XOtoXO Games
@xotoxogames.bsky.social
Games from India, one story at a time. Stories from India, one game at a time.
Indie boardgame publisher based in Chennai, India.
Our games: Athangudi, Masala Lab.
www.xotoxo.com
Indie boardgame publisher based in Chennai, India.
Our games: Athangudi, Masala Lab.
www.xotoxo.com
Today is Onam, a festival celebrated in the South Indian state of Kerala. As part of festivities, it is tradition to have a feast on a banana leaf. This is called a Sadya. One of the games in Masala Lab is called Sadya, inspired by this. Players collect food to serve on their leaves in the game.
September 5, 2025 at 5:13 AM
Today is Onam, a festival celebrated in the South Indian state of Kerala. As part of festivities, it is tradition to have a feast on a banana leaf. This is called a Sadya. One of the games in Masala Lab is called Sadya, inspired by this. Players collect food to serve on their leaves in the game.
Playtesting our upcoming game Chettinad Duet, that will replace our first game, Athangudi. There will be two games that can be played out of the box. Both games are for 2 players. Pictured is a resource management game with 4 paths to win, where you play as merchants in a Chettinad village.
August 14, 2025 at 11:52 AM
Playtesting our upcoming game Chettinad Duet, that will replace our first game, Athangudi. There will be two games that can be played out of the box. Both games are for 2 players. Pictured is a resource management game with 4 paths to win, where you play as merchants in a Chettinad village.
Masala Lab and Athangudi are now available to purchase at The Dogears Bookstore in Margao, Goa. Visitors to Goa can drop by this cute little store and pick up a copy 😊
August 6, 2025 at 5:48 AM
Masala Lab and Athangudi are now available to purchase at The Dogears Bookstore in Margao, Goa. Visitors to Goa can drop by this cute little store and pick up a copy 😊
A couple of pictures from our pop up at Vinyl and Brew cafe in Chennai.
June 12, 2025 at 4:43 PM
A couple of pictures from our pop up at Vinyl and Brew cafe in Chennai.
Having a small pop up at a cafe - Vinyl and Brew, on TTK road, Chennai from Jun 10-12 (tomorrow onwards). We will be there from 1 PM. Drop by and say hi!
June 9, 2025 at 3:26 PM
Having a small pop up at a cafe - Vinyl and Brew, on TTK road, Chennai from Jun 10-12 (tomorrow onwards). We will be there from 1 PM. Drop by and say hi!
Have we mentioned that we turned our rulebook into a comic for Masala Lab? It's illustrated, colourful and a bit cheeky sometimes 😉
June 1, 2025 at 5:14 AM
Have we mentioned that we turned our rulebook into a comic for Masala Lab? It's illustrated, colourful and a bit cheeky sometimes 😉
Pretty chuffed with this review of Athangudi we got on Instagram
May 27, 2025 at 3:56 AM
Pretty chuffed with this review of Athangudi we got on Instagram
Additional context: today is the solar new year across several parts of India. It is celebrated as Vishu in Kerala, Bihu in Assam, Baisakhi in Punjab, Poila Baisakh in Bengal, and Tamil new year as well. Vishu in Kerala is celebrated with a feast (Sadya) typically served on a banana leaf as shown
April 14, 2025 at 4:45 PM
Additional context: today is the solar new year across several parts of India. It is celebrated as Vishu in Kerala, Bihu in Assam, Baisakhi in Punjab, Poila Baisakh in Bengal, and Tamil new year as well. Vishu in Kerala is celebrated with a feast (Sadya) typically served on a banana leaf as shown
Our social media posting sucks so much that we forgot today is a Sadya day and that we have a game about Sadya we can plug (didn't forget to eat Sadya though)
April 14, 2025 at 4:45 PM
Our social media posting sucks so much that we forgot today is a Sadya day and that we have a game about Sadya we can plug (didn't forget to eat Sadya though)
Little game of the month: Guess where? Can be arrived at with a little bit of sleuthing with Google even if you don't know the place.
April 6, 2025 at 6:14 AM
Little game of the month: Guess where? Can be arrived at with a little bit of sleuthing with Google even if you don't know the place.
Learn how to play here:
March 13, 2025 at 2:19 PM
Learn how to play here:
Turn your phone into a boardgame! A 2-player mini game of police chasing a robber across Bangalore, that plays in under 5 min. Just use this map of Bangalore on your phone as you play with friends and family. Download and send it to them, you can even play remotely. It's free!
March 13, 2025 at 2:19 PM
Turn your phone into a boardgame! A 2-player mini game of police chasing a robber across Bangalore, that plays in under 5 min. Just use this map of Bangalore on your phone as you play with friends and family. Download and send it to them, you can even play remotely. It's free!
