On the 6th of April, we finally hosted our first game night to 21 enthusiastic fellows! With snacks, music and the game beautifully set up, we shared Pralay with the tiny little bubble that is the Young India Fellowship. We had four back to back slots that were filled with fellows. I—Tanvi—felt a combination of excitement and jitters to how people would react to the game and overwhelming pride in our team for all the hard work and love we had poured into this project.
We began the game with a quick pre-game survey to gauge players’ past experiences with board games and how much they’d pay for Pralay. As the game night progressed, it was so interesting to see how different groups played the game and strategised; weather they discussed decisions before voting, role-played as their characters or which component they prioritized—Khayal, Jalwa or their Janta. Most players kept shifting between strategies but those who focused more on Jalwa index took more time in making decisions and showed more curiosity towards the dilemma presented. The game was followed by a post-grame survey to understand players’ experience with the game, its mechanics and design. This survey and the game night revealed some crucial additions and revisions that we, as game developers, will have to undertake.
To me, the highlight of the night was the drama that emerged from each game. From “Lalit, you fuck!” to literally whacking other players, the game only seemed to gain intensity and fun as players got accustomed to the game mechanics. It was heartwarming and surreal to see people enjoy the game as much as they did. The entire experience was immensely rewarding to me and I cannot wait to continue improving and developing Pralay :))