The wildly successful adult party game Cards Against Humanity is now accessible to the blind, thanks to a kit from 64 Oz. Games. The company specializes in making kits which make card and board games accessible, often accomplished by using plastic overlay sleeves. To achieve this, you would purchase the Cards Against Humanity game and then the accessibility kit. It'll be necessary to find a way to read the printed cards so they can be matched with their corresponding braille overlays. Once this is done, you'll have a completely accessible version of one of the most popular games in the world.
If you're not familiar with Cards Against Humanity, often referred to as CAH, it's a party game where question cards with a blank are matched with words or phrases in your hand that attempt to fit the blank. Some call it the adult version of Apples to Apples, and when we say adult, we definitely mean it. There aren't many areas that are off limits when it comes to game cards and material.
The original game retails for $25 while the accessibility kit costs $35. A computer-based version of the game is available from online accessible games site RS Games, though the vibe of playing a game online is much different than you might experience in person.
The company got its start after a successfil Kickstarter campaign where it raised more than $20,000, wildly surpassing its goal. We interviewed founder Richard Gibbs on a Blind Bargains audio podcast last spring.
Source: 64 Oz. GamesCategory: News
I loved this concept and even supported it until I found out how it actually works. First you pay over twice as much for the game, then you and a sighted friend have to dig through the printed cards to match the appropriate ones with the appropriate sleeves! Why not just take out your Braille writer and Braille the cards yourself! Would be a lot easier. I've made many games accessible myself this way. Am I the only one who has thought about how much harder it is to match the sleeves to the cards, not to mention paying double and ordering from 2 different places? I don't know why this company doesn't just do what it says, make the games accessible by putting braille on the game cards themselves, instead of all this sleeve business.
64OzGames Monday, 02-Feb-2015 1:09 PM ET:
Thanks for your comment. Our goal is to reduce the barriers to gaming and so far the sleeves are the best method and most cost efficient we've found. I don't apologize for the price given the time and materials I have to put into it. We can't do directly on the cards for various reasons, we would have to stock the games prior to selling the kits and the legality gets iffy depending on how we did it. It would be very difficult if not impossible to run the cards through an embosser without screwing up occasionally and that would ruin entire games. It just isn't feasible. With Cards Against Humanity the problem is actually bigger than some games. The text will not fit on the cards in braille. Our sleeves are slightly bigger than the cards and allow the full text to be on the card. Other games such as 7 Wonders would be hard because of the amount of info on the cards making it a repetitive pain to use a braille writer. I agree that pulling out the braille writer is a great solution to some people. If you would rather do that, more power to you. I don't claim to be a perfect solution. It is an option that wasn't one before, it's up to you if you want to use it.
Mello Monday, 02-Feb-2015 6:49 PM ET:
so, why not sell the game and access together with the cards in the sleeves as a package? I don't want to get help from BeMyEyes to do the set up... :)
64OzGames Monday, 02-Feb-2015 11:04 PM ET:
We could sell them as a package but if we did it as a package deal there is no way we could do the assembly ourselves especially with a large game like CAH. Almost 600 cards takes quite a while. Smaller games we could and do offer 'small accessibility assistance' for an add-on for people who are interested in us putting together the smaller games like Coup and Love Letter. Our company is a 2 man team(me and my wife the TVI) and we're doing this as a side project while working 2 full time jobs respectively. Personally if I am going to spend time working on our company I would rather spend it transcribing more games than assembling ones that we've already done. It isn't ideal but unfortunately there isn't a large enough market here for us to do much more than that. So right now the best solution that we have is using a reader or a program like BeMyEyes (please just get a reader if you're doing this many cards and save yourself a headache, I can't imagine using BeMyEyes ending well) It doesn't take a very skilled reader. The kit is designed to go in alphabetical order so if you know a 10 year old they can help you assemble... on second thought that isn't an ideal choice for Cards Against Humanity. I am convinced using my kits will save you time, be less error prone and be faster than transcribing it yourself but that is the best that we can offer right now.
underdog cheerleader Thursday, 05-Feb-2015 09:37 AM ET:
Kudos to 64 Oz. Games for your important work on behalf of blind gamers! I admire your dedication, and I will purchase your products to support you.
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J.J. Meddaugh is an experienced technology writer and computer enthusiast. He is a graduate of Western Michigan University with a major in telecommunications management and a minor in business. When not writing for Blind Bargains, he enjoys travel, playing the keyboard, and meeting new people.
