Leading toy maker Mattel releases popular card game UNO in Braille

American toy manufacturer Mattel has come up with new UNO cards in Braille. This will make the game more inclusive where people with and without visual impairments can sit and play the card game together. Disability rights activists from across the world think that this is a great step towards creating a barrier-free and inclusive world.

UNO is a favourite game amongst people of all age groups. Played in a group, UNO is all about fun and excitement. Now, audience for the game is getting bigger and better with toy company Mattel introducing Braille cards to play UNO. Mattel collaborated with the American National Federation of the Blind to make the game more inclusive and accessible for people with visual impairments. Mattel’s latest move has been cheered by disability rights activists from across the world, and those in India cannot wait to have the new UNO Braille introduced here!

“UNO and @nfb_voice have teamed up to create UNO Braille so blind or low-vision players can easily play!”, tweeted UNO.

The new card will have Braille dots at each corner and players can call out the card when they play. Game instructions can also be downloaded in Braille readable files. The user can have it even more easily by making Alexa or Google Assistant read out the instructions. Moreover, the cards will come in Braille letters packaged cover.

Maitreya Shah, who is visually impaired, is a law student and disability rights activist from Gujarat.

This is great! I have played with Braille playing cards and it has been an amazing experience. Though I’am not a fan of Braille, there are certain areas to my knowledge where technology has not provided solutions. So in such cases, Braille is the only option available. So Braille UNO cards are a positive development. The playing cards that I have has both Braille dots and visual symbols with texts that helps if a blind player wants to play against a person who can see. If they are following this in UNO, it will be inclusive-Maitreya Shah.

Over the last couple of years, home company Mattel has been receiving a lot of praise for their inclusive and accessible features. Like for instance, they created Barbie dolls on wheelchairs which was a great step towards inclusion. They had also come up with gender neutral dolls called Creatable Worlds which had also received a lot of applause. Mattel launched Uno ColorADD which is for people with colour blindness.

Though the cards are now available on American online shopping websites, people with visual impairments can’t wait this to be introduced in India too. Earlier this year, LEGO had introduced Braille bricks to make the game easier for people who are visually impaired. More toy manufacturers are taking steps towards inclusion and creating a barrier-free environment. “@Mattel is not playing games when it comes to disability inclusion this year”, tweeted Vilissa Thompson, Founder, Ramp Your Voice.

Also Read: Lego to launch braille bricks soon