There’s a new game doing the rounds among Malayalis in the UK. It’s called INDI-Q. And it’s quickly turning into a favourite way for people to bond, laugh, and feel a little closer to home.
The creator of the game is Elbert, a young Malayali from Chalakudy who now lives in the UK and works as a Real Estate Accountant.
How Indi-Q Was Born
INDI-Q began when Elbert and his friends were playing a popular game in the UK. It’s a quick-paced game where one player has to describe as many words as possible in thirty seconds without using the word itself or giving obvious hints. The twist is that you can act, gesture, or talk around the word, but never directly say it.
While playing it with his Malayali gang, Elbert and his friends often complained about the words in the game. Most of the words were deeply rooted in British culture. Names of places, celebrities, or slang that just didn’t strike a chord with the group. “A lot of the words didn’t really connect with us,” Elbert says. “There were names we didn’t know even existed. So, enacting them was a huge issue. Someone in the group even joked about whether we could make a Malayali version of it.”
That joke planted a serious idea in his mind.
Soon enough, he began working on a Malayalam-inspired version of the game. The idea was to come up with words that Malayalis across the world could relate to. As he started building the card set, he hit an unexpected roadblock.
“While researching for the words, I discovered how little I knew about Kerala’s cultural details. Some words my friends pointed out were so new to me. In fact, there were words that we couldn’t really use because enacting them would be a hassle,” he admits.
So he went back to the drawing board. He started thinking not just about cultural references, but also about playability. The words had to be universal enough for most Malayalis to understand, but simple enough to act out under pressure. After a few rounds of trial, feedback, and editing for six months, Elbert finally cracked the code. He came up with a solid set of 100 cards that are now being tested and loved by many.
Elbert’s first version of the game was called Indiculate. He later played around with names, finally landed on a quirky, fun title, INDI-Q, with the slogan being, Chindikku INDI-Q. It had the right rhythm, and more importantly, it felt like something you’d want to say out loud in the middle of a party.
How to Play Indi-Q: A Quick Guide
The game comes with colour-coded cards, each representing a different category. Yellow for people, violet for places, blue for objects, orange for movies, green for nature, and red for something completely random.
You can either play by picking a specific colour or go wild by choosing the Chakram, which is the circle next to a category. It lets you pull a random word from a card. Once the timer starts, you’ve got 30 seconds to act it out. The team has to guess as many cards as possible before time runs out. You can play one-on-one or as a group. The rules are simple, but the energy can get absolutely chaotic in the best way.
Where to Buy Indi-Q (And How You Can Play It in Kerala Soon)
At the moment, INDI-Q is only available in the UK. It’s priced at £10 and can be ordered by simply sending a DM to @EnjoyGames.uk on Instagram. But Elbert has bigger plans. He hopes to launch the game in Kerala soon. And when that happens, the price will likely be more affordable for the Indian market. The idea is already brewing. Knowing how much Malayalis love a good laugh, we’re sure it’s only a matter of time before INDI-Q makes its way to living rooms across Kerala and beyond.
PS: If you’re wondering about Enjoy Games, it’s because Elbert plans to launch more games under the Enjoy Games banner. INDI-Q is just the beginning. So, stay tuned.
