In India, there’s always time for chai. From tense office meetings to difficult heartbreaks, there’s chai for every occasion, be it cutting, masala or green tea. And synonymous with this comfort-in-a-cup beverage is the Indian culture of tapris, and the on-the-move chai vendors — both appearing out of nowhere when you need them. Celebrating the much-loved beverage, and the men and women who serve it, is DICE Toy Labs’ new game, Chai Garam.

The Bengaluru-based company was founded by husband-wife duo Phalgun Polepalli and Shwetha Badarinath in 2018 to tell Indian stories through board games. “When we realised there are 600-plus Indian game designers out there, we created a community. There’s a massive supply of game design ideas in India,” shares Polepalli. Last year, to encourage game designers, they conducted a contest, inviting participants to design strategy games limited to 18 cards. And among the many engaging ideas that they received was Sidhant Chand’s Chai Garam, suitable for two to four players.