Move over Nintendo and PS. Tonight, Engage an unknown challenger over Scrabble, Cluedo or Taboo, with sinful Chocolate Avalanche for company

There was a time when we fitted into size S, tucked massive board games under our tiny arms and trudged to the kid-next-door's house to role dice on a Saturday afternoon. Today's kid is a Wii world-inhabitant, feeds off onscreen bang-bang and believes that Scrabble was a Jurassic Age past time.

Board Games Bash, a group formed early last year and spearheaded by Tarun Durga (30), gets together some of the most popular board and card games to this coffee house and invites anyone interested in unadulterated fun and friendly competition. You don't pay nor do you win goodies. Simply put, it's a small effort to revive a culture lost in consoles and virtual reality.

"People often compared my passion for board games to chocolate and relegated it to childhood hangover," says Tarun. "But I knew there were a lot of people out there who shared my excitement. Since I had loads of games but none to play them with, I made a Facebook group and sent a word out."

Soon, a motley bunch of strangers with nothing in common but a love for classic games began bonding. They would meet twice a month at the Carter Road promenade to challenge each other on words, puzzles and strategy games. As word spread and more curious folk began to hang out with this group, Tarun wanted to streamline these meetings into a full-fledged event.

Now, every alternate Wednesday, Mocha Mojo gets noisier as groups table-hop to play their favourite games (there's a table for serious, hardcore gamers too). If you have a favourite game that doesn't figure on the group's list, carry it along and scan the crowd for someone who likes it too.

"The best bit is that you get to interact with interesting people along the way. Some end up meeting more often and organise their own bashes too." Need another carrot to head to Mojo tonight? All gamers get a 10% discount on their bill.u00a0

What can you play?
} Pictionaryu00a0u00a0
} Taboo
} Cluedou00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0
} Monopoly
} Torres
} Reef Encounter
} Secrets of the Tombs
} Ra
} Babel
} Jenga
} Balloon Cup
} Ticket to Ride
} Uno
} Scrabble
} Zombies
} Risk

At Mocha Mojo, Classic Corner, next to Holy Family Hospital, Hill Road, Bandra (W). Every alternate Wednesday. Call 26433098

For the board game dummy
Tarun Durga lists out top five board games he doesn't mind skipping meals for:
Memoir '44
I can play this game all day and not get bored. This one's an award-winning war-themed strategy board game where players face-off in stylised versions of some of the most famous historic battles of World War II.
Fluxx
Though I love this card game, I don't get it to the Bash as people tend to get violent with this one. It's amazing because the rules and conditions of winning are altered throughout the game, depending on the cards played.
Stratego
In this one, a war game meets chess. The gameboard is your battlefield and your mission is to protect your flag and capture your opponent's flag.
Munchkin
This award-winning card game captures the essence of the dungeon experience. You and your friends compete to kill monsters and grab magic items.
Supari
Supari is a super cool street war game where you hunt down and assassinate your target with a water pistol or water balloon. It's three weeks long, 24/7, and is played throughout the city. Jump out of the shadows, pose
as a pizza delivery boy or fake a meeting and get your target drenched, all while dodging an assassin.

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