Sen-Foong Lim

Designer / Developer / Writer

Selected Design Credits

Sen-Foong Lim burst onto the board game design scene in 2011 and quickly earned a reputation for being one of the most versatile designers in the industry. His diverse portfolio includes:

  • Belfort - a Euro-strategy game

  • But Wait, There’s More! - a game about pitching wacky products

  • Junk Art - a family-oriented dexterity game

  • Akrotiri - a game about unearthing lost temples in ancient Greece

(All co-designed with Jay Cormier)

Due to his skill and flexibility, Sen has had the privilege of working with some of the most beloved properties in all of Fandom including:

  • The Legend of Korra

  • Dragon Ball Super

  • Batman: The Animated Series

  • Kingdom Rush

  • MIND MGMT

  • WWE

  • Dungeons & Dragons

  • Rat Queens

  • My Singing Monsters

He brings his love of each property to the forefront, ensuring that the design teams include other fans like Jay Cormier, Josh Cappel, Alara Cameron, Helana Hope, Erica Bouyouris, and Jon Cohn.

He and Jay also co-created the innovative Coded Chronicles system which takes escape-room-in-a-box games to a whole new level by integrating immersive stories with devious puzzles. So far, they have co-written:

  • Scooby-Doo: Escape from the Haunted Manor

  • The Shining: Escape from the Overlook Hotel

  • The Goonies: Escape with One-Eyed Willy's Rich Stuff

Selected Development & Consultation Credits

Sen is often requested to work as a cultural consultant or a developer and has helped put the finishing touches on games for many companies such as:

  • WizKids

  • Everything Epic

  • Atheris Games

  • Underdog Games

  • Fantasy Board Games

  • Nauvoo Games

  • Skybound Tabletop

  • Darrington Press

  • Weird City Games

  • Ravensburger Games

  • Renegade Games Studio

  • Sky Kingdom Games

  • Dragori Games

Sen often works with the Zone of Proximal Developers team that includes Scott Veenvliet and Alara Cameron. He also does rules work with Chad Nolan and consults with Matt Paquette & Co.

Selected RPG Credits

A life-long role-player, Sen began his foray into working in tabletop RPGs by writing scenarios for many systems including:

  • Kids on Bikes

  • Teens in Space

  • Gears of Defiance

  • North Sea Epilogues

  • Never Going Home

  • The Curse of the House of Rookwood

  • Venture Society

He also co-authored a campaign for Mecha + Monsters II Evolved with frequent co-conspirator Banana Chan.

Sen has also created RPG systems including:

  • Ties that Bind, a one-page RPG in the Love and Resistance compilation that shines a light on state-sanctioned violence against families seeking safe haven (written with Alara Cameron)

  • Jiangshi: Blood in the Banquet Hall, a love letter to immigrants everywhere, players take on roles within a multigenerational Chinese family who must fend off hopping vampires while running their restaurant in 1920s North America (written with Banana Chan)

  • An Exquisite Crime, a game where players use co-created drawings to populate a world plagued by psychic wrong-doings (written with Banana Chan)

  • The Revenant Society, a game where players are undead detectives trying to solve their own murders or remain forever trapped in time (written with Banana Chan)

Sen also writes for some amazing games, including some of the biggest projects this side of The Dragon Game.

  • The Crooked Moon which is a rich and detailed folk horror setting for 5e adventures into the twisted and the macabre based on the Legends of Avantris Actual Play (Sen wrote several scenarios for the book)

  • The award-winning Avatar Legends: The RPG, which brings one of the best animated series EVER to the tabletop (Sen was part of the writing team alongside the brilliant James Mendez Hodes, Yeonsoo Julian Kim, Sharang Biswas, and Daniel Kwan)

  • The Kickstarter-smashing Cosmere Roleplaying Game, which sees the Brotherwise team build a custom TTRPG system spanning all of Brandon Sanderson's epic series (Sen is co-writing adventures with fellow Canadian Meric Moir and designing some of the crafting elements of the game itself)

Current Projects

This one’s fully-funded and currently getting printed! Corps of Discovery is co-designed with Jay Cormier based on the comic series Manifest Destiny. The premise: Lewis & Clark & Monsters! This game of cryptic exploration and survival will be hitting shelves in 2025!

