Bengaluru Student Creates History Card Game ITIHASA for Government Schools

BENGALURU — Sinchana S, a Class 10 student of Swargarani High School and PU College in Bengaluru, has developed a history-based card game named ITIHASA, which is now being introduced in government schools across the city to help students learn historical facts through interactive play.

The initiative gained momentum after the GBA Education Department backed the project, leading to the distribution of 170 card sets across 36 government high schools under the department. Sinchana is also working with the NGO Educate with the goal of reaching at least 1,000 BBMP schools.

Based on the NCERT history curriculum, ITIHASA features 50 rulers from various periods and dynasties, including the Mauryan, Gupta, and Mughal empires. Each card displays a ruler's name, period, dynasty, capital, timeline, and a brief description of achievements, alongside scores across six attributes such as military power, welfare, impact, and administration. During gameplay, players compare scores on their cards, and the participant with the higher score collects the opponent's card.

Sinchana, a history enthusiast who frequently visited heritage sites like Hampi, Aihole, and Kanchipuram, conceived the idea while playing Pokémon cards. Realising that repeated gameplay helped her memorise character traits and powers, she decided to apply the same concept to Indian history to replace conventional rote learning and flashcards.

The game took eight months and nearly six revisions to complete before the final set was ready in June. Sinchana refined the card size, layout, and font using Canva following feedback from her cousin and friends. She also used artificial intelligence tools, including ChatGPT and Gemini, to generate visual representations of the rulers after multiple iterations to ensure historical consistency.

After her school began using the cards during library and free periods, Sinchana's parents approached education department officials to expand access to state-run institutions. To better understand the educational principles behind gamification, Sinchana consulted Dr Balaji Kaluri, a PhD scholar from the National University of Singapore, learning about memory techniques such as active recall and dual coding.

Beyond government schools, Sinchana has also received a trial order of 25 game sets from a luxury hotel to gift to guests and children. She is now exploring a new card game concept aimed at teaching basic financial literacy concepts, such as saving and investing, to students in Classes 5 to 10.