https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/64ouncegames/board-games-now-blind-accessible
Hey everyone! Sorry for the absence, a lot of stuff has happened that knocked me back just a bit, but I am back and ready for more awesome games!
First order on the agenda! As awesome as board games are, for bringing people together and providing a ton of entertainment, it’s left out a few very important groups of people, simply because there hasn’t been a good way of making board and card games accessible to those groups. However, that won’t be the case much longer!
Just take a moment to consider this. Normally, if you get together with a group of your geeky friends, and you all decide you want to play a game, whether it be Monoply, or Risk, or Uno, what have you. The options are endless, right? I personally can come up with at least ten different games, just sitting here writing. Now, imagine one of your friends is visually impaired, or blind altogether? Can you think of any games now? Yeah, I couldn’t really come up with any either. Turns out, there really are very few options for the visually impaired or blind, and those options that do exist typically run at very high prices due to the added or altered design that is needed for the blind to be able to play. Major bummer, right? Well not for long!
Introducing Board Games: Now Blind Accessible! This kickstarter is fantastic, because its creators have come up with an ingenious way of making board and card games cater to the visually impaired. By using specially made plastic covers that slip right over the cards for a variety of card games, the visually impaired can now have Braille right on the cards, describing all of the information that their sighted friends have. And it’s not just the card sleeves either. The Kickstarter is also trying to provide accessories like dice with Braille instead of the usual numbers.
Now, the creators are aware that not every game will be able to be as easily translated into Blind accessible games, which is why they are asking for your support. While a lot of the materials needed to make card and board games accessible for the Blind aren’t really all that expensive, the machine that makes it all possible is, and is fairly complex in terms of technology and the need for maintenance.
Now I’m sure a lot of you are asking why just for the Blind? What about the other geeks out there with other disabilities? Sadly, as of right now, the kickstarter is focusing on the Blind and visually impaired, but they hope this kickstarter provides a spring in the right direction, and they can eventually grow to be able to address other disabilities that might be preventing our fellow geeks from really enjoying games with their friends.
As of right now, the Kickstarter still has about a month left to go, ending on April 24th, but it’s already received so much support from the community that it’s far and away passed the initial goal of 7,500 dollars! I for one think that’s a fantastic sign, and opens the door for geeks everywhere, of any kind to really come together and enjoy games together, as it’s always been meant to be. They still have a lot of fun incentives and prizes for you if you decide to join in the fun and support this amazing company, which I highly recommend! The company itself even as it’s own game, called Yoink!, which looks like it could be a lot of fun, for every geek out there, so I strongly recommend you check it all out and see it for yourself. As for the other games, they are working together with several other game companies, to come up with the necessary accessories needed to make the various games accessible to everyone, Blind or otherwise, and the overwhelming support from these other companies goes to show just how popular this idea is.
So I urge you all to go out and check this Kickstarter out, and support our fellow geeks! It’s time to start reaching out and including all who love to play games, and 64 Oz. Games is helping to bridge those gaps, one game at a time! Until next time, guys!
