By Myra Ross | From BayLines Express, April, 2024
I’ve not been much of a gamer. I have had no interest in roleplay or action games. Several years ago, I purchased some of the Blindfold games. I enjoyed Solitaire, but it’s not a game I would play often. Sudoku was just too hard. Several times it seemed like I was doing so well only to find in the very end that I had made a mistake somewhere, one that I could not find. Very frustrating; I gave it up! I was definitely addicted to Color Crush for a while, but it kept losing track of my winnings, so I could not advance easily. I gave it up too.
I have new games now. The New York Times offers several free daily puzzles. “Wordle” has been accessible on the iPhone for quite some time. Play on https://nytimes.com. Choose the “play” tab at the bottom of the screen. You get six chances to guess a five-letter word. The errors you make are your only clues. After Jerry Berrier told me how to access the game in the fall of 2022, I quickly became addicted. Until three weeks ago, I had a 376-day streak, which was a lot better than my previous 96-day streak! I’m building up again. I just learned there is a harder version, which I may try.
Last summer, some sighted friends told me about a new puzzle on the NY Times app, then in beta. “Connections” is a list of sixteen words that must be organized into four groups of four, each group sharing a characteristic that players have to determine in order to group them. Words often appear to connect with each other in several ways, but only one alignment works. You are permitted to make four errors before you lose. For several months, Connections was not accessible. VoiceOver read and even spelled the words on the list, but there was no accessible way to choose them. I was excluded, and I have to confess that I felt it acutely whenever people would mention how much they liked the game. I took the opportunity to fill out the comment form requesting accessibility with VoiceOver, explaining what did not work, and I asked others to make similar submissions. I even went to The New York Times’ website and sent a comment to the puzzle department. I got a “thank you for your interest” reply, which didn’t give me much confidence that things would change. After about six months of checking periodically, about three weeks ago I was thrilled to see that they have added check boxes to each of the items. It is accessible now. I immediately replied to their reply with a thank you note. I now agonize over the game every day. I win more than half of the time, but even when I lose, I enjoy the quest. I also enjoy just knowing that I can play when I want to!
For years, I have also enjoyed playing “Seven Little Words” on my phone. You get seven clues and a long list of two-to-four-letter combinations that spell the words that satisfy the clues. It’s free, and you can get harder puzzles with an in-app purchase. Some of the free daily puzzles are moderately easy, but some of them are a real challenge. They provide free puzzles every day. There is even an easy introductory level. I don’t play regularly, but I do binge on it from time to time.
Cindy Wentz told me about a puzzle she plays on the Mac, called “Quordle,” where you get nine chances to create four five-letter words simultaneously in a grid. It’s like Wordle on steroids. I have found it to be inaccessible on both the PC and the iPhone. I would love to play. Please let me know if you can figure out how to access it on those platforms!
Now it’s your turn. Are there any accessible games of any kind that you play? I’ll be open-minded; talk me into a good action game!
I’ve not been much of a gamer. I have had no interest in roleplay or action games. Several years ago, I purchased some of the Blindfold games. I enjoyed Solitaire, but it’s not a game I would play often. Sudoku was just too hard. Several times it seemed like I was doing so well only to find in the very end that I had made a mistake somewhere, one that I could not find. Very frustrating; I gave it up! I was definitely addicted to Color Crush for a while, but it kept losing track of my winnings, so I could not advance easily. I gave it up too.
I have new games now. The New York Times offers several free daily puzzles. “Wordle” has been accessible on the iPhone for quite some time. Play on https://nytimes.com. Choose the “play” tab at the bottom of the screen. You get six chances to guess a five-letter word. The errors you make are your only clues. After Jerry Berrier told me how to access the game in the fall of 2022, I quickly became addicted. Until three weeks ago, I had a 376-day streak, which was a lot better than my previous 96-day streak! I’m building up again. I just learned there is a harder version, which I may try.
Last summer, some sighted friends told me about a new puzzle on the NY Times app, then in beta. “Connections” is a list of sixteen words that must be organized into four groups of four, each group sharing a characteristic that players have to determine in order to group them. Words often appear to connect with each other in several ways, but only one alignment works. You are permitted to make four errors before you lose. For several months, Connections was not accessible. VoiceOver read and even spelled the words on the list, but there was no accessible way to choose them. I was excluded, and I have to confess that I felt it acutely whenever people would mention how much they liked the game. I took the opportunity to fill out the comment form requesting accessibility with VoiceOver, explaining what did not work, and I asked others to make similar submissions. I even went to The New York Times’ website and sent a comment to the puzzle department. I got a “thank you for your interest” reply, which didn’t give me much confidence that things would change. After about six months of checking periodically, about three weeks ago I was thrilled to see that they have added check boxes to each of the items. It is accessible now. I immediately replied to their reply with a thank you note. I now agonize over the game every day. I win more than half of the time, but even when I lose, I enjoy the quest. I also enjoy just knowing that I can play when I want to!
For years, I have also enjoyed playing “Seven Little Words” on my phone. You get seven clues and a long list of two-to-four-letter combinations that spell the words that satisfy the clues. It’s free, and you can get harder puzzles with an in-app purchase. Some of the free daily puzzles are moderately easy, but some of them are a real challenge. They provide free puzzles every day. There is even an easy introductory level. I don’t play regularly, but I do binge on it from time to time.
Cindy Wentz told me about a puzzle she plays on the Mac, called “Quordle,” where you get nine chances to create four five-letter words simultaneously in a grid. It’s like Wordle on steroids. I have found it to be inaccessible on both the PC and the iPhone. I would love to play. Please let me know if you can figure out how to access it on those platforms!
Now it’s your turn. Are there any accessible games of any kind that you play? I’ll be open-minded; talk me into a good action game!