Unboxed Game Fest 2026 Marks 10 Years of Board Gaming in Ahmedabad
- Bilkul Online
- Ahmedabad | 25 December 2025
What began a decade ago as small, informal board game gatherings in living rooms and cafés has evolved into a thriving cultural movement in Ahmedabad. That journey reaches a major milestone as Unboxed Game Fest 2026 (UGF 2026) returns on January 3 and 4, celebrating ten years of board gaming, community building, and screen-free play in the city.
Hosted by Unboxed Club, a not-for-profit and volunteer-driven collective, UGF 2026 marks the festival’s second edition. After a successful debut that attracted over 700 participants from 15 cities, the festival returns as Gujarat’s largest board game event, bringing together families, students, educators, designers, publishers, retailers, and seasoned gamers under one roof.
Ahmedabad’s board gaming culture traces its roots to around 2015, when enthusiasts began meeting quietly for conversation and play beyond screens. Among the early champions was game designer Shradha Jain of Studio Clock Works, whose regular game nights helped make modern board games more accessible. These grassroots efforts gradually built inclusive communities that connected people across ages and professions through shared play.
This local story reflects a broader national trend. Across India, tabletop gaming has moved from a niche hobby to a mainstream cultural force, with conventions such as TTOX in Bengaluru and Chennai highlighting the growth of player-led ecosystems. Indian-designed board games are increasingly gaining international recognition, while educators are adopting games as tools for learning and collaboration.
UGF 2026 goes beyond casual gaming to examine how play shapes thinking, education, and livelihoods. The festival features workshops and masterclasses led by educators and industry professionals. Design educator Prof. Jay Thakkar of CEPT University will explore games as cultural tools for reflection and dialogue, while Shradha Jain will focus on accessibility in game design, introducing open-source tools for young creators. Other sessions cover designing a first board game, using play to teach mathematics, building cognitive and life skills, and developing sustainable careers in game design.
Adding a national perspective are Phalgun Polepalli and Shwetha Badarinath, founders of Mozaic Games and organisers of TTOX. They emphasise how community-led festivals like Unboxed Game Fest help designers, publishers, and players learn from real gameplay experiences—insights that online platforms and retail channels cannot replicate.
The two-day festival features over 150 board games, including Indian-designed titles and global favourites, dedicated facilitators for first-time players, a Family Play Arena with age-appropriate games, tournaments for all age groups with prizes worth ₹60,000, immersive experiences such as Dungeons & Dragons and a Squid Games–style treasure hunt, Games Ravivari for buying and selling pre-loved board games, and workshops exploring play as learning, culture, and career.
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