Charis Loke (left) and Goh Choon Ean are two of the many minds behind Bansan. (Rabbani Jamian @ FMT Lifestyle)
KUALA LUMPUR: The word “bansan”, rarely heard in the Klang Valley, is familiar in Penang. It is Hokkien for “market” and, to many old Penangites, it brings back fond memories of shopping at the local wet market.
Before the rise of the modern supermarket, Malaysians regularly thronged the wet markets and haggled over prices. But nowadays, many youngsters have never once engaged in haggling.
What’s more, fewer and fewer Malaysians wish to be vendors at these markets, bringing into question its very survival.
In an effort to preserve this integral part of local culture, one Penang-based community art group has turned morning shopping at wet markets into a board game.
It is called “Bansan” and the game was developed by Arts-Ed. It’s for one to five players.
The game sees players taking on the role of market vendors who must trade with each other. (Rabbani Jamian @ FMT Lifestyle)
Said to be of medium complexity, the game puts players in the role of market vendors with several chores to see to.
During a round of play, players deal with wholesalers and customers, buy and sell wares as well as cook and serve familiar Malaysian delicacies.
The game offers an insight into the complicated web of relationships between vendors, customers, wholesalers and the authorities.
This is not the first game that Arts-Ed has produced which takes inspiration from local culture. Its first board game, “Kaki Lima”, is based on an appreciation of George Town’s historically unique five-foot ways.
Speaking with FMT Lifestyle, Arts-ED senior manager Chen Yoke Pin said one aim of Bansan was to help young Malaysians learn to increase their estimation of the morning wet market.
“I believe that board games are an effective tool and a creative medium through which youngsters can look into local culture.”
One of the objectives of the game is to complete recipes for local delicacies. (Rabbani Jamian @ FMT Lifestyle)
Game designer Goh Choon Ean and artist Charis Loke were recently in Kuala Lumpur to demonstrate Bansan at Kinokuniya KLCC.
“We spent a lot of time researching in Chowrasta Market,” Goh said. “If you play this game, you will recognise the culture practised at any Malaysian market.”
Goh also designed Kaki Lima. She noted that many popular board games highlighted cultures from around the world. “So one of the things I wanted to do was to create a game showcasing Malaysian culture. It also reflects on Asian culture as a whole.”
She said a visitor from Hong Kong once played Bansan, then remarked just how much it reminded him of markets back home.
Loke says much of the game design, like this envelope wallet, was based on her observations of real life. (Rabbani Jamian @ FMT Lifestyle)
While adamant that Bansan had some complexity to it, she acknowledged that Malaysians gravitate towards simpler games like Snap or Happy Family. “The rulebook is a hefty one,” she said of Bansan.
Bansan’s art direction is rather fascinating. “A lot of the art is actually made with actual market objects, using a technique called gel printing,” said Loke.
To make these prints, Loke would visit the market to acquire everyday items such as plastic bags, egg cartons and vegetable leaves from the waste bins.
This decision ties into the game itself, where there is a component which revolves around how much waste is produced at a market.
Much of the artwork in the game is based on real-life locations and people. “The stalls are all based on actual stalls. Not all are in Penang. Some are in Kampar and some in Cheras.”
These two were recently in Kinokuniya KLCC, demonstrating their game to the public. (Rabbani Jamian @ FMT Lifestyle)
Even the paper wallets distributed to players are based on the different types of purses Malaysians use, with zip-lock bags and repurposed envelopes being among them.
Goh said Bansan was her way of documenting an underappreciated part of Malaysian culture.
“When people sit down to play the game, it is like an immersive documentary. People are being part of it. By playing the game, they learn what it’s like to be a market vendor.”
The game is for young and old, and it has been gratifying for Goh and Loke to see players as young as five learning to bargain and doing so with gusto.
“We’ve also had players as old as 75 coming in and becoming haggle masters,” said Goh. “There was also this five-year-old who refused to buy seafood, because ‘I don’t like seafood.’”
Check out Bansan and look into buying yourself a copy here.
