You’re in a safari jeep, traversing the jungles in the Nilgiris in South India, when you hear the distinct call of the langur… is there a tiger in the vicinity? There’s palpable excitement in the air…will there be a big cat sighting? And then you roll the dice again. Confused? Don’t be, because Kaadoo brings the thrill of the forest safari into your living room, through a board game.
Designed by avid wildlife photographer Diinesh Kumble (cricketer Anil Kumble’s older brother) and his team at Krab Media, Kaadoo is as much for the grandchild in the family, as it is for the grandparents, and the parents in between too. “Lots of kids these days are getting hooked to devices. They don’t even connect to their grandparents. Their activity levels have reduced. As kids, we were always out playing in the sun, or playing board games inside like snake-and-ladder or chowkabara. We wanted to connect the entire family through a board game. And I was keen that it should be a product that comes from India to the rest of the world,” says Diinesh of his intentions.
Kaadoo was chosen as a more universal name for the Kannada word for forest ( kaadu ) — “Kaadoo sounded like it could be Australian or South African as well. In all, we are planning about 17 editions of the game, spread across various wildlife regions of the world, including the Tundra region, America, one on oceanic animals as well. After all humans have created boundaries, not animals! They will be available eventually in as many languages too,” adds Diinesh, after his team has put me through the paces of the game in their office in Banashankari, and made sure I understood how it’s played, and enjoyed it as much as they obviously have.
The whole package has been carefully crafted — a set of 100 hand-drawn and painted cards were created initially for the game, from which prints were created. Team members sought inspiration from TV programmes, Anil’s photographs, and trips to the jungle to create the landscape, ambience and feel of the game. Each card comes with a short line of trivia about the animal, with the intention of also bringing in some new knowledge to the children’s world. The four safari jeeps, which are the pawns for the game, are hand-made wooden ones from Channapatna, points out one of the team members, Raviraj Joshi.
The game plays out exactly like a real-life safari — there are cards that indicate pugmarks, and point you towards waterholes, where animals are most often sighted. The “star” animals in the jungle sighting hierarchy get you higher scores; the smaller birds and animals too find space in the game and jostle for your attention.
There are alert cards, and calling cards. And like in a forest, when two safari jeeps cross, and information is exchanged, when two players cross paths in the game, they exchange their set of cards! The whole aim of the game is to spend as much time in the jungle as possible (till all cards are exhausted) so if you complete one route, you get to re-enter the game and continue play.
The detailed ‘How to play’ book is available in a set of 17 languages (including Indian regional and world languages). There’s a quick reference sheet to explain each move/card use too. “We wanted it to be a safari on the go — something you can carry along on your vacation, or play in your living room.”
The team at Krab Media spent a year working on the game. It all started when Diinesh took his six-member team to Bandipur after a particularly tedious week at work and took them on two safaris. He then challenged his team to create a board game around it. “I was very keen that there should be an element of interest, and intrigue, with a little bit of education and strategy also thrown in,” says Diinesh. Combined with this was the belief that awareness among children is the key to preservation of wildlife. Rules were made, broken and tweaked by team members till they felt they had it spot on. Children were invited to play and experience the game and feedback worked upon. “My experience in photography and my time spent in the forests culminated in this game,” says a visibly pleased Diinesh.
Two editions are available as of now — “Spots and Stripes – Explore the Nilgiri Biosphere” (Rs. 999) and “Migration Mania – Explore the African Savannah” (Rs. 1250). When each new edition is released, the board remains the same, and the cards for each region can be bought as an add-on. The game is available in toy stores in the city, as well as online.
For details on the game, see www.kaadoothebiggame.com
