Playing to the gallery

A tweaked Monopoly set

Happiest when left with paper, scissors, glue and glitters as a kid, 26-year-old Mridula Gupta was all of 15 when she first modified a set of Monopoly for a friend. She got a store-bought Monopoly game, pasted photographs of herself and her friend, renamed the properties, changed the station names to locations of their school picnic, and voila, the familiar game had a new, more intimate avatar. Eleven years later, including a stint as an equity research analyst, the Breach Candy resident is now back to customising board games, puzzles and card games, with much more than just paper, scissors, glue and glitters, through her lockdown venture Games Knight.

Personalised Taboo cards

Imagine UNO cards in colours of your choice, Taboo cards to explain inside jokes, a bespoke drinking game that captures your boozy memories, or a poker set with your personality traits. Gupta offers tailor-made versions of over 20 such games. The passion project is rooted in her own love for indoor games. "Card and board games have always been a part of my life - whether it was playing a memory game with cards as a toddler, or Ludo with my grandmother. What attracts me most is the bonding experience they create, not just with friends but for any group of people playing together," explains the self-confessed competitive player. As she grew up, Gupta discovered a third passion other than craft and games - finance. "Games Knight has essentially been an amalgamation of these three passions," she shares.

The idea to turn her passions into a full-time venture, however, was prompted by an acquaintance requesting her to customise a board game for her partner in September last year. Gupta insists that each game set captures minute details of the recipient's life, and hence, is an experience. "From pet names to pet peeves, we capture all your special moments, inside jokes and personality quirks so that you encapsulate your memories and also create new ones with us," elaborates the entrepreneur who has personalised games for the likes of actor Sara Ali Khan.

Gupta explains that to craft these experiences, customers need to first select the game they'd like to buy, and then fill out a detailed questionnaire. "Based on this, our team builds them a one-of-a-kind game. We only offer games where we can customise every element.

Cards for Sara Ali Khan's Saropoly set by Games Knight

For example, we don't offer Scrabble because there's not much that we can add. But, in a game like Monopoly, right from player tokens to chance and chest cards, we can translate your life onto the board," she asserts. She also takes into account legal advice related to copyright issues, and the names of the final games are altered keeping the recipient in mind.

Mridula Gupta

Gupta says she aims to "replace run-of-the-mill materialistic gifts with something more engaging". "People are seeking new experiences and that's exactly what we bring to the table. The beauty of our products is that people of any age, gender, profession or religion can enjoy a fun game," she promises.

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