By: Carmen Willings
teachingvisuallyimpaired.com
April 7, 2020

Game play is a social activity and can promote mental stimulation. Participation in games is fun and can promote inclusion for individuals who are blind or visually impaired. With simple adaptations, everyone can play and develop skills rather than than sit on the sidelines. Take the student through an activity or game a couple of times before requiring independent participation. When necessary, allow the person to buddy-up with a sighted partner. ​

Strategies

  • Use task lighting such as a flex-arm lamp or goose-neck lamp to help the individual see the game board or cards. 
  • Direct the light in a way to reduce shadows.
  • Avoid playing games on a patterned surface such as a busy tablecloth. 
  • Use a card holder to allow for better viewing of cards. 
  • Select playing cards with styles that have limited visual clutter.
  • Purchase adapted game boards or add textures and tactile markers to adapt your own game boards and game pieces.
  • ​Learn how to transcribe  playing cards.

Commercially Available Adapted Games

UNO recently released braille UNO playing cards. You can purchase the cards or transcribe your own cards to make them accessible. 
Large and Jumbo print playing cards are commercially available or you can transcribe your own cards with braille.
Rubik's Cube now has a Tactile Rubik's Cube making it accessible to individuals who are blind or visually impaired.
Jumbo BINGO cards are available for individuals with low vision. You can place transparent braille number stickers and tactile lines to make it accessible for individuals who are blind. 
Alternatively, you may purchase Braille BINGO cards that feature both large print and braille. The recesses keep BINGO chips from sliding onto other areas of the board. 
A tactile version of 4 in a Row (aka Connect Four) can be purchased or you can add tactile markers to adapt your own board.
This adapted braille Monopoly board features extra large sized cards with braille and large print. The 20-in. square game board has a special overlay molded on to it so you will be able to identify all the spaces and the location of the properties. Comes complete with brailled dice, brailled cards, brailled money and brailled game board
 This accessible Deluxe Tactile Braille Scrabble Game comes equipped with everything needed for play by touch. The plastic game tiles have tactile and Braille markings. Plus the board comes with an overlay grid that helps keep pieces from shifting and also has tactile and Braille markings. The game board rotates on a built-in base for easy reach from all directions.
This set comes with 28 plastic raised dot domino tiles; and a hard-plastic case to keep everything contained. On the dominoes themselves; you'll find large; raised dots to indicate the number on each side; and a tactile line down the center. Each domino even has a rough-textured back; to help keep the tiles from sliding around on the table. ​
This tactile hand-crafted wooden backgammon game is designed specifically for individuals who are blind. Tactile playing pieces, raised lines to keep pieces from becoming jumbled, and markings for colors make it easy for players both with and without sight to join this wonderful game. 

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