Teaching Accessible Design Through Critical Making and Board Games

Adam Strantz, Miami University

Lens: Physical


Battleship

Battleship game board. Stacks of white and red pegs are ready to place on a board mimicking a tactical targeting system
Figure 9: Battleship game board.

Battleship tasks players with hunting down the opponent's ships via firing shots and narrowing down where the ships could be. The large number of plastic pieces and precise control needed to place them on the board made for a number of dexterity issues as noted by this student.

Trouble

Up close view of the Trouble board game board and its plastic bubble with a die inside
Figure 10: The Trouble game board with its prominent popping dice roller

Trouble involves popping the plastic dice roller in the middle of the board and then moving your pieces around the board in a race to the end. As the board area and pieces are only distinguishable from other players' via color, this student looked for ways to make elements look and feel differently.

Quelf

Quelf board game cover offering a game where you obey the card
Figure 11: Cover of the board game Quelf

Party games like Quelf are one of the most common to see gameplay based around physical challenges such as balance and other bodily movements. This student looked for ways to make the game less physical, while also increasing the tactile-ness of game pieces to meet a range of bodily ability.

Connect Four

red and yellow coins from the game Connect Four
Figure 12: Connect Four coins in red and yellow

Some students studied fairly simple games such as Connect Four, but were still able to highlight numerous ways the game could be more accessible. Like Trouble and Battleship, Connect Four relies on precisely maneuvering plastic game pieces in order to play.

Lens: Visual

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The visual lens includes all elements of visual design including sizing and spacing issues, color/contrast issues, and colorblindness.

Lens: Cognitive

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The cognitive lens includes elements of game design relating to complexity, memorization, understanding of rules, and overall density of text on game materials.

Lens: Physical

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The physical lens covers issues relating to interacting with the game through touch, bodily movement, and fine-motor skills. The ability to move, interact with game pieces, and physically do what is required by the game is analyzed.

Lens: Emotional

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The emotional lens looks at the game from the perspective of how players feel while playing the game. This may involve feelings of frustration, joy and sadness in winning and losing, or "feel bad" moments in gaming where one player is excluded from play.