Unique board game created for Chennaiites to rediscover the city

Named ‘The Great Madras Trip’, the board game has been ideated as a tribute to the city on the occasion of Madras Day on August 22.

What makes the game interesting is how it lets participants pick different modes of transport to traverse through the city, from point A to B.

“The idea is to get from one part of the city to another using public transport means like bus, MRTS trains or the metro. One has to get to the destination the fastest to win the game, while also using as minimal resources as possible. In order to move forward in the game by rolling a dice, a participant has to answer a trivia question about the city,” Shrivatz Agaram, who is part of Masquerade, tells DT Next.

The game brings together various facets of the city – from its landmarks, tracing the evolution of different localities while testing one’s financial expertise in navigating through the corners of the city using minimal resources.

“The game will help one know more about the city than they did before, as it is a fun learning experience. As a theatre group, we wanted to do something that involves people, rather than having us in the limelight through a conventional stage performance. A board game seemed like the best way to do it as people themselves take the lead in playing it,” he adds.

Madhumeetha B, who has been involved in the creation of the game, says the trivia questions designed as part of the game also help one take note of the evolution of the city over the years.

“The game was conceived several years ago and was worked on by a team of 10 people as a fitting tribute to Chennai. It is a result of readings, observations and learnings from many stories on the city,” elaborates Madhumeetha. A round of the game can be played by three teams competing to reach the destination the fastest, with a maximum of two people per team.