Jayanth Abraham lights up when he talks about the board game in front of him - Pandemic. “This game requires team work; it is the team versus the board. Pandemic is based on the premise that diseases have broken out in the world. You need to work and stop them before it wipes out everything.”
An ardent board gamer, Jayanth has started Trivandrum Table Top, a platform for board gamers to gather. It’s the first meet and so far, just three have gathered. I am roped in to play too. Soon, we are discussing various strategies and planning our moves so as to defeat the game. And despite introducing “house rules” that favour us, we still lose.
“I never win at Pandemic; I am not sure why. Its like the game hates me, even though I love it. I hope I beat the game soon as I want to buy the legacy version of the game. The legacy version is tougher than the regular one,” says Jayanth.
Jayanth’s fascination for board games started in his childhood. “I recall seeing the lighter side of my father when he played carrom with his friends. I wanted to be part of the fun,but obviously being a four-year-old, it was difficult to convince him to let me play with them. I was introduced to board games by my cousins. They taught me chess, carrom, Ludo and of course Snake and Ladders. However the game I really fell in love with was Chinese checkers, which I played with my mom and brother. In my teens, I moved on to UNO and Monopoly but soon computer games entered my world.”
A business analyst of a German multi-national company at Technopark, Jayanth’s job requires him to travel abroad. It was during his travels that he rediscovered board games. “I met adults who were into board games and realised that there was a whole range of board games apart from Ludo, Snake and Ladders, Monopoly and Scrabble.”
The availability of board games in India is minimal when compared to other countries. “Of late, one does find Cluedo, Scotland Yard, Game of Life... on the shelves, but if you look at the year of origin of these games, the latest will be 1996,” says Jayanth who does his board game shopping online.
According to Jayanth, there are roughly around 20 types of board games. There are abstract games like Chess and Ludo and co-operative games like Pandemic and Dixit. While Cluedo and Mastermind are deduction games, Werefold and Resistence are examples of deception games. “Whatever the personality, you will find a genre you will come to adore.”
The next gathering of Trivandrum Table Top will be announced on the group’s Facebook page. “I will be introducing more games. Members are welcome to bring their own board games too.”
