Who Are We?
Open Play is a vertical under Khol Khel Pvt. Ltd., dedicated to reviving and reintroducing traditional board games as powerful tools for holistic learning and social development. We believe that games are more than just entertainment—they are cultural artefacts rich with history, strategy, and life lessons.
UNESCO proposes CASEL (Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning) as an idea to be universally adopted by educational systems. We at Open Play recognise this importance and endeavour to revive the play tradition of Bharat to align with the NEP 2020 while providing the essential elements of CASEL as well.
At Open Play, we focus on integrating traditional board games into mainstream academic structures through the lens of CASEL. It fosters five core competencies: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making. Through their mechanics and narratives, traditional games naturally cultivate these skills, offering timeless lessons in empathy, strategy, and cooperation.
Historically, board games have played an essential role in learning and community engagement. Games like Palanguzhi helped teach arithmetic in South Indian communities, while Chess sharpened strategic thinking. Today, as education shifts toward holistic development, these tactile, communal games serve as valuable tools to enhance emotional intelligence and social skills, countering the digital isolation of modern play.
Traditional board games are more than pastimes; they are ancestral mentors that embed life skills within play. They remind us that learning can be organic, engaging, and deeply immersive.
To better understand the mechanics and CASEL benefits of these games, we have categorised board games into six broad groups:
- Predator-Prey Games: Fox & Geese and Tiger & Goat
- War/Sacrifice Games: Draughts and Fighting Serpents
- Strategy Games: Chess and Nine Men’s Morris
- Dice-Based Race Games: Ludo
- Distribution Games: Palanguzhi
- Narrative-Based Games: Snakes & Ladders
Through Open Play, we aim to revive the essence of these games, ensuring they remain a meaningful part of education and social interaction, fostering a generation that learns, grows, and connects through play.