Children who are blind or visually impaired may soon be able to enjoy popular team board games such as Charades and Taboo, thanks to new adaptations that make these games accessible to them and their friends.
To make this possible, the game rules have been adjusted and the words on the cards are now also available in Braille.
In the case of Charades – a silent acting game in which players pantomime words or phrases for teammates to guess before a timer runs out – acting has been replaced with the creation of sound cues.
For Taboo – a team game where one player describes a word to their teammates without using any of the five taboo words listed – the words on the cards will also be provided in Braille.
Braille supports literacy and does not rely on technology. This is not happening sufficiently, as state schools are not focusing on Braille, resulting in children missing out on these basic literacy skills- Prof. Anne-Marie Callus from the Department of Disability Studies at the University of Malta
This initiative was developed by Lublin University in Poland and recently piloted in Malta through a collaboration between the Malta Trust Foundation, the Maltese Federation for the Blind and the University of Malta.
Earlier this week, the games were introduced to a group of visually impaired children in Malta. Although still at the prototype stage, the plan is to roll them out more widely, with the possibility of creating Maltese-language versions.
Prof. Anne-Marie Callus, from the Department of Disability Studies at the University of Malta, stressed the importance of teaching Braille, noting that it supports literacy and does not rely on technology. However, she said that this is not happening sufficiently, as state schools are not focusing on Braille, resulting in children missing out on these basic literacy skills.
This message was echoed by Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca, chairperson of the Malta Trust Foundation, who noted that the success of these accessible games is closely tied to children’s ability to read Braille – an essential tool that also helps them learn to spell correctly.