Bonding over boardgames: Bengaluru’s tabletop community

Amid the bustle of Bengaluru’s pubs and food joints lies a world of camaraderie and competition, a community that is finding fun the old-school way – through tabletop board games.
“It’s all about connecting players face-to-face over adventures, strategy, or just plain luck,” say regulars at boardgame meetups.
“When you think of boardgames, typically, games like ludo and chess come to mind. But there’s so much more than that and there are multiple categories to choose from,” says Saisha Raj, who runs Cards & Dice, a boardgame group that hosts meetups every Sunday.
‘We are a welcoming lot’“It’s a very welcoming community,” says Rohith Dabbiru, a member of Victory Point, a boardgame meetup group that hosts game nights every Tuesday and Saturday. “There is a friendly environment at every meetup — anybody can just walk in. We ensure that they have a good time and that they feel comfortable enough to want to come back and play again and again.”
‘It aids mental stimulation’“Studies have shown that playing board games is mentally stimulating, it reduces stress, and improves memory,” says Saisha. “Playing boardgames is a very good brain activity that can help you to think in different ways, plan and strategise or improving your logical and
reasoning abilities,” adds Rohith.

‘The perfect activity for a date night too’“Boardgaming can prove to be a very good test to help understand people. So if you are on your first date or just want to understand another person, how they play a game, the moves they make, and how they react during the game, can actually give you an insight into their
personality,” explains Rohith.
‘Age no bar for participants’“While the majority of gamers are in their 20s, we have people of all ages attending. Our oldest
participant was 84,” reveals Mansi Shah from The Boardgame Den that hosts games every weekend at Church Street. “As long as people have a good time, they want to come back and bring their family and friends along with them,” she adds.
‘Playing board games are a fantastic way to break the ice’“People who meet for a game aren’t forced to make small talk or to look for topics of conversation. The interaction develops organically when you’re playing. It’s a fantastic way to break the ice,” shares Mansi. Saisha concurs her point by adding, “It makes socialising easy. When we host a board game meetup, there’s always a nice round of laughter.”