Matthew and Vincent’s friendship started when they met for the first time in college about 15 years ago through several classes together. Despite having different personalities, their relationship continued to flourish over the years up till now. Perhaps it was their shared passion for tabletop games that cemented their bond and trust with one another. Today, they are working together to make tabletop games more accessible in Malaysia.
In getting to know more about the business they’ve started together, Hobby Heresy Games, we reached out to them through email.
“Hobby Heresy Games is a supplier of specialty gaming items focusing on tabletop games such as Warhammer 40,000, Age of Sigmar, Star Wars X-Wing, and Lord of The Rings. Our primary product is premium quality mats for gamers to place their miniatures and terrains to engage in tabletop battles and adventures. We are still expanding our line of products, and with our products, we aim to give players a more immersive gaming experience.”
Every company and business has an “origin story” — the early inspiration or ideas that sparked them to venture into the business. So, we asked Hobby Heresy Games their story. “Like many others in the year 2020, we experienced lockdown; we can’t do a lot of things that we used to be doing, such as going to the usual gathering places where tabletop gamers play games together.”
“We had to bring the game to our homes. However, most gamers do not have the equipment to set up an immersive gaming environment at home. Of course, one can order stuff online. But we noticed that even the stores overseas were affected. Also, it was around this time we realized that there are no local game stores that offer specialty tabletop game products.”
Knowing that there was a demand in 2020 for tabletop game products, Matthew and Vincent did not delve into the business right away. They asked around if starting a business in supplying specialty tabletop game products was a good idea.
“We were told that we should not waste our time as the Covid-19 pandemic is still on-going, and the damage that it is causing to many businesses hasn’t stopped. Someone told us, ‘It is hobby heresy, I tell you!’ The word ‘Heresy’ stuck in our minds. So, we figured that if being a provider is a ‘heresy,’ why not spread the ‘heresy’ and continue supporting tabletop gamers in Malaysia. That is how Hobby Heresy Games was born!”
Challenges of The Tabletop Games Industry
One of the challenges for start-up businesses, or small-scale businesses, is space — workspace and storage space for their products. “We definitely cannot fit everything in our homes.
As a supplier, we need a storage space to access our products freely without the hassles of pre-arrangement. Security is our main priority and the safety of our products from damaging elements like rain, humidity, heat, and dusty air. Upon hearing our storage requirements, one of our gaming buddies, a storer at Cube, recommended Cube Self Storage.
“So, now, we are renting a 24 sq. ft. storage unit at Cube to store our main surplus products. Cube staff was very responsive to our initial storage inquiries, and we appreciate the attentiveness they’ve provided to us. The team even helped us with the move of our first shipment, as we are still novices in logistics. All in all, we are delighted with Cube’s services and would easily recommend Cube to anyone in our contacts who need storage solutions.”
As the market for tabletop games continues to grow in Malaysia, Hobby Heresy Games hopes that the gaming scene will thrive and eventually gain mainstream recognition.
The main difference between tabletop games and other games is the wider range of immersive experience, including assembling the models, painting them to playing the games, and reading the stories. It’s an active, critical, creative, and interactive game that everyone, including children, can enjoy while improving mathematical and language skills and social skills all at the same time.
“There is a rich backstory to every game, and every player will build affinity to the type of game they play. I recommend everyone to come to a tabletop game store near you, watch the games, and make some friends.”
Follow Hobby Heresy Games on Facebook and Instagram to learn more about tabletop game products, events, and how to be part of the community. You may email them at hobbyheresygames@gmail.com for further inquiries.
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