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Time of India
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Chennai emerges as the capital of board game cafes in india
It's 10 pm, the eatery on the ground floor has closed, but the night has only begun on the third floor of The Board Room cafe. The tables are packed, and groups are setting up for hours of intense 'gaming'. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Only, in place of joysticks and consoles are meeple, dice, and tokens on a board. Phones are forgotten here. The game could go on till 5 am, but it doesn't matter to the players. "There is no limit to imagination in board games. It can become more immersive than video games," says Ashish Venkat, a hardcore board gamer. For many, the progression from video games to board games was natural once they got to know the variety and range, but others such as Ashish just walked into one of the cafés one day and got hooked. "During Covid, I got some free time and attended an online game session for beginners at The Board Room. Soon I started visiting the café every day. I'd play for eight hours a day, at times till 2 am," says the 34-year-old. In 2019, Chennai had just a couple of such cafes where a small group of regulars used to congregate. But today, there are more than 20, the highest in the country, says Phalgun Polepalli, founder of Mozaic Games and TTOX, one of the major board game conventions in the country. "The board game cafés in Chennai are also the most occupied in the country," he says. "The city has about 5,000 hardcore players today, and the games are available even in grocery and bookstores," says Suwetha Sundar, senior game guru at The Board Room, supposedly among the largest of such cafes in the country. "After Covid, youngsters wanted to connect in person, and to do something that doesn't involve screens," says Thara Srinivasan, game master, Dungeons and Dragons. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Masters are an indispensable part of a game café as they explain rules and often join teams. While it's mostly hardcore gamers and young adults who throng the all-nighters, in the daytime, the cafes see families coming in with children, solo players, beginners, and tourists who want to experience something new. Board game birthday parties are becoming the rage too. Most players are in the 16-35 age group — IT folk, lawyers, students — but there are also those who get introduced in their 40s, says Suwetha. "Adults want to get away from workplace stress, for young people it's mostly a form of bonding, as they don't have a space to meet up every week. " It was Carnatic vocalist Sanjay Subrahmanyam and wife Aarthi who introduced stand-up comedian Aravind S A to the world of board games, and now he does the same to new "minions" he says. "Sanjay has 1,000-plus games at his home and he's a patient teacher as well, which I'm not. So I take the newbies to cafes to get them acquainted with the rules, and then we all play together at my home. And no, these aren't Monopoly or Uno which most millennials grew up with but a massive range of 30 categories. Nature-themed games are among the most popular now, such as WingSpan where you set up bird trays, place the dice in the bird feeder, and play with egg tokens and bird cards, learning about species as you play. In Evolution, you score points by feeding rare species, boosting population as you progress. Gameistry, Egmore, and The Board Room have more than 1,000 games each, mostly imported. "People are also interested in strategy games these days," says Prashaunth Kamalakannan of Gameistry. The games can be expensive if one tries to buy them, costing from Rs 5,000 to Rs 26,000, which is a reason many prefer to pay the hourly rates at cafes, at Rs 150 per person. For example, 'Foundations of Rome' has 3D miniatures of Roman architecture, which users have to construct, is among those which costs above Rs 20,000. The cafes have now diversified to include workshops, quiz nights, events, and all-nighters. Also, Chennai is unique in that there's a culture of teaching games at these cafes, says Sriram Mahalingam, co-founder of The Board Room. They started out as a restaurant serving as a free meet-up group in Adyar renting out board games and conducting online gaming sessions. "There wasn't much of a game scene until 2019, but soon the community started growing, and today, we have three branches. " It takes 45 minutes or more to teach the rules for a new game, which is difficult in café hours, and that's when they hit upon the idea of an all-nighter, around two years ago, says Sriram. "We began hosting one every other week and it evolved into a community event. Many also use the workspace option to work and play." The best part of these cafes, says Thara, is the open table concept. "You don't need to bring your friends for teammates; you can pick them from the community. " Gamers get notifications on WhatsApp groups on what will be played where and when, and form teams before they arrive. "Board games are a great socialisation tool but work best for introverts too. You don't need to make small talk or open up about your life. You're all there for the love of the game," says Thara.
