Adapting Bingo for Impaired Vision
Oct. 9th, 2019 01:43 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysabetwordsmith posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
allbingoOne of my blind friends alerted me that a bingo card is difficult or impossible to use via screen reader. So I came up with some other options ...
Bingo is a grid with 5 squares in a row (B-I-N-G-O) and 5 squares down. (It can have other numbers, like 3x3, but 5x5 is standard.) So you can name the squares: B1 is the upper left corner, O5 is the bottom right corner, and so on. This would be very easy to lay out on cardboard with any raised line material. People have used a spot'n'line pen, glue, string dipped in glue, wikisticks, and so on.
One prompt goes into each square. Then you try to fill prompts so they form a line in any direction: horizontal, vertical, or diagonal. There are other shapes, but start with those because they are the simplest.
If you have low vision, try printing out the card in large font, or even print individual words and place them on your grid. It doesn't matter if your card winds up 5 feet square, as long as you can read it.
If you have no usable vision, consider making a tactile card.
To avoid the online grid, simply choose 24 prompts from the text list of prompts in the fest and assign them randomly to the squares. The middle square is typically Wild Card (use any prompt) or Free Space (you don't have to fill it). If you wish to Braille your bingo card, I suggest randomly distributing the numbers 1-24 in the squares. There should be enough room in a reasonably sized card to Braille two numerals. Then simply number your prompts, and match the number of the prompt to its position in the grid. You could Braille your prompts directly, but long ones wouldn't fit and you'd have to make a new card for every fest. Do what works for you.
Another idea: for a more tactile experience, simply glue random small items to the grid -- a penny, a piece of macaroni, a hex-nut, a piece of corduroy, whatever you have. Then try to connect each item to the fest's overall theme. Frex, corduroy could mean corduroy pants in autumn, striped wrapping paper in winter, plowed fields in spring, and heat waves in summer.
EDIT 10/9/19: You can also buy Braille bingo cards. To use that version, you would need to note which numbers are on your card (they go higher than the 24 used in a 5x5 creative bingo card) so that you could match those to a prompt list. But you wouldn't have to make a card, and a purchased card would be very sturdy and easy to use.
I hope this helps.
Bingo is a grid with 5 squares in a row (B-I-N-G-O) and 5 squares down. (It can have other numbers, like 3x3, but 5x5 is standard.) So you can name the squares: B1 is the upper left corner, O5 is the bottom right corner, and so on. This would be very easy to lay out on cardboard with any raised line material. People have used a spot'n'line pen, glue, string dipped in glue, wikisticks, and so on.
One prompt goes into each square. Then you try to fill prompts so they form a line in any direction: horizontal, vertical, or diagonal. There are other shapes, but start with those because they are the simplest.
If you have low vision, try printing out the card in large font, or even print individual words and place them on your grid. It doesn't matter if your card winds up 5 feet square, as long as you can read it.
If you have no usable vision, consider making a tactile card.
To avoid the online grid, simply choose 24 prompts from the text list of prompts in the fest and assign them randomly to the squares. The middle square is typically Wild Card (use any prompt) or Free Space (you don't have to fill it). If you wish to Braille your bingo card, I suggest randomly distributing the numbers 1-24 in the squares. There should be enough room in a reasonably sized card to Braille two numerals. Then simply number your prompts, and match the number of the prompt to its position in the grid. You could Braille your prompts directly, but long ones wouldn't fit and you'd have to make a new card for every fest. Do what works for you.
Another idea: for a more tactile experience, simply glue random small items to the grid -- a penny, a piece of macaroni, a hex-nut, a piece of corduroy, whatever you have. Then try to connect each item to the fest's overall theme. Frex, corduroy could mean corduroy pants in autumn, striped wrapping paper in winter, plowed fields in spring, and heat waves in summer.
EDIT 10/9/19: You can also buy Braille bingo cards. To use that version, you would need to note which numbers are on your card (they go higher than the 24 used in a 5x5 creative bingo card) so that you could match those to a prompt list. But you wouldn't have to make a card, and a purchased card would be very sturdy and easy to use.
I hope this helps.
