How it really looks like

A primary school teacher posted this blog entry containing many pictures showing pasang boards the way they are traditionally made. Notice the "cup" in the middle of each board. This cup, called "gadong", plays no part in the game. The first player is supposed to accumulate her bounties in there, while the second player puts hers on the table. The game is in no way affected if this purely ornamental rule is not observed. In fact this cup actually blocks from view pieces near the centre.

When I learnt pasang, my mentor lent me a set with wooden pieces. I think that's the way they were traditionally made. But the bulky wooden pieces, which must have been a hassle to make, gave way to the more convenient and cute coat buttons, conveniently available at the nearest supermarket at a very affordable price. Two themes in an early version of Pasang Emas parodied this button-using trend. Notice in some of the pictures the use of red and bluish buttons for the kas. Red and blue combination is a convention introduced by Pasang Emas.

Jabatan Muzium-Muzium (Department of Museums) published reference cards showing traditional opening arrangements. You can see these cards in some of the pictures.

A secondary school posted this blog entry showing pictures of students learning pasang. Here again we can see the unmistakable traditional board dotted with tailor buttons. The man with the white cap must be the instructor. Indeed he must be. He is my pasang mentor.