Bengaluru Teen’s ‘Deck of Kings’ Gamifies Indian History

Fifteen-year-old Bengaluru innovator Sinchana S has launched “Deck of Kings,” an educational card game featuring 50 Indian rulers to transform how children engage with Indian history.

Inspired by the ubiquity of Pokémon cards, her game aims to spark curiosity and make learning about historical figures as effortless as recalling fictional characters.

Game Mechanics and Design Journey

Sinchana conceived the initial idea last November, driven by the observation that her friends easily remembered Pokémon details but struggled with historical facts. This insight propelled a comprehensive development process.

• The game draws inspiration from Pokémon trading cards, making historical figures relatable for a younger audience.
• Each ruler card includes specific scores across attributes such as military power, welfare initiatives, wealth, and overall historical impact.
• Sinchana utilized Canva and AI tools for visual creation, meticulously refining the deck through nearly six revisions before its finalization in May.

The “Deck of Kings” is already gaining traction, with history teachers in Sinchana’s own school encouraging its use during classes to enhance engagement.

Demonstrating her commitment to broader access, she personally distributed approximately 170 card sets to BBMP schools, providing direct demonstrations to students.

Community Recognition and Future Vision

Sinchana’s innovative contribution has garnered official recognition from the Bengaluru West City Corporation, which sent an appreciation letter after her donations to government schools.

• Her family has produced around 200 sets of these laminated cards, and they are actively exploring avenues to broaden the game’s reach.
• A lifelong passion for history, nurtured by family trips to sites like Hampi and her father’s stories, served as a core motivation for the game’s creation.
• Sinchana’s next venture is an educational game focused on finance, designed to simplify complex concepts of saving, investing, and personal finance for students.

Her father, Santosh Kumar, reiterates that the game’s primary mission remains educational: to cultivate a greater enjoyment and deeper understanding of history among students.

Sinchana emphasizes that the game’s true purpose is not rote memorization, but to ignite a curiosity that prompts children to seek more information about the historical figures they encounter.