NIBCARD Games

NIBCARD Games is a Nigerian tabletop game publishing and manufacturing company founded by Kenechukwu Cornelius Ogbuagu and formally registered in 2016. Its name refers to Nigerian Board, Card, Roleplay and Dice games. The company was created to help establish a sustainable tabletop-gaming ecosystem in Nigeria and to produce games that reflect Nigerian and wider African experiences rather than relying exclusively on imported themes and formats. The company’s origins date to 2013, when Ogbuagu, then a student at the University of Calabar, began designing a board game during a university strike. Working with inexpensive materials such as cardboard and stones, he developed an early dice-rolling and card-drafting prototype for friends. The positive response encouraged him to treat game design and publishing as a professional venture. By the time NIBCARD was registered with Nigeria’s Corporate Affairs Commission in 2016, Ogbuagu had developed multiple prototypes and had begun building relationships within the local gaming community. NIBCARD’s activities extend beyond publishing its own games. It designs, manufactures, and publishes physical games for organizations, independent designers, educational initiatives, and other African creators. Its work has addressed subjects including migration, ranching conflicts, homebuilding, religious awareness, tolerance, cultural appreciation, and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. This socially focused approach positions games as tools for conversation, education, collaboration, and problem-solving as well as entertainment. The company emphasizes iterative development, using player feedback and live testing to refine its designs. Its internally developed catalogue includes titles such as Hut Alive, Village War, Irin Ajo, Campus Wahala, No Gree!, Fight in the Hive, Na Lie, Dicemo, Keep Safe, Wan Wan Touch, Bidding Room, The Outsider, and Greatest Nigerian. Reference material describes more than 50 in-house games and more than 20 additional games manufactured for organizations or external designers. These external projects include Owonikoko and Instant Words for Centroid Games, Word Jumble for Lydem Games, and The Peace Trip and Bible Guru for ICE Games. NIBCARD also operates a board-game café in Gwarinpa, Abuja. The venue provides a library of several hundred games, trained game masters or stewards, multiple play areas, and programmed activities for families, schools, gamers, and corporate groups. It functions as both a commercial venue and a community hub where people can learn modern tabletop games, test prototypes, and meet other designers and players. In addition, NIBCARD founded and convenes the African Boardgame Convention, commonly known as AB Con. The annual event brings together players, designers, publishers, and enthusiasts through showcases, tournaments, panels, themed games, and industry networking. The convention has been supported through donations and Kickstarter campaigns and has grown into one of the most visible tabletop-gaming gatherings associated with Africa. NIBCARD’s broader community work has helped connect gaming groups and creators in cities including Enugu, Jos, and Nasarawa. Former volunteers and game masters have gone on to establish or support other conventions and publishing initiatives, including the South East Boardgame Convention and Centroid Games. NIBCARD received the 2021 Diana Jones Award, recognizing its game design and publishing work, café operations, mentorship, and role in cultivating a new community of tabletop-game makers in Nigeria and across Africa. It has also been featured by outlets including CNN and Nigeria Television Authority. Its stated mission and activities make it a pioneering participant in Nigeria’s tabletop-gaming and wider creative industries, combining commercial publishing with community development and culturally grounded educational play.