Orders of Masala Lab (standard box) on our website are shipped with this fun tote bag. It's mainly to protect the box from damage during travel (instead of bubble wrap), but customers can later use it to do their shopping or whatever instead of just discarding plastic wrap.
February 12, 2025 at 5:32 AM
Orders of Masala Lab (standard box) on our website are shipped with this fun tote bag. It's mainly to protect the box from damage during travel (instead of bubble wrap), but customers can later use it to do their shopping or whatever instead of just discarding plastic wrap.
A struggle with every game. Our latest experiment is a fully illustrated comic style rulebook for Masala Lab. Jury is still out 😁
February 3, 2025 at 5:07 AM
A struggle with every game. Our latest experiment is a fully illustrated comic style rulebook for Masala Lab. Jury is still out 😁
Happy to win the Best Indian Themed game for Masala Lab, awarded by Meeplecon, an annual boardgame convention in Mumbai!
January 18, 2025 at 12:50 PM
Happy to win the Best Indian Themed game for Masala Lab, awarded by Meeplecon, an annual boardgame convention in Mumbai!
We had stalls at 4 events - TTOX Chennai in March, Chettinad Heritage festival in Kanadukathan in Oct, TTOX Bangalore in Dec and By Hand from the Heart also in Dec. We had fun playing and demo-ing our games at all events. Looking forward to events in 2025!
December 31, 2024 at 11:27 AM
We had stalls at 4 events - TTOX Chennai in March, Chettinad Heritage festival in Kanadukathan in Oct, TTOX Bangalore in Dec and By Hand from the Heart also in Dec. We had fun playing and demo-ing our games at all events. Looking forward to events in 2025!
2024 was great for XOtoXO Games. We launched a new game Masala Lab, and we designed a game Move It for our first client. We also dabbled in a limited edition jigsaw puzzle on the 2nd anniversary of our first game Athangudi.
December 31, 2024 at 11:27 AM
2024 was great for XOtoXO Games. We launched a new game Masala Lab, and we designed a game Move It for our first client. We also dabbled in a limited edition jigsaw puzzle on the 2nd anniversary of our first game Athangudi.
Back after two great days at TTOX Bangalore. Masala Lab was tabled and enjoyed by all who tried (all 3 games!) and a few took the chance to try Athangudi as well! It was great to meet the gaming community over the weekend.
December 17, 2024 at 3:57 PM
Back after two great days at TTOX Bangalore. Masala Lab was tabled and enjoyed by all who tried (all 3 games!) and a few took the chance to try Athangudi as well! It was great to meet the gaming community over the weekend.
Some love for our game Athangudi on twitter!
December 11, 2024 at 3:02 PM
Some love for our game Athangudi on twitter!
Our second event in December is going to be in Chennai on the 21-22 Dec, at a makers market
December 2, 2024 at 3:47 PM
Our second event in December is going to be in Chennai on the 21-22 Dec, at a makers market
We will be at TTOX Bangalore on Dec 14-15 with Athangudi and Masala Lab. The first of two events in December for us. Come meet us if you are in Bangalore.
December 2, 2024 at 2:14 PM
We will be at TTOX Bangalore on Dec 14-15 with Athangudi and Masala Lab. The first of two events in December for us. Come meet us if you are in Bangalore.
Completed it! Did it in about 2 hours (it's our 5th or 6th time 😅) it is brutal the first time.
December 1, 2024 at 3:40 PM
Completed it! Did it in about 2 hours (it's our 5th or 6th time 😅) it is brutal the first time.
It has been raining the past couple of days here due to a cyclone, so we made the most of a rainy night in Chennai
December 1, 2024 at 2:38 PM
It has been raining the past couple of days here due to a cyclone, so we made the most of a rainy night in Chennai
First off, the modern boardgame market in India is miniscule. For example, the government hasn't even bothered to make a separate tax code for sale of boardgames. It's classified as "others" in this jumble of words. We have a long way to go.
November 29, 2024 at 7:30 AM
First off, the modern boardgame market in India is miniscule. For example, the government hasn't even bothered to make a separate tax code for sale of boardgames. It's classified as "others" in this jumble of words. We have a long way to go.
We also designed a fitness card game for a client, a fitness community based in Chennai called The Quad. 2 games for 4-8 players, to give both the mind and body a workout, called Move It!
November 13, 2024 at 5:06 AM
We also designed a fitness card game for a client, a fitness community based in Chennai called The Quad. 2 games for 4-8 players, to give both the mind and body a workout, called Move It!