For Zainul Hassan Siddiqui, making friends in a new city turned out to be harder than expected. He had lived in Quetta, Lahore and even the United States before moving to Karachi in 2022. Naturally sociable, he was used to being around people, but building a social circle in a city where work occupied much of his time was another matter.

A corporate lawyer pursuing an executive MBA over the weekends, Siddiqui had little trouble keeping himself busy. What he missed was having people to spend time with outside work, without needing a particular occasion to meet.

Earlier this year, he began looking for activities that would help him meet people. Alongside padel, he discovered organised board-game nights, including one hosted by a community-driven board game group which hosts events in Karachi. He went along hoping to socialise. What followed was more than an occasional evening of entertainment.

Some of the strangers he met at those gatherings are now close friends. They meet outside organised events, visit one another's homes and spend four or five hours playing strategy games, often accompanied by friendly taunts and arguments over moves.

Siddiqui now attends board-game gatherings at least twice a week, despite his demanding schedule.

His experience is part of a wider picture of people finding ways to spend their leisure time together, whether around a board game, a book or a conversation that doesn't begin and end on a screen.

For some, these gatherings offer an opportunity to make friends. For others, they provide a few hours away from work, family responsibilities or the familiar habit of scrolling through social media. And sometimes, as Siddiqui discovered, a game is simply an excuse to find people worth meeting again.

Bringing strangers together

Taha Jawed had been playing board games for six or seven years, but finding others who shared his interest wasn't always easy. Most people he came across knew Ludo, Monopoly or Sequence. There was a whole range of games beyond those familiar titles, but not enough people to play them with.

Six months ago, he and his wife, Yusra, decided to do something about it. They started Boardgame Baithak, a community built around bringing people together to play.

Recalling how difficult it had been to find people familiar with different board games, Jawed says, “We set out to change that through action.”

Their first gathering attracted five people. Today, Jawed says, the community has more than 200 members, although a typical game night brings together around 15 to 20 players.

The format is straightforward. People turn up, the organisers explain the rules in about five minutes, and the games begin. Flip 7, Feed the Kraken and Mafia are among the favourites. Some involve as many as 12 players, and there is no limit on how many games someone can try during the evening.

Jawed estimates that 90 per cent of participants are newcomers. Many attend alone initially and bring their spouses or friends the next time.

“Digital entertainment is overrated in my honest opinion,” he says. “There's nothing like forming connections and engaging with people in real time.”

He has watched people who first met at these events go out for dinners, arrange padel games and even form business connections. Once, a participant brought along their own collection of games and told the organisers, “Let me host you now.”

Another participant, Sidrah Ramzan, a 31-year-old copywriter, who also has a three-year-old child, says free time is difficult to come by. When she does get some, she often ends up scrolling through social media.

She and her husband were initially cautious about meeting strangers, but found the organisers welcoming. They now attend roughly every other week.

“My favourite part is the friendly banter that goes on,” she says.

Sidrah has made friends there, although she doesn't attach too much significance to it.

“I have made a ton of friends through these events and it's fun to learn about new people. Wouldn't say meaningful connection because it's more for unwinding and not deep conversations.”

For Sidrah, that is reason enough to keep going.

Reading and conversations

Not everyone looking for company wants to spend an evening competing over a board game. For some, sitting around a table discussing a book is enough.

Saniya Imtiaz started Pakistan Book Readers Club in 2016, at a time when she felt conversations around books and literature were becoming less common. She remembers an earlier culture of people gathering to discuss ideas, writers and what they had been reading. She wanted to create a space for those conversations again.

What began as a Facebook group now holds reading sessions in Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Gujranwala, Faisalabad and Hyderabad. The physical gatherings are deliberately small, usually bringing together 10 to 15 people.

Imtiaz says larger gatherings can make it difficult for everyone to contribute. With fewer people, discussions are easier to manage and participants have more opportunities to share their views.

The conversations are not always limited to a particular book. Sometimes there is a theme, while other sessions bring authors and readers together.

“If we are discussing one book, then everyone's interpretation will be different,” Imtiaz explains. A reader might notice something another has missed, or understand a character or idea differently. For her, that exchange is what makes reading together worthwhile.

Over the years, she has seen these meetings develop into something beyond literary discussions. Members exchange books, recommend unfamiliar authors and sometimes send books to readers who cannot afford to buy them.

In smaller towns, where finding books can be difficult, members have also helped get books to one another through people travelling between cities.

One gathering that stayed with Imtiaz was with women writers and aspiring authors in Karachi. Some participants spoke about the difficulty of expressing themselves openly. Hearing published authors discuss their experiences encouraged others to consider writing themselves, even if only a short poem.