The Hindu
30-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Hindu
How Indian Board Games Are Embracing Local Culture, Cities, and Stories
On the wall of a school nestled deep in Ladakh's longest village Chuchot, is a mural painted by an artist from Coimbatore — a map of Ladakh. The map, painted by Varun Manoharan in 2019, attracted many passers-by who would often walk over, point and identify the specific village they hail from. They would stop, talk at length about their land, its inhabitants, both animals and otherwise, and what makes it special. 'They used the map to tell stories around the villages,' recalls Varun. Today, the mural manifests itself on a beautiful tabletop board game aptly titled A World Above the Clouds, inviting one to hike across the various villages of Ladakh, sometimes as a guardian of the region or a storyteller in pursuit of Ladakh's lost stories. Over the course of this journey, one gathers 'elements' and 'seeds', and pauses to learn about the region's ecological wealth. Created over five years spent living in different Ladakhi villages, this strategy game by Floating Rock Games for those over 14 also doubles up as an informal entry point to understanding conservation. Meanwhile, in a tile placement strategy game called Lakshadweep by Siddhant Chand, one gets to build an archipelago with houses, fisheries, hotels, ports, and coral ecosystems. What connects these two games? A World Above the Clouds and Lakshadweep are among a steady, long string of homegrown, modern board games that thrive in geographical and cultural specificities. They are vocally, and unabashedly Indian, often inspired by the topography, culture and socio-politics of the country, giving rise to creators who believe that relatability reigns supreme. While the pandemic and the subsequent push for 'Make in India' propelled many of these creations, a growing numbers of gamers are excited about this welcome change. This proliferation can be literally charted to the length and breadth of the country. Phalgun Polepalli of Bengaluru-based Mozaic Games, and one of the key organisers of the annual board game convention called TTOX in Indian cities, draws up a map through a list of these games. 'If you come down a little from Ladakh, there is a game set on the Taj Mahal in Agra and if you come further down, there are games based on Jaipur, while Gujarat has a kite-flying game; there is a game based on the Sunderbans in the East, and when you look at the peninsula, there are games coming out of Chennai, based on its food culture, or a game on Athangudi tiles. In Karnataka, there are many creators who are bringing out games based on Hampi.' Clearly, this is just the tip of the iceberg. The streets you know In order to design a board game that reflects the ethos of a specific place, a major pillar of research depends on capturing the city's nuances — from Bengaluru's 4am biryani to Mumbai's local transport or Chennai's beaches. Take for instance, Mighty Mumbai, a new game designed like a double-decker bus with quirky characters that one may encounter only in a city like Mumbai that celebrates hustle culture. From Sunil Sixer, the cricketer, to Zoya Zameenwala, the real estate magnate, the characters of Mighty Mumbai are quirky, carrying a personality that one typically associated with a city like Mumbai. 'I was inspired by two things: one was the city itself and how Mumbai attracts people from all over the country, people with dreams, desires and ambition. I find that the spirit of Mumbai is different from the other cities. The second aspect is that today, all of us are influenced by screens. I was very clear that I wanted to do a physical game — where we get to argue, play with each other and truly be in the moment,' says Darshan M, co-founder of Cherapunjee Innovations LLP. 'The game teaches you about life itself — the value of having friends, connections and mentors,' says Darshan. One may get pickpocketed, or tire oneself out looking for a PG in this gameplay that reflects life. Cherrapunjee Innovations's next game is going to be based on the start-up culture of Bengaluru. Another quirky game called Mumbai Connection, designed by Khurshad Batliwala, captures the tension and drama behind creating the most complex city train system, the Mumbai Local. One of the biggest challenges for creators of board games steeped in culture and geography is the responsibility of accurate representation. Mozaic Games' Vallamkali, a light strategy party game based on the boat races of Kerala's Alleppey traces a niche cultural event, the nitty gritties of which are lost on those from outside the State. 'As a designer or publisher, you have to take certain measures to involve that particular community right from Day 1. [For Vallamkali], we interviewed the oarsmen who participated in these races. We asked them the most nuanced details pertaining to even the design of the boats, how the movement works in the backwaters and so on.' This process is eye-opening for the creators as well. The beauty about this need to look inward is that the gameplay and the theme are woven together so closely, that if you remove the cultural context, the game would cease to make sense. Phalgun continues, 'Five years back, you would have games where you roll a dice and move from city to city, discovering different things. Now, there are games that have a modern twist to it. The DNA of a modern game is that it should be playable for over 1,000 times. Even at the 1000th time, it should feel like a fresh, new game.' Creators also point to an emerging trend that is still at its nascent stages — Western games adopting Indian themes. Imagine Dungeons & Dragons, but with Indian themes. 'We recently played a really spooky version that was loosely based on surrounding [the mythical serpent-like creature from Indian folklore] Nagin,' Phalgun adds. Uruttu on the other hand, is a Tamil version of Monopoly, loaded with regional references by Chennai-based graphic designer Dinesh Kumar. This version emerged from the need to make the game accessible to local gamers looking for leisure, more than intellectual stimulation. For Dinesh, it all started at a game night with family where he introduced a Kollywood twist to the card game UNO, replete with Vadivel dialogues and thalaivar references. Says Dinesh, 'When we are expected to understand Western references, why can't we speak about our culture, and build our own references?' And so, he made a Chennai-inspired board game, based on Monopoly. The city's unrelenting traffic, its most preferred mediums of transportation — autos and the metro — all make their way into this game. The game that was launched in Comic Con Chennai in February, has already sold 35 sets. Board games that take after cities, towns and culture, are sometimes accidental tools for tangible documentation. They are also collected as souvenirs, and are popular gifting choices. Says Darshan, 'The hope is that someone would request a blow up of Mighty Mumbai, as a souvenir, where it looks like a piece of Mumbai that you can take back home. Over time, the idea is to design it in such a way that people appreciate it for a long time. We want to keep doing limited edition boxes for festivals and important moments in Mumbai.' Documentation and awareness are at the centre of A World Above the Clouds which is now looking to do its rounds across local schools in Ladakh. Varun hopes that the board game will soon make its way to the curriculum. 'Teenagers grasp it very easily and it could be a very nice teaching tool. Some of the feedback that I have received is that the game makes them happy. It is very satisfying to hear that.'
