About Us – The Story Behind Desi Board Games (DBG)

It all started during the pandemic. Like a lot of people, we were stuck indoors, trying to make sense of the world slowing down. What got us through? Game nights with friends. Nothing fancy... just a few good games, some chai, and lots of laughter.

Over time, we played more than 70 board games. But while we loved the fun, something felt off. None of those games really felt like us. They didn’t sound like our families. They didn’t remind us of the festivals we grew up with, the stories we were told, or the loud, beautiful chaos of a desi household.

That’s when we thought: what if we made the kind of games we always wanted to play?

So we started Desi Board Games (DBG) with a simple idea: to create fun, easy, and inclusive games that reflect South Asian culture in all its warmth, humour, and everyday magic.

We’re not here to reinvent the wheel. We’re here to make game nights feel a little more familiar. A little more relatable. And a whole lot more desi. Our games are made in India, but they’re designed for anyone, anywhere — whether you’ve grown up in the middle of Mumbai, the suburbs of London, or halfway across the world without ever visiting the homeland.

Every game goes through what we lovingly call our “chai test”—we play it with friends over tea, snacks, and absolutely unfiltered feedback. If it doesn’t spark conversation or feel genuinely fun, we go back to the drawing board.

For us, board games are more than a hobby. They’re how we connect. They’re how we bring together friends who’ve never met before, how we get our parents to sit with us for more than ten minutes, how we turn regular evenings into loud, silly, memorable ones.

And honestly, that’s all we’re trying to create: games that feel like home.

We’re growing slowly, on purpose. More ideas, more stories, more ways to play. But our focus remains the same: to build something that feels honest, rooted, and joyful.

Come hang out with us online
Instagram is where all the fun is: @desiboardgames
Or just say hi at desi.board.games@gmail.com