Everyone at the Table: Accessibility and Universal Design in Board Games

June 2025

Grace Kaletski-Maisel, MA, MS

Introduction

I’ve been a tabletop gamer for over a decade, but I’ve only recently started exploring the world of children’s board games. Some of my three-year-old’s favorites are First Orchard, Monkey Around, and Acorn Soup, each designed to be a perfect match for her abilities. Children’s board games are intentionally crafted to accommodate developmental needs, accounting for fine motor skills, cognitive load, attention span, and sensory engagement. First Orchard, for example, uses large wooden game pieces that are the perfect size for my daughter’s small, chubby hands to grasp. Game components are crafted to fit the developing dexterity and motor skills of a toddler, withstand being tossed across the room, and remain relatively easy to find under the couch – much simpler than, say, a small pastel Wingspan egg. The game mechanics are equally suited for her age group: rolling a large wooden die determines which color fruit a player can pick, with the goal of cooperatively gathering all the fruit before a crow reaches the orchard. The theme allows her to build confidence by tapping into a task she has already mastered (color recognition) as she works on still-in-progress skills, such as turn-taking, teamwork, and following rules, all at an age-appropriate level. A round of First Orchard takes me and my daughter about ten minutes, so it’s perfectly tailored for a child’s short attention span.

As an instructional designer in higher education, my work revolves around promoting quality in academic courses. One important way that instructors can enhance the quality of their courses is by making them accessible to learners with disabilities. I recently completed a series of professional development courses on accessibility by Deque University. Naturally, I found myself thinking about how accessibility can be applied to other aspects of my world, including tabletop gaming. While children’s games are tailored to the unique ability levels of a specific age group, the world of adult games often excludes people with disabilities from full participation. Common features, such as small text, complex rules, or visual cues, mean that some players may need to rely on fellow players for certain aspects of gameplay or may be precluded from playing at all. Taking a page from my instructional design toolkit, Universal Design for Learning (UDL) offers a powerful framework for enhancing accessibility in learning and has many applications that can also be applied to tabletop gaming. UDL promotes inclusive design through multiple means of engagement, representation, action, and expression. Whether you’re a game designer aiming to reach a broader audience or someone organizing a game night for a diverse group, UDL principles can help ensure that more people can participate fully. 

Barriers to Accessibility in Board Games

Like any cultural medium, board games reflect the systemic inequities found in broader society. Sexism, racism, classism, and homophobia can all manifest in game themes, character representation, marketing, and community dynamics. Accessibility is another key concern, particularly for gamers with disabilities, who frequently encounter barriers to participation. These barriers can affect a wide range of needs. The International Association of Accessibility Professionals identifies nine categories of disabilities: visual, auditory, deaf-blindness, speech and language, mobility, flexibility and body structure, cognitive, seizure-related, psychological, and multiple or complex disabilities. Board games can create obstacles in any of these areas. Meeples Like Us, a resource that evaluates games for accessibility, employs a heuristic approach to assess and assign a letter grade representing how well different titles accommodate accessibility in eight areas: color blindness, visual, physical, cognitive, emotional, communication, socioeconomic, and intersectional. A 2018 report found that most areas received a B or C letter grade on average across the games that the site evaluated. Communicative intelligence had the highest accessibility with an average score of B+, while visual and cognitive accessibility had the lowest score of C- (Heron et al, 2018).

Making board games more accessible comes with challenges. One significant barrier to inclusivity is cost. Some developers may want to improve accessibility but face financial constraints; depending on the game and need, changing or adding game components can come with a high price. A 2024 study by Barros et al. found that while most game designers support accessibility, they cite cost as a significant impediment to implementing it. Another challenge arises from the fact that every game is different, and some mechanics inherently exclude certain players. For example, the game Telestrations relies on players secretly making drawings and passing them around. For someone with a visual or motor disability, this core mechanic may be inaccessible or require assistance that disrupts the aspect of secrecy that is at the heart of the game. Variability in both games and in player needs also poses challenges. Each game requires players to engage differently, so no one blueprint or checklist can be used to ensure that a game is fully accessible. What works for Parfum (a fragrance-making game) might not work for Dixit (where players must guess an image based on clues). Likewise, disabilities exist on a wide spectrum. No single game design solution can guarantee equal access for all players to participate. Some games may be accessible for players with a motor impairment but pose difficulties for those with cognitive challenges.

While full accessibility for every player in every game may still be out of reach, small, thoughtful design choices can significantly broaden who gets to play. This is where Universal Design for Learning (UDL) can help.

Applying Universal Design for Learning to Board Game Design

UDL is a framework developed by the Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST) to ensure learning environments accommodate the widest possible range of learners. Its three core principles—multiple means of engagement, representation, and action/expression—can be applied to board game design to improve accessibility.

