Sightless Fun

By Ertay Shashko

Sightless Fun is a podcast about board game accessibility for the blind and visually impaired. We analyze various tabletop games and try to come up with solutions that would make them more accessible ... more

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FAQs about Sightless Fun:

How many episodes does Sightless Fun have?

The podcast currently has 21 episodes available.

Sightless Fun episodes:

November 28, 2019#16 - Michael Heron From Meeple Like Us
In this episode, Ertay talks to Michael Heron from Meeple Like Us, the first and largest blog about accessibility in the board gaming industry. They talk about the current state and future of the site, accessibility in board games, how Michael started the site and much more.
Time Stamps
Discworld books, 01:54
Michael Heron's background, 04:24
Michael's favorite game, Chinatown, 05:53
Why Michael started Meeple Like Us, 08:57
Michael's journey to accessibility, 11:41
Accessibility improvements in the industry over the years, 17:56
What motivates Michael to keep working on MLU, 20:25
Michael's process, 21:35
MLU's 200th game, Istanbul, 25:01
Lanterns and accidental accessibility, 26:51
Accessibility becomes good design, 27:15
Common visual accessibility problems, 28:48
Board Game Accessibility Guidelines, 31:45
Feedback from publishers, 38:33
Meeple Like Us in 5 years, 44:43
Board Game Accessibility Content Creator Network, 49:52
Michael's game recommendations, Skull and Funemployed, 59:35
Links
Meeple Like Us - https://meeplelikeus.co.uk
MLU on Twitter - https://twitter.com/meeplelikeus/
MLU on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/MeepleLikeUs/
Able Table Gaming on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/abletablegaming/
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1h 6min
November 14, 2019 A Touch Of Gaming - Pros and Cons Part 2
In the final A Touch Of Gaming podcast episode, Ryan Peach and Brian counter continue to talk to Bill Corey about board game conventions.
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1h 13min
October 31, 2019 A Touch Of Gaming - Pros and Cons Part 1
In the third A Touch Of Gaming bonus episode, Ryan Peach and Brian counter are joined by Bill Corey to talk about board game conventions. This is the first part of a two-part episode.
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1h 10min
October 17, 2019A Touch Of Gaming - Adapt and Play
In the second A Touch Of Gaming bonus episode, Ryan Peach and Brian counter are joined by Richard Gibbs from 64 Ounce Games to talk about adapting modern board games for the blind and visually impaired.
Time Stamps
01:48: Interview with Richard Gibbs
38:30: The Resistance
40:06: Dark Moon
41:10: Pick Picnic
45:15: Goblet
45:48: No Thanks
46:35: Dead Man's Draw
50:14: Cards Against Humanity
50:58: Dice City
51:44: Race for the Galaxy/Roll for the Galaxy
52:10: Illuminati
53:18: Medina
54:12: Modern Naval Battles: Global Warfare
56:30: Tsuro
57:57: Cosmic Encounter
58:28: Kingsburg
59:22: Catan
59:58: Quarriors
1:00:18: Acquire
1:01:38: Stock Pile
Links
http://64ouncegames.com/
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1h 6min
October 03, 2019A Touch Of Gaming - Learning and Teaching
This is a bonus episode from an older podcast hosted by Ryan Peach and Brian Counter. In this episode they discuss about the challenges of teaching and learning board games as blind and partially sighted board gamers.
Time Stamps:
00:46: Brian and Ryan start by discussing game learning.
14:28: Brian and Ryan continue the discussion with game teaching.
41:42: Brian and Ryan conclude with game recommendations for learning and teaching.
34:40: Galaxy Trucker
42:27: No Thanks
43:22: Empires: Age of Discovery
48:00: Defenders of the Realm
50:10: Dungeon Lords
56:00: Alien Frontiers
58:32: Kingsburg
1:03280: Timeline
1:06:20: Among the Stars
1:10:20: 7 Wonders
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1h 13min
June 27, 2019#15 - Knights Of The Braille
In this episode, Ertay talks to Jim and Eric from Knights of the Braille. Knights of the Braille is a small community for blind and visually impaired Dungeons & Dragons players. They talk about the accessibility challenges of D&D, how they are introducing new players to the game, using theater of the mind, dealing with tactics in combat scenarios and much more.
You can get in touch with Jim via [email protected] or Twitter: https://twitter.com/brailleknights. You can also find Eric on Twitter: https://twitter.com/itsclavast.
Time stamps
Jim's background, 02:22
Eric's background, 02:53
How Jim and Eric got involved with D&D, 03:42
How sight loss affected Jim's enjoyment of the game, 08:55
What is Knights of the Braille, 09:45
What have they done so far, 11:55
Comparing Jim and Eric's style of play, 14:15
Accessibility of websites and apps, 18:58
Tactics and combat in D&D for the blind, 22:46
Guidelines for sighted players that play with blind people, 27:20
Published adventures or homebrew, 29:05
Accessibility of dice, 31:43
Advice for aspiring blind dungeon masters, 34:05
How to join a Knights of the Braille group, 39:40
Final thoughts, 42:47
Links
Knights Of The Braille - https://knightsofthebraille.com/
Knights Of The Braille on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcZ7SAELCxHrruDN5u6NghQ
D&D Beyond - https://www.dndbeyond.com/
Fantasy Grounds - https://www.fantasygrounds.com/home/home.php
