Ludo has effectively gatecrashed all binge-watching plans for this period.
Ludo is a great game that teaches us how to live in a pandemic. You are safest when you are home, and if you come in contact with someone, you die," Rohit Shah from Mumbai tweeted this from his account @rohshah07 just 10 days into the lockdown.
Ludo is a great game that teaches us how to live in a pandemic. You're safest when you're home and if you come in c… https://t.co/WYrLupX7gY
It gives an impression that Shah has a deep understanding and appreciation for the game, built over years of playing and learning from every victory and defeat. But this epiphany dawned on him only a week after playing ludo regularly during the lockdown. Before this, the 28-year-old writer and stand-up comic had barely ever played the strategy board game.
In the first week of the lockdown, his cousin asked if he was free to join them for a round of ludo on the gaming app Ludo King. Shah responded in the affirmative, and things have been a bit crazy since then.
Forget the fact that he plays hour-long matches thrice a day with different sets of people ¡X including strangers from Twitter who are now his ludo buddies - Shah is likely to have a frayed relationship with one of his cousins because of the game.
"We now have a WhatsApp group for ludo with 20 cousins. At any time during the day, one person pings to ask others to join. We start as soon as there is a quorum." The app allows up to six players for a game. The above-mentioned cousin silently watches this mad frenzy unfold. "As soon as we share the code - which is generated by the person starting a game room - to join the game, he immediately joins in, invariably leaving one person out."
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Two weeks ago, film critic Hemanth Kumar earnestly asked of his 73,000-plus followers on Twitter: "Is #Ludo the biggest addiction during this lockdown?" Kumar should look no further than Shah's ludo WhatsApp group for answers.
People are boastfully sharing screenshots of their Ludo victory on social media platform and family groups. Anecdotes aside, plenty of numbers capture the craze around ludo during this lockdown. For starters, Ludo King is the top free gaming app on Google Play Store in India now, with over 100 million downloads. There are over 1.3 million views for #LudoComedy on TikTok. A Bhojpuri music video titled "Lockdown Mein Ludo" has fetched over 36 million views and 12,000 comments within a month of releasing on YouTube.
Ludo has also come under the radar for inciting violence during this lockdown, what with cases of people shooting co-players for sneezing during a match, or partners physically abusing their spouses after losing a game.
On a lighter note, of the 15,000 #LudoMemes on Instagram, 12,300 were posted in the last three months, according to Qoruz, a Bengaluru-based influencer data analytics company. About 40% of live-streaming on sports and gaming content platform Rooter is for ludo these days, says its founder Piyush, who doesn't use a surname.
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Ludo has effectively gatecrashed all his binge-watching plans for this period, the Delhi-based entrepreneur tells ET Magazine. "People are boastfully sharing screenshots of their game. They have turned it into an esports championship," he adds.
The 39-year-old has a little championship going on in his own WhatsApp group of 15-18 ludo players, aptly titled "Kaat-Kaat" - an expression familiar to people like Mumbai's Shah who play the game for the "blood bath", i.e., to kill the next player's token.
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Yashi Jain (in beige dress) is a Mumbai-based realtor. "Kaat-Kaat" is an emotion even Yashi Jain relates to. Recently married into a family of workaholics in the civil construction business in Mumbai, Jain is a demure girl except when she is in the ludo battlefield. "When I am out to get someone¡¦s token, I don't care even if it is my father-in-law's. I go for the kill," says the 28-year-old.
Every day, a new story emerges out of these ludo-ites. Some evoke nostalgia of that near-win turned into a colossal beating because of an endless wait for that one point needed to make it home. Others involve a few members ganging up against a smug player to make sure they didn't win even if the former lot lost in the process. The game is a means to let go of inhibitions for some. It is also an escape.
Shasvathi Siva (R) is a Navi Mumbai-based vegan entrepreneur. Shasvathi Siva, 28, finds in ludo a great distraction from the sadness of these times. She plays the board game online with her close friends from Hyderabad. The frenzy has caught up with her 4-year-old niece in Dubai as well. "She learnt to play ludo because everyone around her was talking about it. We play regularly now and I let her win. Then she consoles me," says the vegan entrepreneur from Navi Mumbai.
People are playing ludo across age-groups and time zones. In Noida, Akshita Deharwal and family are playing it across separate rooms in the same house. The 23-year-old is currently under home-quarantine after returning from Bengaluru.
Akshita Deharwal (L) is a Bengaluru-based motion graphic artist. "When we were kids, ludo was a lifesaver during train journeys," says the motion graphic artist. Right now, it is the only thing that penetrates the walls between her parents and her as she finishes her time in self-quarantine.
Take Tips From Mahindra, Aditya Ghosh To Up Your Social Media Game During Lockdown
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In the days of lockdown, social media is taking centrestage.
We tell you how to raise your online presence with help from CEOs who are already nailing their feed.
In the days of lockdown, social media is taking centrestage. We tell you how to raise your online presence with help from CEOs who are already nailing their feed.
Whether it’s the same hashtag or tee, like Xiaomi India MD Manu Kumar Jain, having a linked theme can increase recall value, which can up your social media presence.
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McMillon, in the past few weeks, has been trying to spread awareness about battling coronavirus by encouraging testing, praising healthcare workers and keeping his employees spirits up.
While all of us may not have millions of followers like the CEO of Walmart, Doug McMillon, we should try to spread positivity and make a difference. McMillon, in the past few weeks, has been trying t..
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Who doesn’t like a feed that’s aesthetically pleasing? While a caption may drive home your point, a picture does speak a thousand words — so make sure it’s good. Designer Tory Burch not only speaks to her targeted audience through her posts, she makes sure they are eye-grabbing. Location, lighting and subject should all be taken into consideration.
Who doesn’t like a feed that’s aesthetically pleasing? While a caption may drive home your point, a picture does speak a thousand words — so make sure it’s good. Designer Tory Burch not only speaks t..
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OYO board member Aditya Ghosh knows that it’s the details that make the difference. His posts offer a peek into his reading list, work-from-home desk (Mont Blanc pen and coffee mug: check), workout routine and even what he and his daughter made for lunch.
Generic pictures that offer no insight are a sure way to alienate your audience, so aim to reflect a little of you in your posts, like Ghosh.
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