2024-08-07 19:44:26
Before 2015, the year AccessiJeux France was created, followed closely by its Swiss counterpart in 2018, the gaming landscape for the visually impaired resembled a barren desert. A few Braille cards were scattered here and there, chess games with vaguely distinguishable pieces tried to salvage the situation, but for the vast majority of members of the Swiss Federation of the Blind (FSA), playing was akin to an obstacle course.
Indeed, the toy library in Zollikofen (BE) already offered an impressive collection of tactile games and illustrated books. However, these games, specifically designed for visually impaired individuals, effectively excluded sighted players, widening the gap between the two worlds.
“Making board games accessible is crucial because it creates connections between people,” explains Céline Witschard, a visually impaired player and co-founder of the accessible online library MonaLira. “Whether for children or adults, it’s an excellent way to socialize. Games help develop skills, learn to manage victory and defeat, and above all, share moments of fun.”
Between innovation and preservation
This is where AccessiJeux steps in with a simple yet effective idea: to adapt or publish mass-market games to create accessible playgrounds where everyone, sighted or visually impaired, can compete on equal terms. Transparent relief stickers, tactile digital coding, audio rules, connected mobile applications… all without distorting the experience. “Our mission is to make games accessible without increasing their price,” emphasizes Sébastien Piguet, co-founder of the Swiss association. “These challenges drive us to constantly innovate. Each game presents its own unique challenges.”
But the devil is in the details, and some games give the association’s teams a run for their money. How do you make a game accessible where cards must be identified by their position? Or allow a visually impaired person to know the state of their opponents’ games? Puzzles that require ingenuity, sometimes necessitating a rethinking of the game’s mechanics. This is the case with Mow (Hurrican Edition), a game from Carouge, whose Access version replaces traditional cards with puzzle tiles, avoiding any accidental movement by touch.
A virtual alternative
“The most important thing is to share a moment around the table,” summarizes Céline Witschard. “It’s the social aspect that takes precedence. We create bonds, we exchange ideas, we laugh.” This philosophy is shared by Quentin Cosendey, a visually impaired computer engineer from Jura. In 2014, he launched Le Salon, a web platform offering 38 adapted games in digital format, ranging from traditional Yahtzee to the legendary Monopoly. “For the cards, the traditional method is Braille,” he explains. “But only 10% of blind individuals can read it well enough to play with it. Using a keyboard or a screen reader is therefore a real benefit.” The platform today attracts around 24,000 visitors per month.
The new masters of the game
However, the path to inclusive gaming is still fraught with challenges, particularly in Switzerland. While France has made strides in public funding, Switzerland is lagging behind. “In Switzerland, we have a somewhat old-fashioned view of gaming,” laments Sébastien Piguet. “Modern gaming, which emerged in the early 2000s, struggles to gain traction. This resistance complicates our work. We face a dual challenge: modernizing the perception of games and making them accessible.”
In any case, the world of inclusive gaming in Switzerland is on the rise. Collaborations are emerging, such as partnerships between publishers and associations of gamers with disabilities, or festivals like Ludesco in La Chaux-de-Fonds (NE) that open their doors wide to adapted games. And if, ultimately, this quest for accessibility is the beginning of a new era for board games, an era where the joy of playing together outweighs all differences? The games are not finished yet.
Discover our bonus (and accessible) game to print: Stop or Continue: Always More Cheese