, the Indonesian-associated games made him aware of the considerable interest in Indonesia abroad, along with the limited information on the nation’s culture.

“It became part of the foundation to establish a board game publisher in Indonesia with a commitment to publish board game titles that explore local Indonesian content.”

In 2011, Kummara was transformed into Kummara Game Design Studio with a focus on Serious Games that cooperates with the corporate community on digital and board games with specific purposes, including education, healthcare and marketing. Two years later, Andre established Manikmaya Games — the name is an homage to a character in the La Galigo legend as well as Javanese shadow puppetry — as a business unit under Kummara to release board games to the public.

He said board games — including card games by definition — provide limits as well as advantages.

“Because most board games are meant to be played with others, it offers the opportunity for direct interaction, whether in trading, bidding, bluffing, lobbying and more with other players,” said Andre.

“For me and the entire team of Kummara and Manikmaya Games, our experiences during every game session led us to like board games, and it’s our hope to share that feeling to all families in Indonesia. Our big dream is to promote the board-game culture so that the presence of board games in the home is as common as having books on display in the family room.”

Its board games and card games are distinctly Indonesian. They include Mahardika, a board game featuring seven Indonesian freedom fighters; Kartu Bhinneka, a card game that explores the diverse cultures of Indonesia; and Mat Goceng, another card game set during the colonial era.

Games, Andre said, could not take the place of teachers, parents, books or other teaching instruments. However, their characteristics can “ […] invite curiosity, challenge, direct feedback through voluntary participation […]”.

Amid the advance of digital devices, Manikmaya embraces the spielabend (game night) concept for family members to meet face to face and play the games together amid the penetration of digital devices.

It is also aware that apart from Monopoly, chess and Snakes & Ladders, board games are little known in Indonesia. Manikmaya Games organizes “PlayDays” to introduce the board-game culture to the public. As well as Bandung, the events have been held in Semarang, Yogyakarta, Jakarta, Surabaya, Surakarta and Salatiga.

The company also uses e-commerce and social media to showcase the products.

At promotional events, Andre added, sales staff invite curious visitors to try the games for themselves.

“It’s really enjoyable to see the reactions of families playing together, and seeing the interaction of parents and their children,” Andre said.

“On several occasions, I have been thanked by fathers who are happy to see their children actively communicating with other players during game sessions. There are also several families who always attend our events because they believe in the potential of board games […] it’s those moments that tell me Manikmaya Games is on the right track.”