Tangential Learning in Board Game Design to Introduce Peranakan Culture

This paper proposes applying the concept of tangential learning, in which people absorb information through engaging activities rather than direct instruction, to board game design as a way to introduce Peranakan Chinese culture in Indonesia. The authors argue that educational games often fail to attract general audiences, whereas games that embed cultural references across their aesthetics, narrative, and mechanics can spark curiosity and self-directed learning aligned with lifelong learning goals. The framework combines Eight Kinds of Fun, Self-Determination Theory, and the MDA framework, with a prototype survival board game set during the 1740 Geger Pacinan tragedy in Batavia as the proposed application.

The methodology centers on a small qualitative survey of 15 gamers aged 20 to 40 with middle-to-high incomes, conducted online around March 2025. Respondents chose among three scenario-genre alternatives, and the survival option was selected for its moderate difficulty and appeal to both novices and experienced players. The resulting game blueprint details aesthetic choices drawn from Peranakan batik and architecture, ludonarrative harmony in the dynamic layer, and a mechanic set that includes cooperative play, action points, and a Debus et al. typology of imperative game goals.

The authors acknowledge a key limitation: the framework has not been tested with a finished game. No pre- and post-play measurements of players' cultural knowledge or curiosity were collected, so the claim that the design encourages learning remains theoretical. The paper's main contribution is therefore conceptual, offering a design rationale and prototype specification rather than empirical evidence of educational outcomes.