Shows
Career CastBlind Institute of TechnologyThis was an insightful conversation where we explored the world of Salesforce with the incredible members of the Blind Institute of Technology (BIT).
In this inspiring interview, we had the privilege of chatting with talented tech professionals Ertay Shashko and Rebecca Ledder who are visually impaired but have conquered barriers to excel in the Salesforce ecosystem. Discover how they embarked on their Salesforce journeys and overcame common challenges faced by visually impaired tech experts.
Learn about their unique experiences, including their first steps into Salesforce, the tools and techniques they use to thrive in this field, and...2023-09-0846 min
Sightless Fun#16 - Michael Heron From Meeple Like UsIn this episode, Ertay talks to Michael Heron from Meeple Like Us, the first and largest blog about accessibility in the board gaming industry. They talk about the current state and future of the site, accessibility in board games, how Michael started the site and much more.
Time Stamps
Discworld books, 01:54
Michael Heron's background, 04:24
Michael's favorite game, Chinatown, 05:53
Why Michael started Meeple Like Us, 08:57
Michael's journey to accessibility, 11:41
Accessibility improvements in the industry over the years, 17:56
What motivates Michael to keep working on MLU, 20:25
Michael's process, 21:35
MLU's 200th game, Istanbul, 25:01
Lanterns and accidental accessibility, 26:51
Accessibility becomes...2019-11-281h 05
Sightless FunA Touch Of Gaming - Pros and Cons Part 2In the final A Touch Of Gaming podcast episode, Ryan Peach and Brian counter continue to talk to Bill Corey about board game conventions.2019-11-141h 12
Sightless FunA Touch Of Gaming - Pros and Cons Part 1In the third A Touch Of Gaming bonus episode, Ryan Peach and Brian counter are joined by Bill Corey to talk about board game conventions. This is the first part of a two-part episode.2019-10-311h 09
Sightless FunA Touch Of Gaming - Adapt and PlayIn the second A Touch Of Gaming bonus episode, Ryan Peach and Brian counter are joined by Richard Gibbs from 64 Ounce Games to talk about adapting modern board games for the blind and visually impaired.
Time Stamps
01:48: Interview with Richard Gibbs
38:30: The Resistance
40:06: Dark Moon
41:10: Pick Picnic
45:15: Goblet
45:48: No Thanks
46:35: Dead Man's Draw
50:14: Cards Against Humanity
50:58: Dice City
51:44: Race for the Galaxy/Roll for the Galaxy
52:10: Illuminati
53:18: Medina
54:12: Modern Naval Battles: Global Warfare
56:30: Tsuro
57:57: Cosmic Encounter
58:28: Kingsburg
59:22: Catan
59:58: Quarriors
1:00:18: Acquire
1:01:38: Stock Pile
Links
http://64ouncegames.com/
2019-10-171h 06
Sightless FunA Touch Of Gaming - Learning and TeachingThis is a bonus episode from an older podcast hosted by Ryan Peach and Brian Counter. In this episode they discuss about the challenges of teaching and learning board games as blind and partially sighted board gamers.
Time Stamps:
00:46: Brian and Ryan start by discussing game learning.
14:28: Brian and Ryan continue the discussion with game teaching.
41:42: Brian and Ryan conclude with game recommendations for learning and teaching.
34:40: Galaxy Trucker
42:27: No Thanks
43:22: Empires: Age of Discovery
48:00: Defenders of the Realm
50:10: Dungeon Lords
56:00: Alien Frontiers
58:32: Kingsburg
1:03280: Timeline
1:06:20: Among the Stars
1:10:20: 7 Wonders
2019-10-031h 12
Sightless Fun#15 - Knights Of The BrailleIn this episode, Ertay talks to Jim and Eric from Knights of the Braille. Knights of the Braille is a small community for blind and visually impaired Dungeons & Dragons players. They talk about the accessibility challenges of D&D, how they are introducing new players to the game, using theater of the mind, dealing with tactics in combat scenarios and much more.
You can get in touch with Jim via knightsofthebraille@gmail.com or Twitter: https://twitter.com/brailleknights. You can also find Eric on Twitter: https://twitter.com/itsclavast.
Time stamps
Jim's background, 02:22
...2019-06-2746 min
Sightless Fun#14 - Learning and Teaching Board Games As a Blind Player With Chris LehmanIn this episode Ertay and Chris Lehman have a chat about the challenges of learning and teaching board games as blind individuals. Chris shares some interesting details about how he learns to play a game and after that he shares his process of teaching games to others. They also talk about the recent games they have played and Chris also shares some of his favorite board games.
You can get in touch with Chris Lehman via clehman2k9@gmail.com.
