A Non-Visual Game

We live in a very visual society where we rely so much on our sight that we often forget what it means to be blind. Almost all board games cannot be played without being able to see, and of the few games made for visually impaired people, most are just adaptations of existing games. Unfortunately, many game mechanics cannot be translated into a non-visual medium without losing some aspects of the game.

With the project ‘A Non-Visual Game’, I wanted to explore the world of visually impaired people by creating a game where it doesn’t matter whether a player can see or not. Working together with a blind community, we explored what game mechanics work well for them. Using this information, I created a resource collecting and space managing game.

All game pieces are made to be very tactile and easy to differentiate just by touch. The wood blocks feel like wood and the stone blocks feel like stone. The finished game invites sighted and visually impaired people alike to play together, creating a space to connect and raise awareness.