XOtoXO Games is a small indie game design and publishing studio based in Chennai, India. We started operations in 2021, and launched our first game Athangudi: Artisans of Chettinad, in 2022. We are a two member team, with one working full time on games, and the other part-time, and we work with small volumes and a limited product range, but we hope that this allows us to pay more attention to what we do. We hope to scale up once we establish ourselves in this space. 

Our core beliefs that we try to adhere to in our work, are as follows:

Tell a Story

We work on games of light to medium complexity. With each of our games, we would like to bring to light a story, a bit of trivia, or a slice of life that highlights a particular facet of Indian culture, heritage, cuisine or tourism. We try to design our game around this little focal point. For example, our game Athangudi: Artisans of Chettinad is designed based on how Athangudi floor tiles form patterns when they are laid in a floor.  Our second game, Masala Lab, is based on a very universally loved theme, Indian food. Players serve food on banana leaves, as is the way of life in some parts of India. 

Design experiences, not games

We believe that a game is not just about learning rules and winning, but rather, the experience of enjoying a game should begin right from when you hear about it. We place a lot of focus on the gamer's entire journey from awareness to completing the game. We believe in creating great product experiences. This stretches from the choice of materials used in our components, the design of our packaging, to ease of use. We try our best to make our games approachable, easy to learn and satisfying to play. In Masala Lab, we have experimented with a comic-style illustrated rule-book, to encourage people to learn rules in a fun way.

Acknowledge different customer needs

We understand that different people have different needs, and we believe in offering choices, so that each can choose the product that best suits their needs. In both Athangudi: Artisans of Chettinad and Masala Lab, we offer a choice of purchase between a travel-friendly option, and a standard option.  

Be Empathetic

We share this earth with other beings. We believe in making conscious choices to care for the environment. We strive to avoid the use of single-use-plastics in our games, and we try to offer value to our patrons, to encourage them to re-use our components. Our games are 100% Made in India. We source our components locally in India, as close to our home-base Chennai as possible, to reduce the carbon footprint of transporting our material. This also helps in supporting the local economy, which is our tiny contribution towards raising the quality of living of our suppliers. 

We hope our efforts will delight our patrons and customers, and encourage us to work harder for our upcoming games. We leave you with a paraphrased version of our favourite quote which we came across in a tiny restaurant in Karaikudi: If you have a complaint, let us know. If you enjoyed your experience with us, let everyone else know.

Team XOtoXO