Banana Chan

Last updated
Banana Chan
Banana Chan, during the video shoot for Visigoths vs. Mall Goths, 2019.jpg
Banana Chan (2019)
Occupationgame designer
Genre tabletop role-playing games, board games

Banana Chan is a Chinese Canadian game designer and writer for tabletop role-playing games and board games. Chan and Sen-Foong Lim created Jiangshi: Blood in the Banquet Hall (2021). [1] [2] [3] [4] Chan has written for over twenty tabletop games, including the official Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft (2021), [5] Dune: Adventures in the Imperium, [6] and the third edition of Betrayal at House on the Hill (2022). [7]

Contents

Chan is the owner and co-founder of the tabletop publishing company Read/Write Memory, formerly known as Game and a Curry. [8]

Works

Roleplaying games and supplements

Banana Chan has written for many titles in tabletop games, both as a lead designer and as a hired freelancer.

Kids on Bikes

Chan worked on multiple products in the Kids on Bikes series.

Board games

Awards and nominations

Awards

In 2016, Chan won Best Pervasive Game in the Golden Cobra Challenge for her live action roleplaying game They’re Onto Me. [34] In 2022, Chan won the title of Designer of the Year from Dicebreaker's Tabletop Awards. [35] The same year, she won three ENnies Awards: Jiangshi: Blood in the Banquet Hall (Silver Ennie for "Best Setting"), Questlings: RPG (Silver Ennie for "Best Family Game / Product"), and Dune – Adventures in the Imperium: Core Rulebook (Gold Ennie for "Best Writing"). [36]

Nominations and Honorable Mentions

In 2015, Chan was given an Honorable Mention in the Golden Cobra Challenge for her live action roleplaying game The Other Place. [37] In 2022, Chan and Sen-Foong Lim, along with the Game and a Curry and Wet Ink Games teams, were nominated for ENnies in three categories for Jiangshi: Blood in the Banquet Hall: Best Setting (which they won), Best Production Value and Product of the Year. [13] The same year, Chan and Game and a Curry were also nominated for Best Family Game/Product for their game Questlings: RPG in collaboration with Letiman Games and Tim Devine. [13] In addition to the ENnies, Jiangshi was nominated for the 2022 Indie Game Developer Network's Indie Groundbreaker Awards for "Most Innovative." [38]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Keith Baker (game designer)</span> American writer and game designer

Keith Baker is an American game designer and fantasy novel author. In addition to working with Wizards of the Coast on the creation of Eberron, he has also contributed material for Goodman Games, Paizo Publishing and Green Ronin Publishing. In 2014, Baker and Jennifer Ellis co-founded the indie tabletop game company Twogether Studios.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indie role-playing game</span> Aspect of role-playing game publishing

An indie role-playing game is a role-playing game published by individuals or small press publishers, in contrast to games published by large corporations. Indie tabletop role-playing game designers participate in various game distribution networks, development communities, and gaming conventions, both in person and online. Indie game designer committees grant annual awards for excellence.

EN World, also known as Morrus' Unofficial Tabletop RPG News, is a British-owned tabletop role-playing game news and reviews website. The website is run and owned by Russ Morrissey ("Morrus"). It reports current news and provides insight into major product releases before they are officially unveiled. EN World was the original host of the ENNIE Awards.

Paizo Inc. is an American role-playing game publishing company based in Redmond, Washington, best known for the tabletop role-playing games Pathfinder and Starfinder. The company's name is derived from the Greek word παίζωpaizō, which means 'I play' or 'to play'. Paizo also runs an online retail store selling role-playing games board games, comic books, toys, clothing, accessories and other products, as well as an Internet forum community.

Evil Hat Productions is a company that produces role-playing games and other tabletop games. They are best known for the free indie RPG system Fate, Blades in the Dark, and Thirsty Sword Lesbians, all of which have won multiple awards.

<i>Pathfinder Roleplaying Game</i> Tabletop role-playing game

The Pathfinder Roleplaying Game is a fantasy role-playing game (RPG) that was published in 2009 by Paizo Publishing. The first edition extends and modifies the System Reference Document (SRD) based on the revised 3rd edition Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) published by Wizards of the Coast under the Open Game License (OGL) and is intended to be backward-compatible with that edition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jason Bulmahn</span> Game designer

Jason Bulmahn is an American game designer who has written or contributed to several works.

Owen K.C. Stephens is a game designer who has worked on a number of products for the Starfinder, Pathfinder and Star Wars Roleplaying Game and other games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brian R. James</span> American game designer

Brian R. James is a game designer and software engineer. As a writer, Brian is best known for his online and print works for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game published by Wizards of the Coast. In game design circles, Brian is highly regarded for his deep knowledge of the Forgotten Realms campaign setting and its extensive history. In 2012 Brian won a Silver ENnie Award for Monster Vault: Threats to the Nentir Vale and he has been nominated for other ENnie Awards and Origins Awards.