If you have any questions or feedback you can send an email to [email protected] or find us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/sightlessfun.
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47min
June 13, 2019#14 - Learning and Teaching Board Games As a Blind Player With Chris Lehman
In this episode Ertay and Chris Lehman have a chat about the challenges of learning and teaching board games as blind individuals. Chris shares some interesting details about how he learns to play a game and after that he shares his process of teaching games to others. They also talk about the recent games they have played and Chris also shares some of his favorite board games.
You can get in touch with Chris Lehman via [email protected].
Time stamps
Chris Lehman's background, 04:01
How Chris got into the hobby, 06:30-
Favorite games, 09:21
Sighted assistance, 13:30
Recently played games, 14:10
Board game learning process, 19:58
Board game apps, 28:56
Challenges of learning a board game blind, 33:40
Combining Rulebooks and video tutorials, 37:54
How publishers and content creators can improve the accessibility of rulebooks or tutorials, 40:35
Chris talks about his teaching process, 43:00
Challenges of teaching board games blind, 50:17
Tips for blind players to help with teaching board games, 56:12
Tips for sighted players when teaching blind players, 57:13
Board game recommendations for blind players, 59:37
Links
Tarpon Tabletop Gamers on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/groups/tarpontabletop/
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1h 11min
May 30, 2019#13 - Color Blindness In Board Games With Jay Sears
In this episode, Ertay is joined by Jay Sears from Pixy Games and they talk about color blindness in the hobby. Jay talks about the misconceptions of being colorblind and also provides some tips to game designers and publishers on how they can avoid the most common pitfalls when it comes to designing colorblind accessible board games.
Time Stamps
Jay's background, 01:21
Jay talks about his color blindness, 03:56
Types of color blindness, 05:50
Color combinations to avoid when designing board games, 12:30
Colorblind friendly combinations, 14:25
The color palette of Sagrada, 16:14
Tips for game designers, 18:38
Alternative ways to work with problematic colors, 21:33
Magic Maze, 26:07
Importance of component size and shape, 26:51
Board games with poor colorblind accessibility, 28:34
Yamatai and the red-green color choices, 33:04
Castles of Burgundy, 36:41
Board Games with good color blindness accessibility, 39:22
Final thoughts, 43:32
Links
Pixy Games - http://pixygames.co.uk
- Jay's blog post about color blindness 0 https://pixygamesuk.blogspot.com/2019/04/colour-blindness-guide-for-board-game.html
- Meeple Like Us Master List - https://meeplelikeus.co.uk/meeple-like-us-masterlist/
- Geek and Sundry article about color blindness in board games - https://geekandsundry.com/increasing-accessibility-how-publishers-are-making-games-more-colorblind-friendly/
- Hacks to make your game colorblind accessible - https://geekandsundry.com/like-a-rainbow-in-the-dark-hacks-to-make-your-games-color-blind-accessible/
You can get in touch via [email protected] or on Twitter: https://twitter.com/sightlessfun
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46min
May 16, 2019#12 - Gateway Games For The Blind Part 2
In the second part of the gateway games for the blind special, Ertay, Nancy, and Ryan talk about their Top 3 favorite, gateway board games. If you are looking for an accessible game in the hobby, the games that are discussed in this episode are a good place to start.
Time stamps
Citadels, 01:21
Jamaica, 09:45
Colt Express, 21:36
Codenames, 31:39
Flip City, 39:28
Pandemic, 47:00
Diamonds, 55:27
Valeria Card Kingdoms, 01:01:25
Dice Forge, 01:07:42
You can get in touch with Nancy Feldman via [email protected] or follow her on Twitter: https://twitter.com/loravara.
You can get in touch with Ryan Peach via [email protected] or find him on Twitter: https://twitter.com/redmeepleryan.
Links
Codenames web app - https://ninjabunny.github.io/KodeNames/
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1h 18min
May 02, 2019#11 - Gateway Games For The Blind Part 1
In this episode, Ertay, Nancy, and Ryan talk about their favorite gateway board games that are suitable for blind or visually impaired people looking to get in the board gaming hobby.
In part one, they first talk about what constitutes a gateway game and also discuss how gateway games for sighted people compare to those that are playable by the blind and visually impaired. Next, they talk about the bottom two games in their top 5 gateway games lists in detail and why those games can be a good choice to introduce blind people to board games.
Time stamps
Gateway games overview, 01:44
Sentinels of the Multiverse, 08:46
Favor of the Pharaoh, 16:54
King of Tokyo, 26:30
Near and Far, 35:35
Pandemic: The Cure, 47:23
Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective, 01:00:45
You can get in touch with Nancy Feldman via [email protected] or follow her on Twitter: https://twitter.com/loravara.
You can get in touch with Ryan Peach via [email protected] or find him on Twitter: https://twitter.com/redmeepleryan.
...more
1h 11min

FAQs about Sightless Fun:

How many episodes does Sightless Fun have?

The podcast currently has 21 episodes available.