Board games have long been a source of entertainment, strategy, and social interaction. And thanks to a world that's growing increasingly inclusive, game designers and players now recognize the importance of adapting board games to cater to those with different visual needs. Developments in adaptive tech for gaming are now able to add interactivity and touch detection to boost all players' engagement, enjoyment, and social connectivity — regardless of visual ability.

From blindness to color blindness and low vision, here's a quick look at how games can be tailored to accommodate various impairments, followed by a closer look at four exceptionally accessible board games.

Adapting for Visual Impairments

Visual impairments cover a broad spectrum. To make board games accessible, one must understand the different ways that games can be adapted to accommodate them, a few of which we discuss below.

Blindness

Board games can be made accessible for individuals with blindness through several creative adaptations. By incorporating sound and touch, board game designers can better include blind players.

Color Blindness

Game designers can make games more accessible by implementing colorblind-friendly design principles. Using unique symbols or patterns alongside colors ensures players can differentiate game elements regardless of color perception. Otherwise, people with color blindness can also choose to wear tinted glasses while playing to better differentiate between shades…

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Board games based on literary works are great ways to immerse yourself in fantasy worlds. You can experience the plots and encounter characters all over again, this time with some added twists. And even if you haven’t read a certain book, you can still enjoy the gameplay, and perhaps be encouraged to continue the adventure by flipping through the source material's pages.

So whether you can’t get enough of the book or you’re not sure if you want to give something a read, below are six board games that book lovers will get a real kick out of.

Polite Society: The Jane Austen Board Game

Polite Society is a board game that brings together characters from Jane Austen’s books, containing 52 custom character cards from Elizabeth Bennet to Emma Woodhouse. The aim of the game is to be the first player to complete your dining table board with eight guest cards. To do this, you need a combination of the asset cards Wit, Wealth, Heart, and Beauty in order to buy guest cards to add to your table. If you haven’t read her works, don’t worry — you don’t need to know the ins and outs of Austen or her books to have fun with this easy and casual game.

The Lord…

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Everywhere you turn, there are superheroes. Marvel and DC dominate the multiplexes with giant studio pictures, while shows like The Tick are popular on streaming services. Let’s face it: society loves superheroes. And honestly, it makes sense. I mean, who doesn’t love being able to save the day every now and then? With Sentinels of the Multiverse, now you can be the hero the multiverse needs.

Origin Story: Getting Started

Is your ideal hero a heavy-hitter or a healer? Someone who uses lots of cards to build attacks or lots of one-shots? You decide! Each unique Hero comes with their own custom deck with powers and surprises specifically for them. The base game comes with 10 Heroes: Absolute Zero, Bunker, Fanatic, Haka, Legacy, Ra, Tachyon, Tempest, The Visionary, and The Wraith. Each character has different strengths and play styles. While I enjoy each Hero for different reasons, I have a special soft spot for Tempest.

[caption id="attachment_20444" align="alignnone" width="730"] The number in the top left corner is Tempest’s starting health and the box at the bottom of the card shows his starting power, or attack. Shuffle your Hero’s deck and deal yourself four cards.[/caption]

Once everyone has picked out a Hero, you need to…

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There are many reasons to love Mysterium. It’s beautiful, both mechanically and visually. It allows for up to seven players, but it easily works as a two-person adventure. The concept is interesting: the ghost gives the medium “visions” to show them how the ghost died. And it’s a relatively quick game since players have seven rounds to guess the who, the where, and the how of the murder, using only these visions to guide them.

I have played a lot of Mysterium over the years because I love the game so much. It’s quirky and fun to bust out in a group. I never get tired of the beautifully illustrated visions and I like seeing how different people approach the game, especially as the ghost. Do they hand out vision cards that are literal, with objects that resemble the card they are trying to describe? Or do they hand out cards that are closer in color and vibe to what they want me to pick? It’s all very subjective and there is no right way to play it.

[caption id="attachment_17459" align="alignright" width="203"] For instance, play this card during the “who” phase and you were telling the other person to pick the doctor, since an apple a day keeps the doctor away.[/caption]

Mysterium…

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