Free RPG Day is an annual promotional event by the tabletop role-playing game industry. The event rules are fairly simple: participating publishers provide special free copies of games to participating game stores; the game store agrees to provide one free game to any person who requests a free game on Free RPG Day.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Powered by the Apocalypse</span> Design framework for tabletop role-playing games

Powered by the Apocalypse (PbtA) is a tabletop role-playing game design framework developed by Meguey Baker and Vincent Baker for the 2010 game Apocalypse World and later adapted for hundreds of other indie role-playing games.

Amanda Hamon Kunz is an American game designer known for her work on the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game and other d20 role-playing game products.

F. Wesley Schneider is an American game designer and author known for his work on Pathfinder Roleplaying Game and Dungeons & Dragons (D&D). He was the co-lead designer on the D&D 5th Edition adventure anthology Journeys through the Radiant Citadel (2022), which was nominated for the Nebula Award for Best Game Writing, the 2023 Diana Jones Award for Excellence in Gaming, and 2023 ENNIE Awards for Best Adventure and Best Product.

<i>Starfinder Roleplaying Game</i> Tabletop role-playing game

The Starfinder Roleplaying Game is a science-fiction/science fantasy role-playing game published by Paizo Publishing. It is built on Paizo's previous game, the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, both in its game mechanics and universe, but adapted to a more futuristic style than its fantasy predecessor; game content is intended to be easily convertible between the two systems. Like its predecessor, the Starfinder RPG supports adventure paths and other material written by Paizo and third party publishers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lucian Kahn</span> American game designer and musician

Lucian Kahn is an American role-playing game writer/designer and musician based in Brooklyn. His work focuses on LGBT, Jewish, and subcultural themes, typically utilizing satire and farce. His games include Visigoths vs. Mall Goths and If I Were a Lich, Man, and his music includes Schmekel.

<i>Visigoths vs. Mall Goths</i> Urban fantasy tabletop role-playing game

Visigoths vs. Mall Goths is an urban fantasy tabletop role-playing game with LGBTQ dating sim elements by Lucian Kahn, with art by Robin Eisenberg. The ancient Visigoths have time traveled to 1990s Los Angeles and are battling mall goths for control of the mall. The game's tone is silly and the setting has many puns. The game was inspired by 1990s movies The Craft, Empire Records, Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure and Clueless.

Jiangshi: Blood in the Banquet Hall is a tabletop role-playing game about Chinese immigrants to North America managing a family restaurant while battling Jiangshi, legendary hopping vampires. The game was designed by Banana Chan and Sen-Foong Lim, who are both Chinese immigrants. It was published independently in 2021 after a Kickstarter campaign raised over US$100,000. The instructions focus heavily on authentic portrayals of Chinese history and immigrant experiences. The default scenario takes place in San Francisco's Chinatown during the 1920s, but the game box comes with a book of scenarios by a variety of writers offering more adventures in different cities and historical periods. The game's tone can range from serious to comedy horror. Themes include fighting racism, exploring intergenerational knowledge and relationships, coping with economic hardship, and working together as a family.

Justin Alexander is an American role-playing game reviewer, critic, and designer who blogs and streams under the name The Alexandrian. He is known as the author of the book So You Want to Be a Game Master, for inventing the Three Clue Rule, and as a long time proponent of hex-crawl style adventures. He is the RPG Producer of Atlas Games, overseeing RPGs like Feng Shui, Unknown Armies, Ars Magica, Over the Edge, and Magical Kitties Save the Day.

Vaesen is a horror mystery tabletop role-playing game published by Free League Publishing in 2020, with illustrations by Johan Egerkrans. It draws from mythology and folklore and focuses on monster-hunting. The game has won multiple ENNIE Awards.

Sharang Biswas is an Indian American designer/writer of tabletop role-playing games and interactive media, a writer of speculative fiction, an adjunct professor of game studies at NYU Game Center, and a freelance games journalist. His work focuses on LGBTQ and science fiction and fantasy themes. Biswas has won multiple awards for his game writing work as both a solo designer and a collaborator: one IndieCade award, four ENNIE Awards, and two Indie Game Developer Network awards. He was an Artist in Residence at the Museum of the Moving Image.