NIBCARD Games emerged from founder Kenechukwu Cornelius Ogbuagu’s experiments with tabletop game design while he was studying at the University of Calabar. In 2013, during a university strike, Ogbuagu created an early board-game prototype using ordinary materials, including cardboard and stones. The design combined dice rolling and card drafting and was initially intended for play with friends. Its favorable reception led him to explore game design as a professional activity and to develop additional prototypes. Ogbuagu formally registered NIBCARD with Nigeria’s Corporate Affairs Commission in 2016. The name was derived from Nigerian Board, Card, Roleplay and Dice, reflecting the company’s broad interest in physical tabletop formats. In the same period, NIBCARD established the African Boardgame Convention, or AB Con, as a recurring meeting point for players, designers, publishers, and enthusiasts. The convention became an important part of the company’s community-building work and subsequently included game demonstrations, tournaments, panels, themed activities, and professional networking. Its operation has been supported by attendee contributions, donations, and Kickstarter fundraising. A significant early partnership came in 2017, when NIBCARD worked with Voluntary Service Overseas to produce Luku Luku, an educational board game. The company also received support from the International Organization for Migration to create My World Trip. These projects illustrate NIBCARD’s approach of using games to communicate about social and developmental subjects. Subsequent projects and partnerships addressed themes including migration, sustainable development, religious awareness, tolerance, cultural identity, conflict, and practical community problems. In 2019, Ogbuagu founded a NIBCARD game café in Abuja’s Gwarinpa district. The venue provided a physical base for the company’s gaming community, with a sizeable library, trained game masters or stewards, designated gaming areas, and organized sessions. It served families, schools, hobbyists, and corporate groups, while also giving designers a place to test games and receive feedback. Around the same period, three NIBCARD-published games appeared at the African Boardgame Convention, reinforcing the relationship between the company’s publishing activity and its event platform. NIBCARD’s publishing model expanded beyond its own catalogue. The company began manufacturing games for independent African designers, organizations, and other game businesses, helping address a regional shortage of local tabletop production capacity. Reported external projects include Owonikoko and Instant Words for Centroid Games, Word Jumble for Lydem Games, and The Peace Trip and Bible Guru for ICE Games. Through these relationships, NIBCARD became part of a broader network of designers, reviewers, collectors, volunteers, and game masters. The company’s community influence also extended to other Nigerian gaming initiatives. People associated with NIBCARD and AB Con contributed to gaming communities in locations such as Enugu, Jos, and Nasarawa. Tobenna Nwosu, described as an active volunteer and game master, founded the South East Boardgame Convention. Femi Olusanya, another former volunteer and game master, created Centroid Games, which initially held an exclusive publishing relationship with NIBCARD. These links illustrate how NIBCARD’s impact has included training, networking, and enabling new local institutions rather than only selling games. NIBCARD has designed and manufactured a large catalogue of games, with reference material describing more than 50 in-house titles and more than 20 games produced for outside clients. Its subjects and mechanics vary, but the company consistently emphasizes physical social play, Nigerian or African narratives, and development through player feedback. Titles associated with its catalogue include Hut Alive, Village War, Irin Ajo, Campus Wahala, No Gree!, Fight in the Hive, Na Lie, Dicemo, Keep Safe, Wan Wan Touch, Bidding Room, The Outsider, and Greatest Nigerian. Recognition came through media coverage, the growth of AB Con, and the 2021 Diana Jones Award. The award acknowledged not only game products but also NIBCARD’s publishing activity, café, mentorship, and contribution to creating a new generation of tabletop-game makers in Nigeria and elsewhere in Africa. NIBCARD therefore occupies a distinctive position at the intersection of entertainment, education, cultural representation, creative entrepreneurship, and community development. Its current identity is defined by three connected activities: publishing and manufacturing games, operating a social gaming venue, and building an African tabletop-game network through AB Con and related initiatives.

• 2021

  Diana Jones Award recognition

  [1]NIBCARD Gamesen.wikipedia.org

  NIBCARD Games won the Diana Jones Award for its design, publishing, mentorship, café, and tabletop-community work.

• 2019

  NIBCARD opens a game café in Abuja

  [1]NIBCARD Gamesen.wikipedia.org

  Ogbuagu founded a NIBCARD game café in Gwarinpa, creating a venue for guided play, events, game testing, and community activities.

• 2017

  Luku Luku is produced with Voluntary Service Overseas

  [1]NIBCARD Gamesen.wikipedia.org

  NIBCARD partnered with Voluntary Service Overseas to produce an educational board game.

• 2017

  My World Trip receives International Organization for Migration support

  [1]NIBCARD Gamesen.wikipedia.org

  The company received a grant from the International Organization for Migration to create My World Trip.

• 2016

  NIBCARD Games is formally registered

  [1]NIBCARD Gamesen.wikipedia.org

  The company was registered with Nigeria’s Corporate Affairs Commission after Ogbuagu had developed several game prototypes.

• 2016

  African Boardgame Convention is established

  [1]NIBCARD Gamesen.wikipedia.org

  NIBCARD launched AB Con as an annual gathering for African tabletop gamers, designers, publishers, and enthusiasts.

• 2013

  Founder develops an early tabletop prototype

  [1]NIBCARD Gamesen.wikipedia.org

  Kenechukwu Cornelius Ogbuagu created an initial dice-rolling and card-drafting board game from inexpensive everyday materials while studying at the University of Calabar.

