Just last week, American Toy manufacturing company Mattel released a gender-neutral doll which is a huge step-forward in terms of inclusivity.
This week, Mattel has taken another step toward inclusive game-playing by releasing UNO Braille.
To produce the game, Mattel teamed up with the National Federation of the Blind over in the States and say their aim is to “make a real impact on a community that has been underserved.”
“UNO Braille is doing more than making this beloved game more accessible. It’s also helping promote the importance and normalcy of braille by putting it in places people might not expect, and integrating it into the play of blind children,” National Federation of the Blind’s president Mark Riccobono said in a statement.
“The fact that a blind person is now able to play a classic game of UNO straight out of the box with both blind and sighted friends or family members is a truly meaningful moment for our community.”
While UNO Braille is amazing it’s a bit late to the game, if you will. Inclusive versions of popular games have been around for a while.
There’s Braille Dominoes, and brailled and low vision-versions of Monopoly where all of the properties and spaces are in large type and accompanied by braille. All of the Monopoly cards, as well as dice and money notes are also in braille and large print for the vision impaired.
Monopoly in general is also a good game for the hearing-impaired as it is mostly a visual game.
It’s also a good choice if you feel like ruining your relationships.
There’s also Braille Scrabble if you want to test your vocabulary.
And some smart cookie has also invented tactile chess where the white and black squares and pieces on the board are shaped differently. Black board squares are raised and each black chess piece has a tactile pin in the top so visually-impaired players can feel their way to a checkmate.
So the next time you’re looking to host a games night, why not buy one of these bad boys? But don’t go easy on your opponent – winning doesn’t discriminate.