References

  1. "This Board Game Uses Vampires To Fight Anti-Asian Racism". HuffPost. 2021-05-05. Retrieved 2022-07-11.
  2. 1 2 Wieland, Rob. "Save The World And Your Family Restaurant With This New RPG". Forbes. Retrieved 2022-07-11.
  3. "Jiangshi: Blood in the Banquet Hall is an RPG about cooking and vampires". Dicebreaker. 2020-07-16. Retrieved 2022-07-11.
  4. "Indie RPGs show roleplaying can - and should - be far more than Dungeons & Dragons". Dicebreaker. 2021-02-17. Retrieved 2022-07-11.
  5. 1 2 "Dungeons & Dragons returns to an iconic setting with Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft". Dicebreaker. 2021-02-23. Retrieved 2022-07-11.
  6. Wieland, Rob. "Now Is A Great Time To Get Into Dune: Adventures In The Imperium". Forbes. Retrieved 2024-09-23.
  7. 1 2 3 "Betrayal at House on the Hill: 3rd Edition". BoardGameGeek. Retrieved 2022-07-11.
  8. "Home - Game and a Curry, LLC". 2016-10-20. Retrieved 2023-02-07.
  9. "The Imposters - Ginger Goat | DriveThruRPG.com". www.drivethrurpg.com. Retrieved 2022-07-11.
  10. "The North Sea Epilogues RPG + GM Screen". Garphill Games. Retrieved 2022-07-11.
  11. "Sea of Legends". BoardGameGeek. Retrieved 2022-07-11.
  12. "Dune Roleplaying Game". Modiphius Entertainment. Retrieved 2022-07-11.
  13. 1 2 3 "2022 Nominations – ENNIE Awards" . Retrieved 2022-07-11.
  14. "Jiangshi co-creator's next game is a LARPG anthology inspired by Get Out and Hannibal". Dicebreaker. 2021-09-15. Retrieved 2022-07-11.
  15. "Exquisite Crime equal parts paranormal whodunnit RPG and goofy group doodling". Dicebreaker. 2021-10-27. Retrieved 2022-07-11.
  16. "Pathfinder Lost Omens: Knights of Lastwall". RPGGeek. Retrieved 2022-07-11.
  17. "paizo.com - Pathfinder Lost Omens: Knights of Lastwall". paizo.com. Retrieved 2023-02-09.
  18. "paizo.com - Pathfinder Dark Archive". paizo.com. Retrieved 2022-07-11.
  19. "Deimos Academy is a Stephen King inspired horror RPG played in a colouring-in book". Dicebreaker. 2021-06-23. Retrieved 2022-07-11.
  20. "Jiangshi designers' next roleplaying game is like a horror version of Russian Doll". Dicebreaker. 2022-01-23. Retrieved 2022-07-28.
  21. "Drawing a picture of the tabletop space with Forgery". Rascal News. 2024-02-27. Retrieved 2024-10-06.
  22. Meehan, Alex (2024-05-13). "Five Nights at Freddy's inspired this horror RPG about an eldritch radio show that comes with its own soundtrack". Dicebreaker. Retrieved 2024-09-26.
  23. "You are The Darkness at the Brink of Ohio". Rascal News. 2024-05-21. Retrieved 2024-10-06.
  24. "Kids on Bikes: Deluxe Edition". RPGGeek. Retrieved 2022-07-11.
  25. "Kids on Bikes Free Content Friday July, 2020 - Grannies on Scooters". RPGGeek. Retrieved 2022-07-11.
  26. "Kids on Bikes Free Content Friday August, 2020 - Doggos on Skateboards". RPGGeek. Retrieved 2022-07-11.
  27. "Kids on Bikes Free Content Friday August, 2020 - Anacondas on Airliners". RPGGeek. Retrieved 2022-07-11.
  28. "Power Rangers: Heroes of the Grid and Clank! publisher holding its first online convention, Renegade Con Virtual, next month". Dicebreaker. 2020-05-15. Retrieved 2022-07-11.
  29. "Warp's Edge". Renegade Game Studios. Retrieved 2022-07-11.
  30. "Critical Care simulates the hospital ICU in a new board game". 23 September 2021.
  31. "Team".
  32. "Review of Mr Lovenstein Presents: No Context, a new party game about making connections". Tabletop Bellhop. 2023-05-30. Retrieved 2023-07-28.
  33. Hamman, Cody (2023-10-02). "Chucky board game coming from Trick or Treat Studios". JoBlo. Retrieved 2024-09-06.
  34. "Golden Cobra Challenge". www.goldencobra.org. Retrieved 2022-07-11.
  35. "Tabletop Awards 2022". Dicebreaker. Retrieved 2023-03-25.
  36. "2022 Results – ENNIE Awards". 2022-08-14. Archived from the original on 2022-08-14. Retrieved 2023-02-09.
  37. "Golden Cobra Challenge". www.goldencobra.org. Retrieved 2022-07-11.
  38. "Indie Groundbreakers Awards". Indie Game Developer Network. Retrieved 2023-03-28.