THE BATTLE OF ORLÉANS

The battle of Orléans is an audio-tactile boardgame designed with older late blind players. This marginalised group gets mostly excluded from this benefiting leisure time activity, due to discriminating norms used in board game design. Even though there are adapted versions, those are mainly just playable by younger or congenitally blind players. This work aims to fill this gap and create an independent game experience for this specific social group.

The story

The name of the game ” The battle of Orléans” comes from the love of the participants for the audiobook about Jeanne d’ Arc. They are affectionate of this medium in general because most of them are Braille illiterate and are not able to read. Furthermore, it enabled them to travel with their mind and “visit” new places. This predilection was adapted to the game, by implementing RPG story elements, which are based in a medieval setting. The players encounter several NPC’s and have to pass challenges, to gather enough materials for their team.

The materialities

The game consists out of a board with 15 surfaces, which are covered in4 different textures, diverging in touch and sound, four distinct materials which represent the resources, plasticine and a voice-controlled app.

The board is easily reproducible (see instructions below) and adaptable to the needs of the players.

INSTRUCTIONS

Materials

Building Instructions

Playing Instructions