A pair of Sacramento entrepreneurs are building a business centered around what they say adults are missing in their lives – play.

Jeff Louie and Chris Chu, both 30, founded Asobuyo in April as a way for like-minded locals to get together, play games, sample food from local businesses and get to know one another.

“We’re all about using play as a mechanism for life change,” Chu said. “When people play, they have better quality of life and less stress.”

Asobuyo is a Japanese word that roughly translates as “let’s play,” Chu said, adding that weekly meetings of Asobuyo members are centered around playing games in groups of four in a fun way to get to know people.

The first event was held at Capsity Offices, 2321 P St., which is a co-working space Louie co-founded. The game was several video clips of Midtown set up in a trivia game similar to “Scene It?” but that proved too difficult to facilitate, with the amount of time involved in producing the video and developing questions.

Now, game evenings are typically spent at local restaurants so the members can bond over food, and some of the restaurants Asobuyo has partnered with are Kupros Bistro, Cafe Lumiere and Old Soul Co.

One game they play is called Superstar, and in it, one member of the group is the superstar, and team members collect myriad facts about the superstar – everything from how many keys he or she has on a key ring to where he or she was born. They then must memorize the facts.

Throughout the night, different questions are asked, and the superstar’s teammates – or “fans” – have to answer correctly, racking up the most correct answers to beat the other teams.

“It’s a good game to play early on so maybe some of the more quiet people get to tell more about themselves,” Louie said.

“We plan our games strategically so they build on each other,” Chu said, adding that over the course of the night, the team that wins the most games is declared the overall winner and receives prizes – which have ranged from cakes and food to gift cards from hosting businesses.

Wendy Duncan, 27, said she enjoyed playing Urban Dictionary Balderdash, in which a definition from the popular website and book “Urban Dictionary” was read, and participants had to guess the word it described.

“I think (Asobuyo) is just a good combination of everything: food, socializing and fun,” she said.

She added that, for her, the biggest benefit has been meeting like-minded people who are interested in having fun and exploring the city.

“I’ve grown up in Sacramento, and I feel like a lot of the locals have a poor image of the city and talk trash about it,” she said. “They say there’s nothing fun to do, but Asobuyo lets us have a lot of fun and get to know the area.”

The business makes its money through some paid events as well as marketing for local businesses.

One upcoming event, scheduled for 2 - 7 p.m. on Oct. 23, is a spy-themed grub crawl and scavenger hunt, Chu said.

“Each spy team will go to each place and complete a mission, then sample some food and meet the owners,” Chu said.

While most events are free, the food crawl and scavenger hunt will cost $35, with $10 being donated to the charity Asian Resources, Inc., a nonprofit organization providing social services in Sacramento, especially to youths with limited English-speaking abilities.

Khonnie Lattasima, 29, said she found out about Asobuyo through the website Yelp while browsing events.

“I emailed them, and it sounded interesting,” she said. “I didn’t really know what it was, and I think it’s something you actually have to experience.”

She added that she enjoys the positive attitudes of everyone involved.

“It breaks down a lot of barriers, and you get to know a lot of people,” she said. “They’ve done a great job. It’s basically a play movement, and they’re building something really positive in the community.”

Louie said he and Chu want to eventually expand beyond Sacramento and create a movement where people see that taking time to play and have fun actually adds to productivity and quality of life.

Future plans involve an option of a paid premium membership and more integration with technology, including some form of mobile app.

“We wanted to start in Sacramento,” he said. “We’re both from Sacramento, and we want people to be proud that there are businesses that want to start up here.”

To contact Asobuyo, visit the company’s website or Facebook page.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.