An African-centered tabletop game publisher and community platform that combines culturally relevant entertainment with education, social dialogue, local manufacturing, and creator development.

• Board game

  Hut Alive

  An in-house NIBCARD tabletop title included among the company’s Nigerian-focused catalogue. It represents the company’s approach of developing physical games around locally recognizable settings and social interaction.

• Board game

  Village War

  A NIBCARD-published tabletop game listed among the company’s locally developed titles. Its inclusion in the catalogue reflects NIBCARD’s interest in translating African social settings and conflict-related themes into accessible play.

• Board game

  Irin Ajo

  An internally developed NIBCARD game in the company’s catalogue of Nigerian and African-themed tabletop products.

• Board game

  Campus Wahala

  A NIBCARD title associated with campus life and contemporary Nigerian experience, demonstrating the publisher’s preference for familiar local contexts in tabletop design.

• Card or board game

  No Gree!

  An in-house NIBCARD tabletop title listed among its popular Nigerian entries. Detailed mechanics and launch information are not specified in the available reference material.

• Educational board game · 2017

  Luku Luku

  An educational board game produced in 2017 through a partnership between NIBCARD Games and Voluntary Service Overseas.

• Educational and social-impact game

  My World Trip

  A game created with support from the International Organization for Migration. It belongs to NIBCARD’s body of work using tabletop play to explore migration and related social issues.

• Game production service

  Custom game manufacturing

  NIBCARD manufactures games for external designers, organizations, and businesses. Reported projects include Owonikoko and Instant Words for Centroid Games, Word Jumble for Lydem Games, and The Peace Trip and Bible Guru for ICE Games.

• Game café · 2019

  NIBCARD Games Café

  The Abuja café offers a large tabletop-game library, trained game masters, several gaming zones, and recurring activities for families, schools, hobbyists, and corporate groups. It also functions as a testing and community venue.

• Tabletop gaming convention · 2016

  African Boardgame Convention

  AB Con is NIBCARD’s annual event for African tabletop gaming. It combines game showcases, tournaments, panels, themed sessions, and networking for players, designers, and publishers.

• AB Con Kickstarter fundraising

  Africa · International tabletop-gaming community

  NIBCARD used Kickstarter campaigns and community contributions to support the African Boardgame Convention and its continuing program of tabletop events.

  Outcome. The convention continued as an annual gathering and expanded its audience and participation.

  Source

• 2019

  Open a physical game café in AbujaStrategy

  Background

  NIBCARD needed a venue where people could discover tabletop games, receive guidance, test designs, and participate in organized community activities.

  Action taken

  Founder Kenechukwu Cornelius Ogbuagu opened a NIBCARD game café in Gwarinpa, Abuja.

  Aftermath

  The café became a hub for families, schools, gamers, corporate groups, game masters, and local designers.

  Source

• 2016

  Formalize NIBCARD as an African tabletop-game publisherStrategy

  Background

  After experimenting with game prototypes since 2013, founder Kenechukwu Cornelius Ogbuagu sought to make tabletop design and publishing a professional activity in Nigeria.

  Action taken

  NIBCARD Games was registered with Nigeria’s Corporate Affairs Commission and adopted a mission centered on locally relevant board, card, roleplay, and dice games.

  Aftermath

  The company expanded into original publishing, external manufacturing, community events, and game education.

  Source

• 2016

  Launch the African Boardgame ConventionStrategy

  Background

  Nigeria and other African markets had a developing tabletop-gaming community with limited dedicated platforms for designers, publishers, and players.

  Action taken

  NIBCARD established AB Con as an annual event featuring showcases, tournaments, panels, themed games, and networking.

  Aftermath

  AB Con became a major part of NIBCARD’s community-building work and attracted participants from across the African tabletop ecosystem.

  Source

• Expand into third-party game manufacturingStrategy

  Background

  African designers and organizations required regional production support for physical tabletop games.

  Action taken

  NIBCARD began manufacturing and publishing games for external creators and organizations, including projects associated with Centroid Games, Lydem Games, and ICE Games.

  Aftermath

  The company became part of a wider African tabletop supply chain and helped emerging designers bring games to market.

  Source

1. 1NIBCARD Gamesen.wikipedia.org