Chaiyya Chaiyya Dance Game...

What is Dance Dance Simon?

Dance Dance Simon is an social tool soon to be utilized in houses all over the world as a means of breaking the proverbial ice. It is a dance game based off of the popular Bollywood dance number “Chaiyya Chaiyya” from the movie Dil Se. The game’s rules are simple and it is quite adaptable should players feel the need to change the theme of the game or alter the rules entirely. There are a few main concepts the game is based on, primarily follow the leader. The game is fun and exciting and is a great way of getting to know people better at a party or at any kind of social gathering where strangers might need to introduce themselves to the rest of the crowd.

The game operates similarly to the game “Simon” where a computer plays a pattern based on four buttons (Red, blue, green, yellow).  It is the player’s job to return that same pattern. Successfully repeating the computer’s pattern adds one button to the list of patterns, scaling up the difficulty.  It is a single player memory game.

Our game, on the other hand, twists this idea to turn it into a multiplayer dancing game! 

Game Time

Anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour or more…time flies right on by when you’re chaiyya chaiyya-ing.

Contents

Playing the game in its original version would require the player having a copy of the program which simulates the behavior of the leader in the game.

Set Up

All players stand facing the leader.

The “Leader” may be: a person, a video, a drawing, or any other representation of dance moves.

We have provided a program that randomizes dance moves based on clips from the actual Chaiyya Chaiyya dance scene.

Rules

The leader starts by demonstrating one dance move.

All players must repeat the same move. 

If any player fails to do so, they are out

The leader repeats the first dance move, then adds a new one

All players must repeat this dance move sequence

Any player who fails to repeat the move is out

The leader repeats the previous dance sequence, and adds a new move

All players must repeat this dance sequence

Any player who fails to repeat the move is out

The game continues until there is one person left. This person is declared the winner

Game Overview

A typical runthrough of Dance Dance Simon results in a lot of people being embarrassed. Whether the moves are too complex or hard to remember, there’s something to get everyone out of their shell. The game works best when played with good friends and the kind of people who don’t mind getting out of their comfort zone to have a little fun. Admittedly, Dance Dance Simon would make a great drinking game for those in the mood to dance during a good buzz. The creativity of the game comes from the unique dance sequences that aren’t typically found in Hollywood or choreographed in the Western World. The enthusiasm of the dancers in the videos and the over-the-top acting is the reason the game can become quite comical, quite quickly.

People who enjoy the colourful personalities found in typical Bollywood movies will really enjoy this game and find it hard to stop laughing amongst all the dancing. The game works well when played with groups of 2 – 8 people and may be adapted to your own theme/mood. The basic concept of the game remains the same while players can model their own Dance Dance Simon for every occasion!

Creative Process

The idea first came to us when thinking about how to create a cool dancing game that people would enjoy while sticking to the theme of over-the-top Bollywood acting. Well, the truth hit us like a tonne of bricks as we realized that the only way to make an enjoyable Bollywood game would be to make it as uncool as possible. What kind of games tend to be uncool but fun to play at the same time? Icebreakers! Of course! So we modelled our game behind the game that’s been breaking ice for decades.

We hadn’t initially thought about programming the game, instead we had entertained the idea of creating a board on the floor where 2 people go up against each other to see who can most accurately imitate the entire dance sequence. We looked at the amount of work on our plate towards this time of the year and ultimately decided to code the entire thing. With the amount of exposure to programming we weren’t worried about making the game and had it done in the span of an hour or so. The game was easy to implement once we had the solid foundation to build up on. We simply delegated the responsibilities for every aspect and came together to make a rather embarrassing dancing icebreaker with something for the whole family.

Conclusion

With a simple idea and a fun way to implement it, I feel we were quite successful in creating a dance game based on the hit Bollywood sequence Chaiyya Chaiyya. Our game truly shines in bringing out the funniest from people as it manages to utilize the social side of games prominently in exploring the interaction between social beings when placed in awkward situations.