As part of our advocacy, #OneAccesibility, we will share information about differently able and profile one location with accessible trails. Look out every week for this enlightening post.
Caption: A photo of a variety of books on bookshelves in a library.(Getty Images)
This month’s theme is all about Inclusive Board Games: Board games that people with disabilities can have fun with, in an independent way. Most board games need to be adapted so people with disabilities can use them, especially for the ones who are visually impaired. On this set of articles, we hope to showcase this side of accessibility about how some of the most known board games can be made more inclusive.
I’m going to start us off with one of the most simple ones: Checkers or Draughts.
So both the blind and visually impaired can play Checkers, each piece and each space in the board is marked. Pieces are marked differently so the players can easily know to whom belongs each piece, and the spaces are marked differently too.
Not only the rules of Checkers itself are simple, but it’s also very simple to play when adapted! Because there are no numbers or letters on Checkers, the markings can be done in any way and DO NOT require the players to know braille.
Normally the board is adapted by making areas of it raised, so for example the “black” squares would be a bit higher than the “white” ones.
Of course, the visually impaired or blind could also play with sighted people. The pieces and board can still be black and white.
I found a great place that sells adapted Checkers, and more adapted board games, in my city: Argentina Library for the Blind. It’s good to know it’s on Maps!
Did you know that Inclusive Board Games exist?
Do you know a place that sells them in your city or country?
Let us know in the comments!
Do you have a question, suggestion or contribution? Feel free to leave a comment! You can read last week’s roundup clicking here, and check the list of our other articles under "Accessibility Uncovered".
You can also learn more about our project and team at oneaccessibility.org
