How Digitization Brought a Paradigm Shift in Indian Rummy

When digitization opened the floodgates to innovation a few years ago, everything from the food business to clothing to health and gaming made a significant shift from the traditional platform to the digital platform.

There was a time when we had to think about who would have free time to play the game with us and we had to play only with people with who were with us.

What we can do today never looked possible even just a decade ago.

In an era where people seldom have the time to socialize and are too busy with work and other things, it’s rare to find the time to play games with friends and family, barring a few occasions.

However, all that changed when Rummy made a swift shift from the traditional platform to the digital platform.

This paradigm shift ensured that a whole new generation had access to a game that has been part of the Indian tradition and culture for centuries and been played in most of the households in the country.

In a world dominated by mobile games cutting across genres, it was important for card games rummy to find a platform where millions could experience the game, including those who had never played the game before.

Impact of the Shift and What It Meant for the Future of the Game

The world earlier thought that Rummy was a game that people enjoyed playing in only closed groups of friends and family, but online rummy entered the fray to change that perception and introduced people to a whole new set of features they had never experienced before.

With the introduction of online rummy, people could finally break free from the clutches of having to wait for someone else to make time for a game, and it gave them a platform to further explore the game by playing it with people they didn’t personally know.

Moreover, the most important purpose that the shift served was to reintroduce the traditional game to a new generation of people who otherwise wouldn’t have had the chance to enjoy the game due to their busy lifestyle.

Today the game can be played while commuting to and back from your office, when you are bored, and even when you don’t want to get out of bed and just keep liying down.

The game has indeed come of age.

Letting Stats Prove the Point

Classic Indian Rummy has been a hit in India and popular with people cutting across regions, with over 1 lakh players playing online rummy at any given time!

Moreover, about 63% players like to play rummy for cash compared to 37% who play free games.

According to FICCI KPMG 2016 Report, the gaming industry is as big as INR 26.5 billion, and the industry is likely to grow to INR 50.7 billion by the year 2020. It is believed that free online rummy games in India contribute around 40% of this chunk with a growth rate of 30-40% year-on-year.

Traditional Vs. Digital Rummy

Anything that doesn’t evolve with time is bound to go into oblivion. Therefore, it was important for rummy to set itself free and move to the next level, i.e., the digital platform. In a world where games like Poker were dominating the market, rummy needed an aggressive push not only to compete but surpass all expectations, and it did!

Things quickly move into oblivion or get limited to a very closed circuit if they are not in sync with the current times. Take Kodak for example. The company that was synonymous with photography failed to evolve, and today it’s nowhere.

This paradigm shift from the traditional to the digital platform ensures that the game that remains deep-rooted in our culture with a brand-new avatar and gets the recognition it deserves.

What do you think about this shift? Do let us know in the comments below!