
- BGG rank
- BGG #5,083
- BGG rating
- 7.9
Tycoon: India 1981
- 1–4 players
- 60–180 min
- Complexity 3.8/5
- 2025

2021
Rules assistance for Chai Garam
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
For 2 players

What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Chai Garam is a board game released in 2021 for 2–4 players, 45–60 minutes per game, and ages 8 and up. It was designed by Sidhant Chand and its main mechanics are Hand Management, Set Collection, and Open Drafting.
Can you ensure a garam (hot) cup of chai (tea) is served to your ever-growing customers on a rainy day? Get ready to dive deep into running a chai tapri (tea shop) by ensuring that your customers get their specific chai and snack orders on time. Earn their appreciation for every correct order, but be quick as another player might steal a few of them away. Run the most successful shop, and be the wealthiest player at the end of the game! Each turn in Chai Garam, players take one mandatory action, either selecting up to three ingredients from the display (tea leaves, additives, water, milk, godown power cards, etc.) or serving their cooked tea to the grid of customers in the central board and collecting money. Additionally as free actions, players need to cook tea, compete for goals to improve their star ratings, attract customers to their own shops, or play a "Chai Garam" card to take a double action! The game continues until a special "evening" customer triggers the end of play or any player achieves five stars. At that point, whoever has the highest value from money as well as stars wins.
Chai Garam supports 2–4 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.
The listed playing time for Chai Garam is 45–60 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists Chai Garam for ages 8 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
Chai Garam has a complexity rating of 2.7 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a medium-light game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
Chai Garam belongs to these categories: Card Game and Economic. Its main mechanics are Hand Management, Set Collection, and Open Drafting. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of Chai Garam are: Sidhant Chand. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists Chai Garam as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.