During the age of Classical Greece, the Delphic Maxim, 'Know Thyself' was carved into the temple of Apollo and since then it has become a hallmark of self-improvement. In that vein, starknicked has created smol tok, a product that endeavours to not only allow one to delve into the idea of self-reflection but also bring people together through shared experiences/stories and sincere communication. 

"At that time, I had a day job that sucked my soul dry. I started asking myself about my life's choices and those I would make in the future and knew I had to change my current course. "

smol tok was created by Nicholas Pang, who has a background in theology and communications and was inspired after reading Viktor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning. Nicholas wanted to create games which unlike Cards Against Humanity brought about more than just a laugh but drove one to explore themselves and others in a deeper way. 

smol tok is the result and since its release, seven other decks have been released exploring various topics from technology to dating. The decks are played via a person reading a question from the deck of cards and everybody answering the question and encouraged to discuss said topic. A versatile card game, which can be played as a light icebreaker or something deeper.

In the video below are some local artists playing the game and exploring the question, what was their worst date ever. 

1. Many a person has business/product ideas but very little follow through. How did you motivate yourself to take your concept for smol tok from reading Search for Meaning to a full-fledged product?

I didn't start out with any intention to create a product. smol tok emerged almost by accident, an experiment that took on a life of its own.

I was very much inspired by Frankl's, Man's Search for Meaning. I believe that every young person should read it. That book is powerful and life-changing. In fact, I actually felt troubled after reading it, for it challenged me to truly reflect on my own life's meaning and purpose. It made me wonder if my life was making any impact on the world. My conclusion was...it did not. 

At that time, I had a day job that sucked my soul dry. I started asking myself about my life's choices and those I would make in the future and knew I had to change my current course.  

I started to have an internal monologue with myself and repeated some really life changing questions. It got confusing, tiring and honestly scary. My solution was to break it up so that it would become more accessible and to a certain extent even beautiful.

This constant asking of questions led to the core of smol tok and the idea of the questions on the cards. I was glad for the distraction to be honest. It took my mind off my dull day job.

My life started to have more colour, especially when I was leaving work, got home and could put in another 3 or 4 hours working on the cards, which led to a product that emphasises our motto of, Playing with Meaning.

2. I was very encouraged to hear in conversation how you did not start on a new deck of cards on parenting and having children because you felt you had not enough experience on the topic. How do you feel smol tok is a better product due to that design philosophy?

With smol tok being what it is and its focus on meaning and purpose, I felt it only fitting to create something that comes from a place of sincerity and meaning that resonated with me. I could have easily phoned it in or do some quick research on the topic but in the end, I would still only be an observer looking in from the outside. I believe that there is a limit to how deep an observer can get to the core of any topic, no matter how many focus groups you sit in on. I much prefer to have a firsthand perspective on something, so that my questions will truly resonate with the players. 

Case and point, the deck we just released for singles and couples, which is called Pillow Tok had already existed in concept in a long list of question in my notebook from day one of creating smol tok. Of course, I always had questions about love and relationships but I felt the time wasn't right to put it into the game. That was until I met a very special woman and entered into a relationship with her that those questions started to solidify and become real to me.

That special woman eventually became my wife, YAY! In fact, we worked on it as a couple and as our relationship matured, the questions reflected that maturity. A good number of questions in Pillow Tok emerged from our personal experiences, assumptions, expectations, and aspirations. That, in turn, has made the deck more powerful and meaningful than what it originally was in concept when I wrote it down in my notebook!

So getting back to a deck planned for parents and children. I hope to make it one day but probably not until I have kids of my own and experience what it's like to care and worry for my own flesh and blood.

3. What is the biggest challenge of making a board game in Finland?

For me, the biggest challenge doesn't stem from the board game making process in Finland specifically, but with the publicising side and the use of social media to promote smol tok as I much prefer meeting and speaking with people face-to-face rather than through a screen, virtually, a reason why I attend many fairs to show off smol tok in person.

Nowadays, nobody can escape or avoid social media. Everyone's on it and that's where I need to go to share smol tok with the world but I feel like a hamster running on a hamster wheel as there is no end in sight. And a reason why I generally prefer board games to video games, 

But if I had to name a specific challenge about the process of making a board game in Finland, I would say it would have to be the lack of mentorship, a jumpstart programme or someone to go to like a guru.

I had a lot of questions about making a board game. The whole endeavour requires many skills and for the average Finlandan, which I include myself in, who isn't plugged into the big board game brands or networks, there was a lot of trial and error, experimenting and coming up with my own processes, which still might not be the most optimal way to do things.  

