Minami Yoshida and Chris Wang have spent hundreds of hours perfecting their first board game, and now they are ready to roll the dice on its success.

The Christchurch pair, who create games in their spare time under the name Pancoon Games, are still using the laser cutter at Tūranga’s Creative Space to make wooden boxes.

The boxes will house the components for Cubeli, a three-dimensional take on Connect Four in which players select small wooden cubes and place them on a board.

“The twist is that every cube has both your colour and your opponents, so you have to be careful how you place it so that you don’t accidentally give them the upper hand,” said Wang, an anaesthetic and intensive care unit registrar at Christchurch Hospital.

“Surprisingly the game plays a lot more like chess with openings, traps, and discovery moves. After playing over 100 games, I am still discovering new tactics.”

The pair plan to make 48 Cubeli sets, hopefully enough to recoup the cost of the materials they have bought.

Cubeli is a 3D Connect Four-type game where two players take turns placing multi-coloured cubes on a grid, aiming to be the first to align four of their colour in a straight line from any of the five main 2D perspectives. Photo: Supplied

Wang and Yoshida, a quality and compliance lead, first heard about the library’s Creative Space from another board game designer.

The facility is open to the public and provides equipment and support for prototyping, crafting, learning new technologies and media production.

“We then heard about it again at a boardgame festival held by the library called Tabletop Tūranga. In June we finally got the chance to try it out and just had so much fun with prototyping,” Yoshida said.

Photo: Supplied

Wang has been inspired by the opportunities the space offers.

“It is fun to talk with other makers to see what cool things they are making too. The library is not just a place where you borrow books, it is a centre for the community to enjoy different ideas, discover new interests, or create your own vision.”

The pair have used the laser cutter to prototype many of the game's components, as well as for other creative projects.

“We’ve also used it for fun side projects, like making a trophy for whoever beats us in the game of Cubeli,” Yoshida said.

“You don’t need technical experience, you just need an idea, and the staff help you bring it to life.

“Once you start making things there, it’s hard to stop. Every prototype sparks new ideas and, before you know it, you’re finding excuses to come back and create something else.”

  • Find out more about Cubeli at pancoon.games

-Allied Media