Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

A friend of mine is looking to get into 40k. The trouble is, he is legally blind. He can perceive light / shapes but that's about it. He squints and hunches over the board to get in close enough to make out the models.

We have played a few starter games and he has the mechanics down. Measurement is a thing for him, he has a talking tape measure but can't always make out what it's bumping into. I have to coach him a little on the rules, since we don't have an accessible copy of the rulebook.

Wondering if anyone has experience playing tabletop games with someone with visual impairments. Are there any experiences you have to share, or strategies for making the game easier to play?

This is just wild guesswork, but maybe attach LEDs to all the models? That way, they're bright and visible to him?

First of all, i'd probably stick to low model count and smaller games - maybe something like killteam or herald of ruin. It's really hard to keep in mind everything going on in larger games and he has problems with visually getting the picture of the battlefield.

Than he needs to identify where the models are and as i see it, he could either use something like tiny lamps attached to the models as he can still see light and it'd make finding them way easier. Or he could use acoustics. They don't need to be very loud. And it'd even be somewhat elegant. Tiny backpacks that emit sound - either constantly with some periodity or on demand, for example, when he presses a button. Kinda like car switch or something like this. They can be modelled to look cool. But it's probably a better idea to make them attachable and detachable. Cause models may change.

This way he'd be able to keep track of his dudes at least. The opponent would have to make sure he says about all the movements and be generous regarding measurements and true los.

The sounds can be different so that he could identify the types of models by sound. Regular dudes, hwt, transport, warlord. That's why i say killteam cause it woun't make an unrecognisable cacophony.

Probably some spare attachable sound emitters for the opponent to stick on his models so the dude would be able to also hear where the enemy models are without asking the opponent all the time.

Well, that's a fun technical task all on itself. The battery for such tiny sound emitters lives quite long, so it won't be a hassle.

There was someone at my last FLGS who had lost his sight. I don’t know all the details (only knew him casually) but I knew he played 40k before he went blind. He was also in a wheelchair.

His girlfriend/SO/partner helped him play. She would take care of all the mechanics of the game (movement, dice rolling, etc) and describe the battlefield to him. He’d make all the tactical decisions.

He missed out of the little details of play that can be fun, deploying a squad into cover, tactically positioning units for LOS, that sort of thing. But he acted like a general giving orders to his troops. He’d get reports from the field, evaluate them, and send out instructions. Still played the game.

What's his colour perception like? One of the biggest issues you'll have is differentiating certain models (I struggle to tell a melta gun from a combi melta without picking it up and my eyes are fine).

Have a look at the chunky coloured rubber rings that snap around the base rim. Blood bowl players use these for marking skills.

 Nevelon wrote:
There was someone at my last FLGS who had lost his sight. I don’t know all the details (only knew him casually) but I knew he played 40k before he went blind. He was also in a wheelchair.

His girlfriend/SO/partner helped him play. She would take care of all the mechanics of the game (movement, dice rolling, etc) and describe the battlefield to him. He’d make all the tactical decisions.

He missed out of the little details of play that can be fun, deploying a squad into cover, tactically positioning units for LOS, that sort of thing. But he acted like a general giving orders to his troops. He’d get reports from the field, evaluate them, and send out instructions. Still played the game.

This is how I'd envision helping someone who is blind to play 40k; they still get the majority of the involvement of the game, as well as all the important decision making, only someone else does the movement for them. They can be their very own armchair general!

I'd definitely go with that - be his adviser and carry out his final decisions after reporting on what's going on. Don't forget to buy a pair of hats so you can roleplay back and forth as general and Commissar

The only similar experience I've had is helping someone confined to a wheelchair move his tanks about in a game of Flames, but that was a bit different since he could see what was going on - I only moved things for him that he couldn't reach.

G.A

I think that it's important that anyone who wants to play this game be able to do so. This game has a lot of moving and static pieces, and making use of visual cues is very very helpful. However, humans are incredibly inventive and resourceful, and rather than try to impose a system on him, let him impose a system on you. Get his help to figure out the best way for him to enjoy the game.

If he's looking for help, here's some polite ideas:

#1 - Let him create the board. From what I understand people with vision problems tend to have excellent spatial memory. Let him set up the board, and chances are he'll have a better idea of what is where. If the board has pre-arranged pieces, let him grab, pick up, and put back down the pieces.

#2 - Red Plastic GW Measuring Sticks. I hate these things, because they're often short by between 1/8th and 1/4 inches. However, they provide two things that are more challenging with regular measuring tapes; First, they're rigid and always the same length, meaning that putting one end to your model, you can wave it slowly around to "find" other models or obstacles. Second, they have tactile indicators for each inch of measurement, allowing him to do his own measuring.

#3 - Start small, then go big. 1 HQ and 2 Troops per side, with mostly hill terrain. It's simple, has lots of tactical options, and will provide a great testing bed for figuring out new ways of playing!

gamed with a legally blind guy on occasion. the sob painted like a damn champ though, lots of magnifiers he always said

if the guy is your friend the best thing you can do is simply help him.

point things out he may miss or just help him measure etc...

it all depends on how much fun you're willing to help him have.

I'll agree with simply helping him (if that means moving his stuff for him, but letting him make the decisions etc.).

Is he concerned with painting? If not, an idea would also be to simply colour-prime the units in different colours so he can identify them (i.e. my Tactical Marines are blue, my Devastators are red, etc.).

Another option to simplify the table is large blocky terrain to block lines of sight (no small barriers, clutter, foliage etc.) I feel like you'll need to converse with him and get a better idea of how he wants to play - if he wants painted stuff, etc.

Adding to all this I'd suggest small model count/more uniform armies to avoid needing to tell models' kit apart by subtle differences; Aspect Warriors, for instance, since everyone in the unit is uniformly armed and different units are painted different bright colours.

Speaking of blind people and tabletop games in general has anyone ever come up with a dice-rolling app of some sort that announces the results? Not sure if it'd work or how but the idea seems intriguing.

Just tell him he is losing and that he keeps Rolling 1s.

 Nevelon wrote:
There was someone at my last FLGS who had lost his sight. I don’t know all the details (only knew him casually) but I knew he played 40k before he went blind. He was also in a wheelchair.

His girlfriend/SO/partner helped him play. She would take care of all the mechanics of the game (movement, dice rolling, etc) and describe the battlefield to him. He’d make all the tactical decisions.

He missed out of the little details of play that can be fun, deploying a squad into cover, tactically positioning units for LOS, that sort of thing. But he acted like a general giving orders to his troops. He’d get reports from the field, evaluate them, and send out instructions. Still played the game.

That's actually really sweet, and kind of cool that he got to play the part of general.

Personally I've never really had to deal with this, and never really thought about since miniatures gaming is such a visual hobby. I would just keep the game simple for them, maybe make some modifications to the rules (obvious things being line of sight) and try and make things as clear as possible so they can make the best decisions for their army.

I hope this doesn't sound like I'm pooh-poohing people's suggestions, as I think there a lot of good ideas here, but I think probably the best thing you could do is sit down with the guy and have a conversation with the guy about what aspects of the game he thinks he needs help with – as he's the one directly affected, I'd say he's probably in the best position to judge this. Once you have a clear idea of that, the two of you should be in a better position to come up with a workable solution. Good luck to you both by the way; it's sound of you to try and help someone with the accessibility issues surrounding gaming.