Time stamps
Chris Lehman's background, 04:01
How Chris got into the hobby, 06:30-
Favorite games, 09:21
...2019-06-131h 10
Sightless Fun#13 - Color Blindness In Board Games With Jay SearsIn this episode, Ertay is joined by Jay Sears from Pixy Games and they talk about color blindness in the hobby. Jay talks about the misconceptions of being colorblind and also provides some tips to game designers and publishers on how they can avoid the most common pitfalls when it comes to designing colorblind accessible board games.
Time Stamps
Jay's background, 01:21
Jay talks about his color blindness, 03:56
Types of color blindness, 05:50
Color combinations to avoid when designing board games, 12:30
Colorblind friendly combinations, 14:25
The color palette of Sagrada, 16:14
Tips for game designers, 18:38
Alternative ways to work with...2019-05-3046 min
Sightless Fun#12 - Gateway Games For The Blind Part 2In the second part of the gateway games for the blind special, Ertay, Nancy, and Ryan talk about their Top 3 favorite, gateway board games. If you are looking for an accessible game in the hobby, the games that are discussed in this episode are a good place to start.
Time stamps
Citadels, 01:21
Jamaica, 09:45
Colt Express, 21:36
Codenames, 31:39
Flip City, 39:28
Pandemic, 47:00
Diamonds, 55:27
Valeria Card Kingdoms, 01:01:25
Dice Forge, 01:07:42
You can get in touch with Nancy Feldman via loravara@gmail.com or follow her on Twitter: https://twitter.com/loravara.
You can get in touch with Ryan...2019-05-161h 17
Sightless Fun#11 - Gateway Games For The Blind Part 1In this episode, Ertay, Nancy, and Ryan talk about their favorite gateway board games that are suitable for blind or visually impaired people looking to get in the board gaming hobby.
In part one, they first talk about what constitutes a gateway game and also discuss how gateway games for sighted people compare to those that are playable by the blind and visually impaired. Next, they talk about the bottom two games in their top 5 gateway games lists in detail and why those games can be a good choice to introduce blind people to board games.
2019-05-021h 10
Sightless Fun#10 - Being a Blind Dungeon Master With Temple SmithIn this episode, Ertay talks to Temple Smith, a blind Dungeons & Dragons Dungeon Master. Temple has been playing DnD since the 1980s and talks about the visual accessibility of the game and how role-playing games can provide countless hours of entertainment with friends. He also explains how he deals with character sheets, dice, maps, and more.
You can get in touch with Temple on Twitter: https://twitter.com/blindtemple
Time stamps
Temple's background, 00:53
How often Temple plays DnD, 03:08
Temple describes his preparation process, 03:49
How Temple's process changed after he lost his sight, 6:12
Temple...2019-04-1800 min
Sightless Fun#9 - Sighted Assistance For Blind Board Gamers With Dale and Laura RoweErtay talks to Laura, a blind board gamer, and her partner, Dale, a board game developer at Mythic Games, about the importance of sighted assistance when playing modern board games with blind players.
If you want to get in touch with Laura and Dale Rowe, you can send an email to cardboardjukebox@gmail.com.
Time stamps
Laura's background, 1:12
Dale's background, 2:09
How often they play games, 4:29
Current favorite board games, 5:17
Learning and teaching board games, 11:54
Accessibility challenges and hidden information, 14:25
Patience and sighted assistance, 18:50
Playing Power Grid with sighted assistance, 21:50
Inaccessible dexterity games, 25:50
Meeting Rahdo...2019-04-0400 min
Sightless Fun#8 - Brailling Board Games With Nancy FeldmanErtay and his third guest on the show, Nancy Feldman, talk about Braille in modern board games. Nancy is a blind board gamer that has a collection of over 200 games. She covers her process of brailling board game components, the common problems she has to deal with, and shares tips for blind gamers interested in brailling their games, Nancy also explains the limitations of Braille for board games and goes into some interesting workarounds to solve those accessibility issues.
You can contact Nancy Feldman via loravara@gmail.com and find her on Twitter: https://twitter.com/loravara2019-03-2100 min
Sightless Fun#7 - A Blind Board Game Enthusiast's Journey In The HobbyErtay talks to Ryan Peach, a blind board game enthusiast, about his journey in the hobby. Ryan shares how he was introduced to the hobby, what his favorite games are, games he can't play anymore due to sight loss, and gives advice to both publishers and players on how they can improve the visual accessibility of modern board games.
