Enter Africa Lagos Interviews: Precious Eria Wonah, Board Game Enthusiast, Tutor and Reviewer
The board game tutor and reviewer, also known as ‘Boardgame Presh’ tells Adefoyeke Ajao what she looks out for when reviewing a board game as well as what designers can do to make their games better.
Please tell us a little about yourself.
My name is Precious Eria Wonah, I’m a board game enthusiast from Yala Local Government Area of Cross River state, Nigeria. I do short reviews of board games, and sometimes teach board games.
You’ve played over 100 board games in the last 2 years, what inspired this hobby? Why do board games appeal to you?
Sometime in 2018, I went visiting a friend, KC, who’s a board games designer and founder of NIBCARD Games. He suggested and insisted we play a game called Sheriff of Nottingham. It was my first time of seeing and playing a modern board game. Though I didn’t win, I had a good time laughing and connecting with people I was meeting for the first time.
It was just so fun and beautiful, that I couldn’t resist the urge of exploring the world of board games. I attended my first African Board Games Convention (AB Con) same year, I saw how board games connected people, brought laughter to faces, I just wanted to see more of that.
Board games appeal to me because they are fun, educative, entertaining and lots more.
Out of all the games you’ve played, what’s the one game you love the most and wished you had designed (and why)?
Woah! This is one question I always find hard to answer because I have so many favourites! With new releases coming out every time, it’s just hard to stick with one.
Apart from playing, you teach people how to play board games; how would you describe attitudes towards board games and which resources would you recommend to anyone willing to learn more about them?
Most persons here in Nigeria don’t know that there’s a whole world of board games out there, so they get so wowed and excited when they hear of it that, they just want to play it. Some persons have been very receptive while some don’t just want to try something new or different from the conventional ones they know. Most times they come back around after seeing it easy and fun also.
There are so many Board Games groups on social media, it helps a lot to learn more about board gaming.
You also review board games, what do you look out for when preparing a review?
The rules of the game, the mechanics of play and the replayability of the game; sometimes, the game box too because that’s what catches my eyes first.
If you could give one piece of advice to game designers on how to improve their work, what would it be?
To make their rule books easy to learn and understand, so anyone can pick it up and play without the help of a tutor.
If you could set up your ideal game night, who would you be playing with and which games would you be playing?
I’d be playing with anyone who’s interested in a game night. We’d be playing Just Rhyme, Soundiculous, Randomise, Jenga and any other that comes to mind during play.
What are the biggest rewards and challenges of what you do?
The biggest reward has been people; more people are getting to know about board games in Nigeria and they’re loving it.
The biggest challenge has been access to these Board Games. NIBCARD games café is arguably the only board games’ café in Nigeria where you can access varieties of board games. So if I’m not in Abuja, I can’t create content or even play a game I want.
What’s your favourite hobby besides board games?
Watching movies.
What are you currently working on? Any upcoming events or projects we should look forward to?
Nothing at the moment, I’ll just keep putting board games out there and keep getting people interested.
To know more about Precious Eria Wonah’s work, follow her on Twitter or Instagram
This interview series is part of Nigeria’s Gaming Industry: Opportunities, Challenges and Practices, an Enter Africa Lagos project supported by Goethe-Institut Nigeria.