Another project Sen hopes to get off the ground in 2024 is Tankhead, based on the amazing artwork of Emerson Tung and worldbuilding of Tim Popelier. Sen and Nicholas Yu (co-designer of D&D Onslaught) are working on a great co-operative game set in a world where giant walking tanks stride across the battlefields. The artbook is currently available for preorder from Udon's website - click the image for more info!

Sen is also partnering with industrial designer David Killing on some cool toyetic games, the first of which is called Rooftops. If everything goes well, you might see a different game come out from this team before the sign Rooftops, though. Keep your eyes peeled!

Selected Awards

Sen is grateful to have been recognized within the tabletop gaming and comic book communities, by both consumers and peers. Some of his most prestigious awards and nominations include:

  • Winner of the 2011 Dice Hate Me Award for Game of the Year (Belfort)

  • Winner of the 2014 Geekie for Game of the Year (Belfort)

  • Winner of the 2022 Silver ENnie for Best Setting (Jiangshi: Blood in the Banquet Hall)

  • Nominated for the 2022 Harvey Award for Best Adaptation of a Comic or Graphic Novel (MIND MGMT)

  • Winner of the 2023 Gold ENnies for Best Family Product and Best Rules Writing (Avatar Legends: The RPG)

  • Winner of the 2023 Good Housekeeping Best Toy Awards for Children aged 6+ (Meet Mahjong)

Probably, his most important award, though, is the 2020 James Mathe Mentorship Award, named in honour of one of Sen's many mentors (R.I.P. James).

Sen knows that he could not have reached this level of success without the trust of all the publishers who have faith in his work. He would also like to thank all of the wonderful people he regularly collaborates.

  • Jay Cormier

  • Alara Cameron

  • Banana Chan

  • Erica Bouyouris

  • Helana Hope

  • David Killing

  • Matt Kindt

  • Chad Nolan

  • Katherine Rossin

  • Helaina Cappel

  • Josh Cappel

  • Jon Cohn

  • Nate Murray

  • Scott Veenvliet

  • Geoffrey Engelstein

  • Gil Hova

  • Scott Rogers

  • Emma Larkins

  • Elizabeth Hargrave

  • Daryl Andrews

  • Nicholas Yu

  • Emerson Tung

  • Tim Popelier

Selected Media Appearances

Sen’s work has been featured prominently in tabletop media, gaming media in general, and beyond. He has been interviewed for several stories, articles, and books, including publications in other languages like Japan’s Nikkei. Sen is more than happy to share his experiences around the gaming table.

Community Involvement

A frequent panelist, moderator, keynote speaker, and media representative at industry events, Sen has been honoured to be a guest at:

  • Gen Con

  • Origins

  • AnimeNorth

  • Fan Expo

  • SHUX

  • GrandCon

  • Save Against Fear

  • Metatopia

  • Breakout Con

  • reCONvene

  • ProtoTO

  • D4 Tabletop Creative Conference

  • Big Bad Con

  • San Diego ComicCon.

Sen values helping others gain traction in the industry. He has facilitated many workshops at the above conventions and through organizations like the Tabletop Mentorship Program and the Board Game Design Conference.

As a fierce advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion in the tabletop industry, Sen helps to determine the recipients for the scholarships disbursed by New Voices in Gaming. Sen also assists with curating the schedule for the Board Game Design Summit for the Game Developers Conference as part of their Advisory Committee.

Together with Geoff Engelstein and Elizabeth Hargrave, Sen founded the Tabletop Game Designers Association (TTGDA) in 2024 to elevate the profession. Sen serves as the association’s current secretary and hopes that this group increases the recognition game designers receive for their contribution to culture and decreases predatory practices amongst game publishers.

Media

As one of the co-hosts the Meeple Syrup Show, a weekly design-centric webcast, since it's inception in 2015, Sen has carved out a niche in tabletop media. Sen also joined the Ludology crew in 2021 as one of the co-hosts for the podcast. Sen currently hosts the show alongside his long-time partner-in-crime, Erica Bouyouris.

Meeple Syrup has been creating resources for game designers since its inception. One of the most used projects has been the Contact Checklist - the first version has been featured in Jay Cormier's Fail Faster Game Design Journal.

Another project they completed was PechaKucha Kon 2021. Sen’s submission delves into how he uses psychological theories in game design.

Contact Information

Sen loves to help foster networking opportunities for freelancers. He enjoys interacting with designers and fans of gaming alike.Please reach out to him through any of the channels below!