How has the board game ecosystem changed in last few years and what keeps you motivated ?
The board game ecosystem has changed considerably due to the need for having educational toys , and also governments national action plan of including toys as a learning source especially pertaining to Indian history and culture . Apart from conducive ecosystem the other reasons for our motivation are :
• India is a unique market . The products can be manufactured locally and absorbed in domestic consumption .
• The Board game design community is growing rapidly . Graduates from Design schools and anyone passionate about game design are added to the community everyday .
• Manufacturers who are willing to support are added everyday to this growing ecosystem .
• Board gaming community is growing with many cafes and gaming groups popping up all over India .
• A lot more social media content on board gaming is being added and this is increasing everyday . In the form of Instagram posts , contests , podcasts , videos , etc .
• Online marketplaces are making it easy to reach out to the target audience .
• Self-publishing a game is not an expensive affair .
A small note to International Publishers about the Indian Target Market :
1 . Indian Gen-Z and Millennial ' s , 14 - 36yrs of age are English speaking .
2 . Family games - They just want a good game that plays for 60 mins at a minimum with a good theme .
3 . Games with player interaction , strategy , problemsolving and engine building mechanisms are popular . ( Like Splendor , Azul , Ticket to Ride )
4 . India is not like other countries ; Indians prefer their content to be in English . There is a common misconception that games should be in Hindi to be launched in India . The Gen-Z and Millennial ' s are very fluent in English , infact in some cases it has become their primary language .
5 . Hobby Gaming Community is also growing rapidly , who get their games muled from abroad with the help of their friends or family . Why ? Customs is very high , hence suggest producing locally .
Want to end by just saying that India is a Gold Mine !
Dice Toy Labs
• Infinite content is yet to be tapped when it comes to Indian culture and stories .
Phalgun Polepalli Founder CEO
Shwetha Badarinath Co-Founder
Kids India E-Magazine - March 2022 | Page 9