Binca’s Rubianca Wadhwa on the “rollercoaster of emotions” that is the creative process

2018 is set to be a big year for indie games publisher Binca Games, as its first three games hits the UK market via Amazon.

Designed by Binca co-founders Rubianca and Sahil Wadhwa, the firm’s current portfolio is a diverse mix of word games, bluffing games and drinking games.

The pocket-sized Fletter sees players lay down letters and attempt to be the first to identify and shout out words, while The Dirty Squad is a bluffing game where cops are trying to covertly help killers escape from the station.  Elsewhere, Binca is dipping a toe in the world of drinking games this Spring with Spill, a boozy game of truths and lies.

We caught up with Binca co-founder and head of creative, Rubianca Wadhwa, to find out more about the origins of the company, and what’s in store this year.

How did Binca Games come about?
Games were always a big part of my childhood, but growing up in India, that’s all I ever thought they would be. A career in games seemed too far-fetched – the right answer to ‘what do you want to be when you grow up?’ was definitely nothing related to games. But as I grew up, the India I knew also began to change. Still obsessed with playing board games, one night at a friend’s place, the idea to make my own game came to me.

I’d played around with the thought of starting a board games company for a few years before anything came to fruition, and it was only after I married my childhood sweetheart that we decided to quit our respective ‘real’ jobs and give board games a real shot.

So, together we started Binca. Four years and three games later, here we are looking back at the chance we took and looking forward to becoming big players in the respected industry.

Where do you guys find inspiration for your games?
We find inspiration from all sorts of things, really. I have always had a fascination for word games and sometimes the construction of words in a book could spark something. Sometimes we get inspired while watching a movie, sometimes while doing nothing at all besides letting our thoughts run amok. Engaging in interesting conversations with people also inspires us to look at things from different perspectives.

What pushes us the most is the dream we’ve envisioned as our reality, and to see that concept come to life. As I said earlier, inspiration can be derived from all kinds of things, and we like to keep an open mind to anything we come across, for you never know who or what can inspire you.

Is there one common element that unites the Binca Games portfolio?
As of now, besides all the three games being card games, there’s nothing else that ties them. Each game is of a different genre and for all different age groups. In the future, there might be games that share similar notes and themes but for now, each game stands strongly apart from the rest.

How do you stay creative?
It takes a lot. I go through a rollercoaster of emotions and feelings and moods and foods when trying to stay creative.

Self-doubt jumps out first. Self-pep talks follow. Pinterest stays open. Enter junk food. Netflix binge-watching happens. Other people give pep talks. Hours and hours are spent on research. A drink or two with friends doesn’t hurt. Anything to get inspiration back, basically. I think that’s what it comes down to: the drive, the inspiration and the will to keep going. Especially nowadays, given the plethora of games already out there and the number of brilliant games that are being released every day.

With Kickstarter funding so many different kinds of games, it gets tough to find something that’s not yet been done. The industry has grown exponentially in the last few years and while it’s amazing to see, it’s also daunting because you’re constantly under pressure to deliver something new.

There are times when I’m in the midst of creating a game and I see a game similar to the one that I’m still in the process of making being released. So I have to change things around and make adjustments and make sure it still all makes sense at the end.

Sometimes, after creating a game, I feel like my juices have run so dry that l I’ll never get another idea for another game ever again. But then I sit back on my rollercoaster and enjoy the ride until I’m safely back on the ground with a new idea in mind.

How do you guys split development duties on your games?
Our duties are entirely different. I look into everything creative. Sahil looks into the production and manufacturing of the games. We come together on certain aspects and decisions of things, but largely our roles remain separate.

What are your big new launches this year?
We have two games coming out this year:

1) Fletter Fuse: the advanced version of Fletter (word game)

2) Whitewashers: a money laundering card game of deception and deduction

How do you balance a love of gaming with running a business?
It’s tough, because sometimes what you really want to do creatively might not make sense commercially. The best you can do is find a healthy balance between the two. There are times when there are many ideas but only one or two get to see the light of day because its impossible to release every idea that comes to mind.

Making such choices is hard and a lot rests and depends on those choices. From that point of view, there are challenges, but otherwise, we run our business solely because of our love of gaming.

To get in touch with Binca Games, email [email protected]

More Recent Interview

Game designer Dirk Barsuhn on what inspired his new tile-laying game, Ananda

“The idea came to me when I saw mahjong for the first time”: Dirk Barsuhn talks Ananda – and what made Zoch the perfect home for it.

Big Potato’s Ed Naujokas on how automatic writing and spirit slates helped bring Ghosts Can’t Draw to life

“It’s a seance meets Pictionary!”: Ed Naujokas – Game Designer at Big Potato – on tackling the drawing game sector with Ghosts Can’t Draw.

“We knew there was something special here”: Eric Olsen, Tony Serebriany and David Blanchard talk Flip 7

Flip 7 inventor Eric Olsen, The Op’s Director of Party & Family Games David Blanchard and Tony Serebriany – VP of Inventor Relations at The Op – discuss the origins of the game… And why it already feels like a classic.

Matthew Inman of The Oatmeal and Exploding Kittens on how intrusive thoughts led him to design Horrible Therapist

“We needed an innocent face to be the therapist that ruins people’s lives”: Matthew Inman – Creator of The Oatmeal and Co-Creator of Exploding Kittens – talks us through the development of his new comic-creating card game.

Ben Butcher on the values and vision for his new collectibles company, Kaleidos Creative

“We wanted Kaleidos to be artist-led and people-focused”: Kaleidos Creative’s Ben Butcher on the origins of the company – and what to expect from its first launches.

Deej Johnson on the power of keeping notebooks… And one huge mistake to avoid

Why keeping notebooks is widely recognised as one of the most powerful techniques of all…