When I was in my teens, I’d tried every diet in the book - from the GM Diet with the cabbage soup to the juice fast that almost made me faint. It wasn’t until I got much older that I somehow found some semblance of acceptance for my body, and changed my relationship with food. A large part of my mindset was the emergence of content creators who shared informative content around food that was not steeped in the notions of weight loss and diet culture. Krish Ashok is a passionate food enthusiasts and daily cook, who creates educational content through the lens of the scientific method and breaks it down to its primary intent - nourishment.
Creating content across Hindi, Tamil and English, Krish Ashok has been having important conversations around food and its many facets - from the micronutrient content of our childhood dishes to the nitty gritty details behind artificial sweeteners. After the successful release of his book ‘Masala Lab: The Science Of Indian Cooking’, he has partnered up with the Indie Board Game company XotoXo. Drawing from the information discussed in the book, the game is fun, and educational but can be played by anyone. According to the game website, “Understanding the book enhances the gameplay but is not necessary to enjoy the games.”
Having previously created games like Athangudi: Artisans of Chettinad, XotoXo was founded by a husband-wife duo and the games are focused on aspects of Indian Culture. The Masala Lab game that has emerged from their collaboration features three unique family games around Indian Food. Offering a standard and a mini version, the board game is still under production and is available only on a pre-order basis.
The standard Masala Lab game features three sub-games, based on the concept of Tiffin, Sadya, and Dessert, while the mini version only offers the portable Tiffin game. Both the variants come complete with an illustrated rulebook that takes a conversational, comic style that makes it accessible to most people.
The Tiffin game is meant for 2-4 players and makes for a quick half an hour of gameplay, where the players collect food items to chutneys and gravies, and is easy to learn. The Sadya variant makes for a longer game that might be around an hour long for 2-4 players, in which they collect and use items to serve complex Indian dishes like Biriyani. The Dessert game is, again, one that is shorter and meant for 2-4 players, and they arrange plates in Tetris-like shapes to fulfil customer orders.
Designed for new and veteran board game lovers, Masala Lab from XotoXo is an easy-to-learn, educational game. For those who’re still rookies with such games, the guidebook is designed with details to make you an expert too. The game is still under production and is aimed for release in late September to early October 2024. Currently doing its test prints, and having opened up for pre-orders, the Masala Lab from XotoXo games is already garnering backers from ardent followers of Krish Ashok and his no-nonsense approach to the scientific nuances of Indian food and cooking.
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