Bengaluru: Tired of memorising names and dates from history textbooks, 15-year-old Sinchana S, a Class 10 student from Bengaluru, has found a creative way to make the subject more engaging — by turning Indian history into a card game.
50 Indian rulers on one deck
Inspired by Pokémon trading cards, Sinchana created a deck featuring 50 Indian rulers mentioned in NCERT textbooks for Classes 7 to 10.
Each card gives rulers scores for attributes such as military power, welfare, wealth and historical impact. Players can then compete by comparing the strengths of rulers including Ashoka, Krishnadevaraya and Shivaji Maharaj.
The idea came to Sinchana while watching her friends effortlessly remember details about hundreds of Pokémon characters.
“With one game, children could remember so many Pokémon. I wondered why we couldn’t learn history the same way,” she said.
Months of work behind the idea
What began as an idea in November last year developed into a months-long project involving redesigns, play-testing and feedback from friends, cousins and teachers.
Sinchana used Canva and AI tools to create the visuals and revised the deck nearly six times before finalising it in May this year.
The game has since been introduced at her school, where history teachers encouraged students to play it during classes. She also distributed around 170 card sets to BBMP schools, personally demonstrating the game to students.
Making children curious about history
Sinchana said her aim is not simply to make children memorise facts but to encourage curiosity about historical figures and events.
Her interest in history was nurtured by family visits to Hampi, Badami, Pattadakal and the Shore Temple, as well as stories shared by her father.
Around 200 laminated sets have so far been printed by the family. Her initiative was also recognised by Bengaluru West City Corporation, which sent her an appreciation letter after she donated the cards to government schools.
Finance game could be next
Sinchana is already exploring her next educational project — a game designed to help students understand saving, investing and personal finance.
Her father Santosh Kumar said the family’s primary goal is to help more students enjoy learning history.