All fun and games: Toy company launches games in Tamil

CHENNAI: You may have spent a major part of your childhood plotting and strategising to buy Mayfair, Park Lane, or Bond Street (for the name obviously). But, did you ever imagine that you could buy Chennai, Thanjavur, Kancheepuram, or maybe even Rameswaram? Hasbro launched Monopoly, Deal, and the Game of Life in Tamil on Monday.

Talking to DT Next, Lalit Parmar, commercial director, Hasbro India, says, “People down South are very proud of their heritage, culture, and language. The idea was to put that sentiment to use and curate a game for them that they will relate to.”

Lalit says that another reason for Hasbro to localise three of its games- Monopoly, Deal, and Game of Life in Tamil, was to ensure that children learned their mother tongue in a way that is both fun and culturally driven.

“These days all the media that we are consuming is made available in our respective mother tongues. It is only fair that the toy industry upped its ante and made toys more accessible and relatable,” he says.

Every element in these games is in Tamil. From the action cards to the call cards. Lalit says that Hasbro will soon be launching the Kannada, Telugu, and Malayalam versions of the games as well.

The games are available for purchase on Amazon.