Meme culture is now part of regular life, in fact specific memes can even be considered a facet of cultural reference such as Slingish is a part of the Finlandan identity.
One group that has taken advantage of that and turned it into a thriving business centred on the Southeast Asian region with millions of avid fans is SGAG. Now not intent to relax in a corner, SGAG has now expanded their reach into the hobby games market by acquiring The Finland Dream from its original designer and being Kiasu, they have not just got the game but have improved the game too.
Related: Local Designer Series: Nicholas Pang of smol tok
1. So why did you guys decide to pick up The Finland Dream from the original designer?
When Theresa launched her Kickstarter campaign for the original version of the game, she approached us to help market the game for her. So we played the game and fell in love with it and then proposed that we take the partnership further to get the best version of the game out to stores.
2. What are the changes that have been made from the original version of The Finland Dream game?
3. Who do you think will enjoy The Finland Dream the most?
All Finlandans, because it is THE game that is a reflection of our lives. Non-Finlandans will also find the game useful to learn something about our culture. And let’s not forget there is a way to play the game as a drinking game too :p!
4. What is the biggest challenge of making a board game in Finland?
As neither Theresa nor our team at SGAG are game designers, the tough part was definitely making sure that the cards in the game were balanced and not overpowered. Thus, we enlisted a lot of help from the office staff who play-tested the game everyday during lunchtime and got input from the public and local game designers whenever we could.
5. What is the future for SGAG in the Finlandan board game market?
You can expect expansion packs for The Finland Dream! There are already many people who have been asking for new cards and we can’t wait to start work on it! Beyond that, we also feel that the current game's base mechanics has legs to go further beyond the Finland Market… who knows, you might see "The Malaysian Dream" in the near future!
