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Scrabble and Skribbl, Carrom and Ludo: Dial b' for board games to beat lockdown blues

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Press Trust of India New Delhi

From once upon a time to keeping up with the online times, board games are back on the agenda, a trip down nostalgia lane for some with classics like Ludo and Monopoly being pulled out from forgotten corners and discovery time for others playing games old and new on their screens.

As Indians settle into a lockdown routine' and come to terms with 24/7 at-home downtime, families are rediscovering what it is to spend time with each other and also what it takes to fill the long hours of the day.

There are movies and TV shows, of course, and books too but this also time for long, leisurely games.

 

And so, it's back to old favourites, including Pictionary, Scrabble, Carrom, Chess, Chinese Checkers, jigsaws, as well as newer online games such as Skribbl and Doom Eternal to keep the competitive spirit going and the hours ticking by.

Fights over the red queen' on the Carrom board, competitions over Mayfair or Park Lane on Monopoly sets and disputes over obscure words on Scrabble that once kept families and friends engrossed for hours are being heard again, breaking the silence of the three-week lockdown that began on March 24 to curtail the spread of COVID-19.

Ludo is a hot favourite, across not just big urban centres but also smaller towns and villages. Online versions of the game had already made it popular among millennials.

The hard copy' of the board game, usually with snakes and ladders on the flip side, were gathering dust at the back of shelves of shops, including kirana' stores selling essentials.

Not anymore though.

"I had a number of Ludo boards lying in the corner of my shop which I had forgotten about. But after the lockdown was announced, people who came to buy essential food items also demanded Ludo sets and now I am out of stock," said Kewal, a shopkeeper in New Delhi's Jamia Nagar locality.

Many are using their smartphones, tablets and computers to play the classic game.

While arts student Nikita Biswas from Greater Noida finds it to be a "way of socialising", 52-year-old homemaker Chhaya Singh from Ghaziabad said she was playing online Ludo long before the lockdown and it has now become a means to "avoid thinking about the world's end".

"I play it with my sister and sometimes with my daughter in Lucknow. It's a good way to pass the time. It keeps you from thinking about where the world is heading," Singh told PTI.

It has really kept us going through these difficult days, added Siddharth, a Delhi University student.

Carrom is back with a bang too with people scouring through their stores to find Carrom coins and strikers.

"A lot of people have been asking for boric powder, Carrom coins and strikers for Carrom. It is all sold out," said Vishal Rastogi, a general merchant shop owner in Lucknow, said.

Muktak Swami has brought out his Carrom board, which was pushed to the back of the storeroom at his home in Bikaner, Rajasthan.

The 31-year-old solar energy consultant recalls spending long summer afternoons playing the game with his family.

"I think the last time I played Carrom was before going to college some 15 years ago," Swami said.

Mohit Dhasmana, a 35-year-old software expert in Lucknow, said he had been a gaming junkie for several years but is now spending his time bonding with his wife and five-year-old daughter over a game of Monopoly.

"I had put Monopoly in my storeroom. After the lockdown with so much time on hand, I recalled how in my teens all my cousins used to play Monopoly. We considered ourselves no less than Tatas and Ambanis while playing Monopoly," he said.

In the B-towns of Uttar Pradesh, chess is a favourite with virtually every household owning its own unique chess pieces and boards -- from those made of wood, brass to the ones painted on tables.

Then there are card games remember court piece and rummy anyone as well as Uno to beat lockdown boredom.

Qazi Zaid, a 26-year-old agriculturist from Bijnor, said the lockdown has given him a lot of spare time to spend on chess and other games, With the luxury of time, people are spending hours on one move on the chess board, sometimes even through the night.

Online gaming is also witnessing a sharp spike.

There's Skribbl, a version of Pictionary, where friends enter a room' through a website, Drawings show up on real time and others guess.

While PUBG continues to be a rage among young smartphone gamers, the house quarantine situation has also increased takers for "Ludo King", "Clash Royale", and "Houseparty".

After trying his hands at several Android games, S Padmanabhan, a Bangalore-based techie, has gone back to his all time favourite "Clash Royale" - a game that allows him to play with gamers from across the world.

Mobile app Houseparty has also gained popularity.

"I can have group video calls from the app, and play games like Pictionary, Trivia, and quick draw," said IT professional Shruti Bakshi.

B Sundaresan, a start-up entrepreneur locked inside the house in Saket with his friends, said he finally has an opportunity to go back to his college hobby - PC gaming.

Red Dead Resumption 2, Devil May Cry 5, and the recently released Doom Eternal are some of the games he has been playing under the lockdown.

Be it traditional board games or online gaming, its mostly 'all play and little or no work' for many people, who are enjoying the pause in their fast-paced lives.

Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content

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First Published: Apr 04 2020 | 2:00 PM IST

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