But not every reader is looking for a club.

Saadia Khan, a marketing executive who reads almost daily, prefers the experience of reading alone.

“I'd rather read alone, because I cannot stand slow readers (no offense),” she says.

She does, however, enjoy discussing books afterwards, particularly when someone else's interpretation challenges her own.

Saadia has considered joining a reading club but struggles to find the time to commit regularly. For now, conversations with fellow readers are enough to introduce her to books she might otherwise never discover.

Is it really about escaping screens?

Sidrah was scrolling through Instagram when she came across a post about board game gatherings and thought it might be something she and her husband would enjoy. They went, met a few people and have been returning ever since.

The irony isn't lost on her. An activity she discovered through social media has become one of the few occasions when she barely looks at her phone.

“We barely use our mobile phones, maybe just to take a picture or two. Other than that, it is all about socialising and playing games,” she says.

Siddiqui has noticed a difference in his habits too. Before he started attending board-game events, he would often spend his spare time playing mobile games or scrolling through Instagram. It kept him occupied, but he didn't always feel relaxed afterwards.

He explains that watching reels can distract someone for half an hour without doing much about the stress they were trying to escape. At a game night, there is something to react to, someone to argue with over a move, or a joke being made at another player's expense.

His overall phone use, he says, has reduced considerably since he began making time for these activities.

For Saadia, an avid reader since childhood, putting the phone aside comes more naturally. She doesn't need a gathering or a scheduled activity to do it.

“Sure, scrolling through reels can be fun. But nothing beats getting lost in a book for hours. The storytelling, world-building, and character arcs are really immersive. It's like watching a movie only I can see.”

Saadia says reading hasn't completely changed her screen time. She still uses social media, but often finds herself choosing a book instead.

Saniya, meanwhile, has encountered readers who specifically want printed books because they already spend much of their day looking at screens. But she also knows people who rely on PDFs because buying physical books isn't always affordable.

Pakistan Book Readers Club itself uses WhatsApp and Google Meet to keep discussions going, particularly for members who cannot attend in person because of travel expenses or responsibilities at home.

For them, being online isn't necessarily a habit they are trying to break. It is how they remain part of a reading community.

The effort behind offline fun

Finding an activity you enjoy is one thing. Making room for it in an already crowded week is another.

For Siddiqui, time is the biggest challenge. His work as a corporate lawyer sometimes involves long hours and even all-nighters. Add weekend classes to the mix, and there are weeks when attending a game night means sacrificing a little sleep.

Yet missing a gathering brings its own frustration. Siddiqui says seeing photographs and messages in group chats after an event he couldn't attend leaves him with a genuine fear of missing out. The people he met through these activities have become such a regular part of his life that he doesn't particularly enjoy being absent.

Organisers have their own difficulties. Jawed says maintaining a consistent booking system has been the main challenge for him and his wife. Getting people interested is no longer the problem it was when he started.

For Saniya, who has spent a decade running her book club, the obstacles are considerably broader. Finding affordable venues remains difficult, particularly when the intention is to keep participation free.

She has approached organisations for collaborations, hoping some might offer space for meetings. Removing the venue expense, she explains, makes it easier to arrange gatherings without passing the cost on to readers.

There is also the question of access to books themselves. Imtiaz points to the ease with which people can find places to eat or shop, even in smaller towns, compared with the effort sometimes required to find a bookshop.

She believes reading communities still need greater support, both from institutions and private organisations.

Yet running the club has also brought an unexpected source of help. Imtiaz says homemakers in their forties, fifties and sixties, along with retired people, have volunteered their time to organise activities and support the community.

For some, it has become an opportunity to contribute after years spent managing households or completing their working lives.

Saadia understands the difficulty of committing to a regular gathering. Although she likes the idea of joining a reading club, finding time for it has kept her from taking that step.

It is a reminder that an interest in something does not always translate into attendance. Between work, family, travel and other commitments, even a few hours of leisure can require planning.

More than a way to pass time

There is one thing Saniya has noticed over the years. People who cannot attend every reading session still try to remain involved. Some return after missing several meetings, while others keep up with the discussions whenever they can. For her, that continued interest matters as much as the number of people in the room.

Jawed has seen something similar. People who initially came to learn a board game eventually become familiar faces, comfortable enough to bring their own games and introduce others to something new.

For Siddiqui, what began as an attempt to find something to do outside work has become a regular part of his week. There are still deadlines, classes and family commitments to manage. But there are also people he looks forward to seeing.

The games may change from one evening to another. Some take only a few minutes to learn; others can occupy an entire afternoon. What Siddiqui has gained, though, is a group of people he can call when he wants to play.

And that is something he didn't have when he first moved to the city.