Games for the Blind

It can be hard to find accessible games for the blind. It seems like most games are designed with only sighted people in mind. Video and electronic games are especially challenging. These tend to be so visual. If you cannot see the screen, it can be impossible to play the game.

Blind gamers have a big challenge to locate the few games that are truly accessible to people who are visually impaired.

My teenage daughter, Frischette, is blind and she likes to play games on her Nintendo DSi. Accessible DSi games are particularly difficult to locate. She has been trying this by buying pre-owned games at Game Stop, then returning the ones that do not work for her and getting something else.

My daughter wants to be like every other teenager, and do the things other people her age like to do. I am passionate about helping her follow her dreams and be all that she can be. To this end, I want to help her find video games that she can successful play and compete with her friends.

Sharing information within the blind gamer community can accelerate the trial and error process that visually impaired people have to go through now to find accessible products.

This lens reviews various games for their accessiblity for blind games, according to my daughter's experience. If you have found a way to make some of these games work, I hope you will leave a comment and let me know, so we can make this lens an increasingly valuable place to exchange information.

This is not meant to be an exhaustive list of accessible games, although it would be terribly helpful if something of the sort did exist. Maybe, by working together, we can create a good list of accessible games of various formats. Please let me know of any that you are aware of so I can add them here.

Photo credit

My daughter and her friend are both totally blind. They enjoy getting together to play Super Smash Brothers Brawl on the Wii.

Photo property of author. All rights reserved.

Frischette is managing to advance through the levels of this game entirely independently. When she first started playing she needed a little orientation from a sighted person to figure out what all the sounds and vibrations in the handset meant. It also took her a while to figure out how to maneuver around the mansion.

She has mastered Level One, and has unlocked new parts of the mansion although she has not found Mario yet. The Gamecube version of Luigi's Mansion is a lot of fun for Frischette, and she has spent a lot of time playing this game this summer.

There is also a Wii version of Luigi's Mansion available.

I bought Rhythm Heaven for my daughter after a lot of careful research. I thought it sounded like it might be accessible. While this game does have a visual component, it is possible to play it completely auditorially.

The game requires that you figure out sequences of rhythms which become more complex as the game progresses. The game gives you sound cues to prompt you to tap and flick the stylus in various rhythm patterns. Players advance through a number of levels, and can also choose to go back and play levels they have previously mastered.

Reviews mention this is fun for all ages, from older children to through adulthood.. It is definitely fun for either blind or sighted. I enjoyed playing it, but my daughter is better at it than I am.

Rhythm Heaven is now available for the Nintendo Wii. My daughter has not yet tried playing this game on the Wii, and I don't know anyone else who has tried it either. If you have tried it, I hope you will leave a comment and let us know how accessible the game is.

Frischette is able to beat sighted players at this game on the GameCube. We have not tried the Wii version, which is Super Smash Brothers Brawl. If we get a chance to test it out, I will report back here.

Wii Sports is a package that has several games which are playable by people who are blind. The students at our school are able to play bowling, tennis and golf in this package. Frischette will be getting this for Christmas, and I will update you from personal experience after I see how that goes. I know she has successfully played several of these games at a friend's house, and is asking Santa to bring her this game.

This blind gamer explains how he plays Bit.Trip Runner through audible cues and memorization.

Accessible Games for the Wii

VI Fit

The VI Fit was designed to help increase the physical fitness of blind youngsters. All of the games are free and can be downloaded from their website.

Play the games with a Wii remote and a bluetooth computer. If your computer doesn't have bluetooth capability, you can purchase a dongle for about $15 to make it work.

Read the rest of the article and download the games here.

For more information on haptic gaming, or the VI Fit, click the link below!

Your mileage may vary, but be aware that these games have some features that make them largely inaccessible to blind gamers.

This game is SO cool! We really wanted this one to work. You load the game and then take your game system along with you as you travel around. Whenever your DSi detects a wireless internet connection it will download a treasure. When we had this, a trip to the farmers market about two miles from our house netted around 150 treasures. Most treasures are musical notes produced by various instruments, including folk instruments from all over the world. Players can then arrange these notes to form their own musical compositions. It was very cool, and very frustrating to Frischette who says it is "too hard" for someone who cannot see. I am not sure she did not give up too soon. It might be possible for someone with a lot of patience and persistence. I'm not sure.

A few websites have sought to address this issue. As I find them, I will add them to this list.

The games on this list have been recommended to me by blind people or parents of blind children as being accessible and fun. While not video games per se, they are electronic games and appealing in a similar way.

I know a lot of my daughter's friends enjoy playing Bop It. Kids with a lot of processing challenges may find this hard to keep up with.

Let me know you were here! If you know of any other accessible games for the blind, please share that information here so I can add it to this list. If you have a review of a game you would like to me include, please let me know and I may be able to add it also.