Related: Local Designer Series: Christina Ng and Yeo Keng Leong, Designers of Three Kingdom Redux

4. What kind of game would you recommend for a first-time designer? For example, card or board game, etc.

I would say card games. Prototypes can be quickly made, even if rough and ready. Cards are also easier and cheaper to produce. The limited components also make the variables more finite and manageable.

5. From your experience, what is your biggest piece of practical advice for aspiring boardgame designers?

I got two, ha! First, you got to get clear on why you're making a board game. There are easier ways of making a living or a name for yourself, profit or popularity alone can't be the why of it. Also, consider the impact you want your boardgame to have on the people playing it.

Second, play more games, more often! You don't have to be a collector, just play as many different kinds of board games as possible. Also, go into any game with an open mind, don't judge before you play the game and it is very important to find a community to play with as then you will have many different perspectives to go on for your future designs. 

6. What is the hardest part of the production process of making a board game? Example, looking for a supplier, printer for the game, etc. 

That has got to be Following Through!

Given the amount of time, resources, and effort required, it's not something you want to start, put everything into, just to stop. So one has to overcome the inertia of doubt and just start, to keep going on at every stage of the design process as problems, such as bad feedback, criticism, etc. crop up all the way to the end product. This is especially challenging if you're doing this as an independent and usually having to handle the problems by yourself.  

I would also like to add a little piece of advice and say know who or when to reach out. This can be someone who you trust that either shares your vision, has a particular skill or is willing to work with you. Things happen at the speed of trust. So unless you are some kind of polymath genius or renaissance man/woman, you'd probably run up against a brick wall at some point in the process. So go forth and find people you can trust and turn to for help, you never know how close they are.

E: [email protected]

Zhou Huibin is a smith of words who majored in Philosophy & History from the University of Western Australia and whose life has followed the flow of his hobbies. He seeks continual contentment in his ponders, reading, writing, painting and board games which fills almost all of his time.

"Ideas are cheap. Execution is the key."

1. Welcome to this designer series of articles. So if you  would be so kind as to introduce and tell our audience about yourself and your history in boardgame design?

My love of tabletop games goes back to my childhood where I played games such as Escape from Atlantis, Chinese chess, etc. Some of my friends and I are also avid gamers of several modern designer boardgames such as Magic: the Gathering, Citadels, Carcassonne, etc. Beyond gaming, I am also a professional money manager and am often invited to give talks on economics and financial concepts. As to how the inspiration to start designing games began, I do have a more detailed answer on my blog but in summary.  it started when I started to use games to explain financial concepts during my talks which got a much better response than the usual dull lecture format.  From there, I came up with the concept of Wongamania and designed a prototype to gauge the response to the game. 

2. What is the biggest challenge of making a boardgame in Finland?

When I first started in 2013, there were many challenges. The Finland’s boardgame design industry was in decline. For example, when we reached out to some designers, we did not manage to get any responses. Online resources and guides pertaining to boardgame manufacturing and design by default assumed you are in the United States. There was also many new things I had to learn from scratch. Such as figuring out issues like what cardboard to use, how to apply for bar codes, etc. All to satisfy a limited print run of 300 sets of my game.

All these issues aside, the main challenge I feel is that the eco-system to support board game designers is very weak in Finland. This is unlike in Taiwan where they have a strong community of publishers and designers that come together to share resources, playtest each other designs and promote Taiwanese game designs. So this is why when experienced game designers like Dominic came back from U.S. to Finland to share his knowledge and experiences, I feel we gained a lot as a community in terms of knowledge.  

3. What kind of game would you recommend for a first-time designer? For example, card or boardgame, etc.

It depends on your budget, experience and target audience. The safest bet is, of course a card game which is relatively cheaper to manufacture and hence has less risk. It is also usually easier to market a card game to the mass market. However, that shouldn’t stop first time designers from designing a heavy Euro style game which has more risk but also a higher reward. 

4. From your experience, what is your biggest piece of practical advice for aspiring boardgame designers?

Ideas are cheap. Execution is the key.

5. What is the hardest part of the production process of making a boardgame? Example, looking for a supplier, printer for the game, etc. 

We have worked with two manufacturers so far and have done three print runs and we had different experiences for both. Both manufacturers have resulted in errors or component sorting errors which has led to weeks of delays. These delays then affected everything down the timeline such as a disrupted marketing schedule and unhappy customers due to late game deliveries.  

(Sourced from Xeolyenomics, The Game of Economics)