You can contact Ryan Peach via redmeepleryan@gmail.com and find him on Twitter: https://twitter.com/redmeepleryan
Time stamps
Ryan's background, 00:50
Introduction to modern board games, 05:19
Ryan's current favorite games, 08:44
Ryan talks about why...2019-03-0700 min
Sightless Fun#6 - Teaching Board Games To The Elderly With Richard CanningIn this episode, Ertay talks to his first guest, Richard Canning, about teaching modern board games to the elderly. Richard is a veteran in the hobby who is very passionate about the teaching process and he shares the most common challenges he needs to deal with, as well as advice on how others can become better at introducing board games to the older generations.
If you want to get in touch with Richard Canning, you can email him via richard@elindal.net. He can also be found on BoardGameGeek under the Bremic username: https://boardgamegeek.com/user...2019-02-2100 min
Sightless Fun#5 - Love Letter, Skull & Print and Play GamesIn episode 5, Ertay talks about two simple, yet highly entertaining games, Love Letter and Skull. The topic of this episode is about Print and Play games and the pros and cons of DIY board games for blind players.
Time stamps
Recently played games, 01:11
Love Letter, 03:09
Skull, 09:55
Print and Play Games, 14:37
Links
Nyctophobia Visual Accessibility Analysis - https://sightless.fun/boardgames/nyctophobia-game-visual-accessibility-analysis/
BoardGameGeek Print and Play Guild - https://boardgamegeek.com/guild/477
PnP Arcade - https://www.pnparcade.com/
2019-02-0700 min
Sightless Fun#4 - Pandemic & QuarterbackingErtay talks about how he plays Pandemic without vision. The topic that is covered in this episode is commonly talked about, especially by those who dislike cooperative games. Ertay tries to show that by introducing mechanics to mitigate quarterbacking, board games become less accessible to the blind and visually impaired.
Time stamps
Recently played games, 01:34
Pandemic game overview, 07:10
Pandemic visual accessibility, 10:23
Quarterbacking and accessibility, 14:13
Links
Looking For Group subreddit: https://reddit.com/r/lfg
Pandemic: Board Games You Can Play Blind - https://sightless.fun/Pandemic-Board-Games-You-Can-Play-Blind/
2019-01-2400 min
Sightless Fun#3 - King of Tokyo / King of New York & Tips For Playing With Blind PlayersIn this episode, Ertay and Jed talk about the visual accessibility of two monster battle dice games, King of Tokyo and King of New York. The discussion topic is aimed at sighted players and provides tips and suggestions for improving the gaming experience of blind players in their group.
Time stamps
Recently played games, 01:09
King of Tokyo game overview, 03:47
King of New York overview, 06:30
Accessibility discussion, 12:56
Tips for playing with blind players, 20:02
Relevant Links:
Board Games You Can Play Blind: King of New York - https://sightless.fun/King-Of-New-York-Board-Games-You-Can-Play-Blind/
Things To Know When Playing...2019-01-1000 min
Sightless Fun#2 - Sagrada & Board Game MeetupsErtay and Jed take a look at the visual accessibility of Sagrada, a dice drafting puzzle game, and then talk about attending board game meetups and how a blind or visually impaired person can improve their experience at such game nights.
Time stamps:
Recently played games, 01:27
Sagrada game overview, 05:32
Sagrada accessibility discussion, 11:25
Attending Meetups as blind and visually impaired, 25:32
Tips and game recommendations for organizers, 34:13
If you have any questions or comments, you can email us via sightlessfun@outlook.com2018-12-2700 min
Sightless Fun#1 - Secret Hitler & Helper AppsIn the first episode of the Sightless Fun podcast, Ertay and Jed talk about Secret Hitler and how smartphone apps can help make board games more accessible to people who are blind and visually impaired.
Time stamps:
Recently played games, 01:13
Secret Hitler game overview, 09:19
Secret Hitler accessibility discussion, 18:01
Helper Apps, 32:39
Links:
Secret Hitler Blog Post - https://sightless.fun/secret-hitler-board-games-you-can-play-blind/
Secret Hitler Helper Android App Prototype - https://1drv.ms/u/s!As0NUJnxyVaqktUujLwTlUZ2aT6uvw
Secret Hitler Helper App Github Source Code - https://github.com/ertay/board-game-aid/
Seeing AI iOS app...2018-12-1300 min
Sightless Fun#0 - IntroductionEpisode 0 Notes
In this intro episode, Ertay and Jed introduce themselves and talk about how they got into the hobby of Board Games, what challenges they have as legally blind players, and why Ertay started the Sightless Fun blog.
You can contact us at sightlessfun@outlook.com and visit our website at https://sightless.fun
Links mentioned in the episode:
Don't Be Angry Buddy - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mensch%C3%A4rgereDich_nicht
Meeple Like Us - https://meeplelikeus.co.uk
2018-11-2700 min