Whether it was a fierce game of carrom at the void deck, mahjong during Chinese New Year, or Snakes and Ladders on a rainy afternoon — board games have long been woven into the fabric of everyday life in Singapore. Now, the National Heritage Board (NHB) is celebrating this shared legacy with its new travelling exhibition, Don’t Play Play — The Games That Shape Us.
Hosted at One Punggol as its first stop, the free exhibition runs from 13 June to 30 June 2026 and spotlights both classic and contemporary board games — from Xiangqi to the homegrown card game Kopi King — that have entertained generations of Singaporeans.
Five Themes, One Common Thread
The exhibition explores how board games have served as a tool for connection across different communities and eras, organised around five themes:
- Why We Are All Gamers — How games have journeyed across cultures and time to bring diverse communities together in Singapore.
- All Aboard! How Games Arrived in Singapore — Tracing the roots of Congkak, Xiangqi, Weiqi, Carrom, and Dum through an interactive quiz.
- The Games We Grew Up With — Familiar childhood favourites like Mahjong, Monopoly, Scrabble, and Snakes and Ladders.
- Homegrown Games — Celebrating locally designed games such as Kopi King and The Singaporean Dream, and the growth of Singapore’s board game industry since 1984.
Games Still Bringing People Together
The exhibition isn’t just about nostalgia — it also shows how the spirit of play is very much alive today. Octogenarian Sylvia Lee still plays Mahjong with friends every week. Seniors still gather at community pavilions for a game of Dum. And new generations are discovering locally designed games at events like those organised by tabletop community #LaiPlayLeow.
Community Weekends with Hands-On Activities
Beyond the displays, the exhibition features vibrant programming across two weekends in June:
Weekend 1 (13–14 June): Drop in to try 15 locally designed games with the designers themselves, courtesy of tabletop community #LaiPlayLeow. Also on offer are hands-on craft workshops by local artist collective PLAY! — including making your own Monopoly-inspired clay tokens and screen-printing activities suitable for all ages.
Weekend 2 (20–21 June — Community Takeover, 11am–2pm): Three local gaming communities take over — the Damai Board Games Community, Singapore Scrabble Association, and Singapore Weiqi Association — hosting booths where visitors can learn to play and even challenge a robot at Weiqi.
Plan Your Visit
Exhibition: Don’t Play Play — The Games That Shape Us
Dates: 13 June – 30 June 2026
Venue: One Punggol, Level 1 Celebration Square Zone 2, 1 Punggol Dr., Singapore 828629
Admission: Free
Launch Weekend Hours: 13 June 11am–5pm, 14 June 11am–4pm
Community Takeover: 20–21 June, 11am–2pm
