“There’s no shortage of creativity in Vietnam. What we lack are bridges”: Vietnam’s blossoming board game design scene goes global via first Road to Essen competition

A new competition designed to showcase Vietnam’s burgeoning local board game design scene at the world’s biggest board game fair, Spiel Essen, has unveiled its first winner from almost 150 entries.

Thinh LeHuu’s design July, inspired by the seventh lunar month and its ‘Hungry Ghost’ festival in Vietnamese culture, won over a Road to Essen judging panel that included Cascadia designer Randy Flynn with its “clever gameplay, polished design and cultural message”.

Flynn said July, a co-operative card game where players work together as ‘gatekeepers’ tasked with escorting stubborn souls back to the underworld, “provided a particularly well-constructed set of gameplay with a great cultural tie, with a theme [that] absolutely comes out with the gameplay itself.”

He said, “I also think it’s a great example of doing more with less, as its only component is cards.”

Flynn added, “I really enjoyed exploring the top titles in this year’s competition… these ranged from a game which was just a deck of cards, all the way up to a full board game with workers and resources and cards and tokens.

“The variety of gameplay was quite wonderful, and I can honestly say I learned a lot more about Vietnamese culture and history researching these games and the themes than I knew before I came in.”

The inaugural contest has been organised by Vietnamese board game publisher Everjoy Publishing and its global arm Everjoy Global, in an attempt to help designs from Vietnamese creators break out internationally.

Everjoy Global co-founder and CEO Ionah Nguyen, who is also the head of the Road to Essen organizing committee, told BoardGameWire there had been a 400% increase in the number of locally designed games entering the Vietnamese market in just two years, following a post-Covid boom in offline gaming in the country.

She said a rapidly expanding creator community, which has seen designers collaborating, sharing resources, and building visibility, has been complemented by a significant growth in retail distribution for hobby games across the country.

Schools and libraries have begun integrating board games into their programs as educational tools, she added, while brands from other sectors have started commissioning custom board games as part of their marketing campaigns.

Nguyen said, “It’s still a young industry, but it’s growing fast. We believe the next three to five years will be a defining era, one that firmly establishes Vietnam as a rising creative force in the global tabletop community.”

“…before 2015, board games in Vietnam were primarily enjoyed by ex-pats and a small circle of dedicated hobbyists. Most games were imported, and there was very little local infrastructure for publishing, distribution, or organized play.

“From 2015 to 2018, however, the landscape began to shift. Cafés like Board Game Station and early publishers such as Board Game VN played a key role in localizing and importing popular international titles like Werewolf, Exploding Kittens, Catan, Dixit and Uno. These gateway games introduced modern tabletop gaming to a wider Vietnamese audience, particularly urban youth.

“The real turning point came in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic. As people sought out offline, unplugged ways to connect, board games experienced an unexpected boom, especially among Gen Z players and families looking to spend quality time together.

“At the same time, local creators began recognizing the potential of games as a medium to express Vietnamese identity. This sparked a new wave of original, locally designed titles drawing on Vietnamese mythology, cuisine, folklore, and history.”

Everjoy Publishing entered the board game space in 2022 with the acquisition of BoardGameVN, which had been the country’s highest profile board game company for more than a decade.

The publisher is now the largest in Vietnam, with almost 150 games in its portfolio – either self-published or localised.

Everjoy was the first Vietnamese publisher to exhibit at SPIEL Essen three years ago, showcasing its flagship game Zodiac Rush – a title which has gone on to sell more than 200,000 copies domestically.

Its follow-up design, Bunny100, became the first Vietnamese-designed game to be exported to China and Singapore, and the company said it is actively working with several European and US publisher to get more Vietnamese games into the hands of international gamers.

Keen to create a launchpad for culturally distinctive Vietnamese board games to expand out into global markets, Nguyen said Everjoy approached the German Chamber of Industry and Commerce in Vietnam – the official representative of SPIEL Essen and Spielwarenmesse in the country – with the Road to Essen concept last year.

She said, “There’s no shortage of creativity in Vietnam. What we lack are bridges. Vietnamese designers bring fresh perspectives and culturally rich concepts to the table, often inspired by local folklore, traditions, and everyday life. But getting these ideas to the global stage is a challenge.

“The biggest barriers are access and resources. Many indie designers and local publishers don’t have direct connections to international publishers or distributors. Language gaps and unfamiliarity with global supply chains further compound the problem.

“On top of that, the financial burden of attending international fairs like SPIEL Essen or Gen Con can be overwhelming for small publishers and indie designers.

That’s why we launched the Road to Essen competition. Through this initiative, we’re giving Vietnamese designers mentorship, exposure, and an international platform.”

She added, “Raising the global profile of Vietnamese game design will take time – but with consistent support, collaboration, and a few breakout successes, we believe Vietnam can become a powerful creative voice in the global board game industry.”

Beyond the winning Road to Essen title, Nguyen drew attention to another culturally rich entry, Bát Linh Pháp Chiến by designer Lại Huy Nguyên – which was crowned as the game with the highest market potential.

She said, “The game draws heavily from Vietnamese spiritual folklore, featuring childhood legends like Ông Ba Bị, Ma Lon, and Ma Tóc Dài – all re-imagined in a lighthearted, cartoon-style art direction. It’s a clever way to turn eerie folk figures into fun, engaging gameplay without losing their cultural essence.

“Beyond folklore, the game integrates traditional Vietnamese elements such as ancestral architecture (Nhà Thờ Họ) and local customs like fortune drawing (Gieo Quẻ). These are smartly embedded into card mechanics that reward strategic combinations in a battle-for-survival format.”

Road to Essen awards 2025 full results:

Champion 2025: “JULY” by Thinh LeHuu

Most Voted Board Game: Âm Binh by team Thầy Cúng

Best Cultural Resonance Board Game: Kẻ Chợ by Nguyễn Hoàng Quốc Quyền & Tạ Nguyệt Hương

Best Visual Design Board Game: Thoải Phủ by team Thoải Phủ

Board Game with Most Unique Concept: Lược Sử Việt Nam by Võ Hoàng Phúc

Board Game with Highest Engagement and Interaction: Âu Lạc by team 92 Prints

Board Game with Highest Market Potential: Bát Linh Pháp Chiến by Lại Huy Nguyên