Do you remember the clatter of mahjong tiles on a Saturday night, or the thrill of landing on Orchard Road in Monopoly? For many Singaporeans, board games are more than just a way to pass time — they are woven into the very fabric of growing up here. The National Heritage Board (NHB) is celebrating that shared experience with a new travelling exhibition, Don’t Play Play — The Games That Shape Us, now on at One Punggol until 30 June 2026.
Five Themes, One Big Playground
The exhibition takes visitors on a journey through five themed panels, each exploring how board games have connected communities and shaped identities across generations.
Why We Are All Gamers opens the story by tracing how games from around the world travelled across time and cultures to find a home in Singapore. The act of sitting across a board from someone — whether a neighbour, a relative, or a stranger — has always been a way of building community on this island.
All Aboard! How Games Arrived in Singapore traces the roots of classics like Congkak, Xiangqi (Chinese Chess), Weiqi, Carrom, and Dum (Checkers) through an interactive quiz. It is a reminder that every game carries a story of migration and adaptation that mirrors Singapore’s own history.
The Games We Grew Up With is where the nostalgia really hits. Mahjong, Monopoly, Snakes and Ladders, Scrabble — these are names that will light up faces across every generation.
Where Singapore Plays Through The Years charts how the spaces for play have evolved — from void deck chess games and community centre tournaments to the thriving tabletop scenes of today.
Homegrown Games celebrates the local board games industry that has flourished since Singapore-Go in 1984. Games like Kopi King and The Singaporean Dream show how our stories and quirks have been transformed into play — and there is plenty of audience hungry for more.
Community Weekends: Don’t Miss These
Beyond the displays, Don’t Play Play comes alive with programming across two weekends. Weekend 1 (13–14 June) saw craft booths by local artist collective PLAY! and gaming tables run by tabletop community #LaiPlayLeow, where visitors could try 15 locally designed games.
Weekend 2 — the Community Takeover on 20–21 June, 11AM to 2PM — is still to come and is not to be missed. Punggol’s Damai Board Games Community, the Singapore Scrabble Association, and the Singapore Weiqi Association will all be hosting booths. Weiqi fans can even challenge a robot to a game. Yes, a robot.
Plan Your Visit
Don’t Play Play — The Games That Shape Us runs until 30 June 2026 at One Punggol, Level 1, Celebration Square Zone 2. Admission is free and open to all. Whether you are introducing your kids to the games you grew up with, or reliving those childhood memories yourself, this one is worth making the trip up north for.