Multiple Means of Engagement

This principle emphasizes the idea that everyone has a unique set of identities, interests, and sources of motivation that can vary widely. Board games can incorporate this principle by offering players different ways to play or participate in a game. For example, a game could offer both competitive and cooperative modes, include a solo mode for players who may have difficulty engaging in group settings (such as Wingspan), offer a variety of paths to earning points, or allow for adjustable difficulty, such as shorter game versions or alternative rules. A game library with a well-rounded variety of game types, themes, difficulty levels, and mechanics will help cast a wider net and help ensure more players have something to play.

Multiple Means of Representation

This principle reflects the fact that individuals have different ways of perceiving information, communicating, and constructing meaning. In a board game, some players may rely on visual cues, others may need audio, and some benefit from tactile elements. Accessible board games should provide alternative ways to access game information, such as making an audio version of the rulebook available, providing captions for any audio or video components, or incorporating tactile elements, like textured pieces or Braille dice. They should avoid using color alone to convey meaning, perhaps by adding symbols alongside any color-coding (as Ticket to Ride does), and ensure that game components have clear, high-contrast visuals to aid players with low vision.

Multiple Means of Action and Expression

People have different ways of interacting with materials, expressing ideas, and developing strategies. Not every player interacts with a board game the same way. Physical disabilities may make it difficult to manipulate pieces, while cognitive disabilities can affect processing speed or memory. To support diverse needs, games can offer adaptable mechanics (such as alternatives to rolling dice), multiple ways to indicate actions (like verbal cues, gestures, or written notes), and utilize components like reference cards or visual aids to reduce cognitive load. Customizable pacing and complexity can also help players engage at their own comfort level.

UDL Benefits Everyone

The curb cut effect in accessibility refers to the idea that changes made to support people with disabilities often benefit everyone. A curb cut designed for wheelchair access, for example, also helps people pushing strollers, rolling luggage, or using hand carts. Similarly, applying UDL principles to board game design can broaden the appeal and usability of games for all players. Features like customizable difficulty can make a complex game more approachable for beginners, while audio rulebooks can help anyone save some time and learn the game while they are cooking, commuting, or cleaning. By applying UDL principles, game designers and facilitators can create more inclusive experiences that welcome a broader range of players, without sacrificing fun or creativity.

Practical Steps for Choosing Accessible Games

There’s an overwhelming number of board games out there—BoardGameGeek.com indexes over 100,000 titles in its database—so identifying games that fit individual needs can be a challenge. For details on a particular game, looking it up on BoardGameGeek is a great place to start. It provides information on game mechanics, components, and user reviews, and its forums can be a valuable space to ask questions or find discussions about accessibility. Websites like Meeples Like Us and Accessible Games provide reviews of board games for accessibility as well as relevant commentary on the topic.

When choosing or designing a game with accessibility in mind, it is crucial to pay attention to the physical components of the game. Features such as high-contrast colors, large sans-serif fonts, tactile pieces, and audio rulebook companions can make a significant difference in accessibility. Even small adjustments, like using card holders, reference sheets, or simplified rule summaries, can help ensure that more people can engage meaningfully with the game. It’s also important to understand the specific needs of the people you’re playing with. The best approach is often the simplest: ask them what they need to participate comfortably and fully. If you’re organizing a gameplay session for a diverse group, consider environmental factors as well. Good lighting, a quiet space, comfortable seating, and a table at an appropriate height can all contribute to a more inclusive and enjoyable experience. Choosing accessible games isn’t just about accommodation, it’s about creating a welcoming space where everyone can play.

Conclusion

Tabletop gaming has the power to bring people together, spark joy, provide mental stimulation, and foster social connection, but only if everyone has a seat at the table. By applying the principles of Universal Design for Learning, we can begin to reimagine what accessibility in tabletop gaming looks like—not as a checklist, but as a mindset. Whether you’re a designer, educator, or casual player, small, intentional choices in game design and selection can make a big difference. Accessibility isn’t about limiting creativity, it’s about expanding who gets to play. When more people can play, we all win! 

Works Cited

Accessible Games. Retrieved from https://www.accessiblegames.biz/ 

Barros, J., Sousa, C., & Luz, F. (2024). Bridging play and inclusion: A qualitative investigation into accessibility challenges and innovations in board game design. In Proceedings of the International Conference on Education and New Developments (END 2024), II (pp. 241-245).

BoardGameGeek. Retrieved from boardgamegeek.com 

Center for Applied Special Technology. Universal Design for Learning Guidelines version 3.0. Retrieved from udlguidelines.cast.org. 

Deque University. Retrieved from dequeuniversity.com 

Heron, M.J., Belford, P.H., Reid, H., & Crabb, M. (2018). Eighteen months of meeple like us: An exploration into the state of board game accessibility. The Computer Games Journal, 7, 75-95.

International Association of Accessibility Professionals (2023). CPACC Body of Knowledge. Retrieved from accessibilityassociation.org/sfsites/c/resource/CPACCBoK 

Meeples Like Us. Retrieved from https://www.meeplelikeus.co.uk/