We are board game enthusiasts, we are educators, but most importantly, we are parents who want the best for our children. Our mission through Play with Purpose (PWP) is to help parents and teachers develop healthy and happy children through play.
As pioneers in the local board game scene, as lifelong learners ourselves, and as parents who had gone through the various stages of our children’s growing up journey, we adopt a practitioner’s approach to delivering our mission.
WAI YAN
As a co-founder of Boardgamecafe.net, Wai Yan was involved since the early days of the local board game industry but her true passion lies in teaching young children.
Wai Yan’s teaching experiences with young children include a variety of subjects such as mental arithmetic, Mandarin mastery, and even Karate. However she is most excited with the potential of using board games as an implementation of the Play | Learn | Grow model of learning for children.
Her daughter Rachel is a direct beneficiary of Wai Yan’s approach of using board games as an active learning tool, having been introduced to her first board game at the age of 2.
CHOK SIEN
Actively blogging on board games since 2007, Chok Sien is Malaysia’s #1 board game blogger, who blogs in both English and Chinese, and has been featured in The Star, Oriental Daily & Sinchew Daily.
Chok Sien has two daughters who grew up with board games, and they love ganging up to defeat him. He believes that board games are a communication tool which helps people connect and nurture fulfilling relationships with friends and family.
Chok Sien is a certified professional trainer with IPMA UK, and he’s always exploring the application of board games in training delivery.
JULIAN WONG
Passionate about board games and equally passionate about evangelizing the use of board games as a potent tool to entertain, educate and inform.
As such, Julian is raising his 3 daughters to be avid gamers and together they are experiencing the power of board games to be a unifying force for nurturing family ties.
Julian is a media producer and when he’s not juggling video gear and audio recorders, he enjoys camping out in the great outdoors and loves mentoring the next generation of young people to become better leaders.
CK AU
One of the pioneers in the Malaysian board game scene, CK has been organizing board game meetups since 2005 and pens his thoughts about board games in the Boardgamecafe.net blog.
After experiencing through a father’s lens how his daughter Rachel learns best through play (facilitated by lots of board games), CK is excited to have the opportunity to apply his experiences in the board game space to help children develop a Growth Mindset through play-oriented learning.
Outside of board games, CK is an avid 10k runner and with a background as an Agile/Lean consultant & trainer, he advocates the Lean approach in running his businesses.
RACHEL AU
Our chief mascot. Our kiddie games trainer. Our game reviewer. Rachel epitomizes our philosophy of Play | Learn | Grow. Her first trip to Essen Spiel (the largest board game convention) was at the tender age of 6 months old and since then she has been a recurring visitor to Essen for her annual board game pilgrimage.
Being brought up with a steady diet of HABA and other euro games, her parents (CK and Waiyan) are able to comprehend first-hand the value of play in helping to shape the formative years of Rachel’s learning development. Follow Rachel’s board gaming adventures in Boardgamekids.
Our HABA Certified Teachers
CHRISTINA TEO
Christina is a long-time proponent of HABA board games, having used them in homeschooling her four children, who are now in their undergrad years. She is currently using HABA board games for another group – the elderly with dementia and special needs. Her journey with HABA has been nothing but rewarding!
Moving from the world of auditing to education, Christina found her forte through the years in setting up preschools, kindergartens and playgroups. She is also an advocate in assisting families whose children have reading and numeracy challenges in the emergent level hence reaching out to locals, foreigners and refugees.
ELYNNA LEE
A person who works hard and plays hard at the same time, Elynna enjoys play time with friends and family. She is inspired by a quote by Diane Ackerman, “Play is the brain’s favourite way of learning. ” She believes that kids learn better with games. Well, who doesn’t like games? As an artist and educator who has worked with children for 8 years, teaching creative arts, languages and mathematics, she always implements gameplay in her classes.
Partner with Us
Play with Purpose (PWP) is set up as a collaborative business that works with teachers and children enrichment centres to grow and nurture an impactful and sustainable network of HABA Learning Program (HLP) touchpoints to deliver on our mission of Play | Learn | Grow.
Partnering with us offers you the opportunity to
- Create Impact in Young Children through Play
- Be an Early Mover in the Children / Board Game / Education space
- Access to German Learning Methodology
- Engage with Like-minded Community
If you are a teacher (or someone in the teaching profession) or run children enrichment centre(s) in Malaysia, we welcome you to reach out to us to find out more about partnering with us.
- If you are a teacher – find out more about HABA Certified Teacher
- If you run children enrichment centre – find out more about HABA Learning Centre
Play with Purpose 