Game for a board

Before we entered the digital era that transformed the way we play indoor games, board games used to be one of the most engrossing modes of entertainment to kill long summer afternoons. These games are making a comeback now and attracting niche groups of gaming enthusiasts across the city. From cafes offering traditional favourites like Ludo, Scrabble, etc. and meet-up groups engaging members in niche, hard-to-find international games to rental services giving out games at affordable prices, the market is opening up. Akash Swain, board game enthusiast and active member of Board Gamers of Delhi, a Delhi-based meet-up group, says, “We meet every weekend and the age bracket of our group is fairly diverse — from 19 to 40. It is a fun way to spend your weekend where you get to exercise your brain and spend time with like-minded people.” On Facebook, they currently stand at 636 members, with attendance numbers ranging from 30 to 40. “We are a bunch of snobs! If you are attending a session of our group, do not walk in expecting Scrabble, Monopoly or Snakes and Ladders. The games that we like to indulge in are niche, hard to find in India and thematically rich,” adds Swain.

Pointing out the impediments for the growth of board games in India, Swain says, “One of the major factors affecting the growth of niche games is that they are very expensive and there are no retailers for them. Secondly, as the industry is still at a nascent stage in India, the manufacturers don’t generate thematically rich or complex games that hard-core gamers with an inclination towards international games can appreciate.”

Explaining how digital gaming has affected the market in India, R. Jeswant, senior vice president, sales and marketing, Funskool India says, “The Indian toy market is pretty small and correspondingly, the board games market is also pretty small.”

He continues, “There is not much history of board games in India and they aren’t freely available here. The immediate question that would arise is — how is digital gaming affecting India There is a very small percentage of Indians that play board games at the moment. If digital gaming hadn’t advanced the way it has, board games would have grown a little more than they have so far. But the market is still evolving. There are always the first generation parents who understand the joy of playing board games, and they are encouraging their kids to play these kinds of games too.”

Playing such games with family, friends or at house parties is a wonderful bonding exercise. “The fun of playing games like Monopoly with family is a different experience altogether, and if more kids are involved there is great scope in the market. In India, there are different versions of Monopoly (one of the most purchased games in India) like British, American, debit card version, travel version, Disney edition, Avengers version and more. Games like Mastermind (code-breaking game for two players), Guess Who (a two-player guessing game) etc. are also enjoyed by gamers. Scruples (a card game based on ethical dilemmas), Taboo, Telestrations, etc. are some of the popular party games,” adds Jeswant.

For those looking to spend time with an old friend, there are cafes in the capital like T’Pot, Café Delhi Heights, Game of Legends, Young Wild Free and Jovio among others that allow you to while away hours over chai and board games. Atit Verma, one of the co-founders of T’Pot café says, “Grab a tea of your choice and take your pick from a collection of board games such as Scrabble, Snakes and Ladders, Monopoly, etc. Games and adrak chai make for a great combination. The whole idea of having games is to keep the young crowd hooked, so that they can spend some more time with us and we can offer them our services. Because of board games, we attract a large number of college students and corporate professionals.”

While the cafes offer a restricted choice of games, there are rental services like Games on Wheels that allow you to rent board games for adults that are expensive and not available in India. Rahul Desai, founder of Games on Wheels says, “Predominantly, the games that we rent out are not easily available in the Indian market and even if they are, one has to purchase them via a handful of online portals that also include the shipping charges. Looking at this scenario in the city, we decided to stock these games and start a rental service so that the masses can play them too. We have over 18-19 high-end international games like Settlers of Catan, Dominion or Ticket to Ride in our stock currently. Our customer base is generally high end, affluent people who rent these games, not because they can’t afford to purchase them but because they enjoy them and find them challenging. You can also rent these games for two, four or seven days, and the prices vary from Rs 300 to Rs 900 per game, depending on the popularity of the game and the duration of the rent period.”

The addiction is severe once you understand the complexities and the rules of these games, cautions Desai. “It needs a lot of time and patience to learn these games, as there are a lot of permutations and combinations involved. In India, we need instant gratification but that doesn’t come with these games. These are complex games like Settlers of Catan that come with a rule book as long as 16-17 pages! Once you get a hang of it, it is extremely addictive. We have even received requests from people to deliver these games to them in the middle of the night!” he concludes.