BENGALURU : olitical strategies and war preparations have for long fascinated people, right from Indian epics to fantasy stories like Game of Thrones and Baahubali. While kings and kingdoms are a thing of past, you can still take your mind back in time and extend your territory in this new board game called Bharata 600 BC. The game, which has been recently launched in the market by city-based firm Go India Games, has been designed by visual artist Pallavi Nopany. It’s a card game that is all about strategy, and also imparts information about ancient India.
Set in 600 BC, the game is inspired from then real map of the region. This was the end of the Vedic period that saw the rise of 16 Mahajanapa-das (Great Kingdoms). It can be played by 2-4 players, and each player assumes the role of a ruler of one kingdom, trying to make it the most predominant power in the ancient subcontinent. It can be won through warfare, resource management, or diplomacy, with players choosing their style of play.
Nopany, who managed the art direction for the project, says it involved a huge research on her part too. “Since it’s set in 600BC, there was no such country called India, and there was no concept of paper, so there are hardly any actual documents to show what it looked like then. So we took a lot of reference from books and paintings to make it seem as close as possible to what Indian territory looked like at that time,” says Nopany. She adds that she took a lot of inspiration for the architecture and mood of the era from Indian epics like the Mahabharata. Nopany and her team worked on this project for six months.
While the game encompasses influences from all over the region, Nopany says they also tried to go local by supporting local businesses and art forms. For example, the wood components used in the game have been made in Channapatna. “We have tried to stick to the philosophy of ‘made in India’. Every wood component is handmade by local artisans, using a wood carving and lacquering technique from the 18th century.
The carved wood pieces are then dyed with natural colours extracted from vegetables,” explains Nopany, who runs a visual art studio in the city. The game is now available on Amazon, Flipkart, and goindiagames.com.Nopany adds that designs plays a very important role in games like this since it involves the mind. “As the game proceeds, the strategies get intense. So we have used softer colours,” says Nopany.