Asmodee Announces Access+ Studio to Create Accessible Board Games
Asmodee has announced Access+, an exciting new studio that will be adapting Asmodee’s titles for players with cognitive disabilities. Based on clinical data by Asmodee Research (the research and development department of Asmodee), Access+ was created to make their top games more accessible for patients, families and caregivers.
Joining Access+ has partnered with an external scientific committee of expert care professionals for cognitive disabilities affecting speech, social relation, attention, emotional control, planning and memory. These researchers are helping adapt and test the material, rules, and difficulty of titles to make sure that each game helps “to stimulate cognitive functions, promote positive emotions and social relationships and provide the joy in discovering (or rediscovering) the pleasure of playing together.”
For their first project, Access+ is creating Spot It! Access+, Cortex Access+ and Timeline Access+ which will be available France, Belgium and Canada in late 2022 and worldwide in 2023. Accessibility features of Access+ games include bigger, thicker, and easy-to-hold cards, adapted rules, different difficulty options, and a “single-player” version to promote patient autonomy.
“Over several years, Asmodee has invested in scientific research to demonstrate the societal impact board games can have” said Mikaël Le Bourhis, head of Asmodee Research. “Now we’re ready to put that research into practice with Access+, creating games that not only are fun to play but provide real, tested benefits to those with special needs, starting with cognitive impairment.”
“Access+ is launched because, at Asmodee, we believe board games are universal. By starting to adapt some of our most popular titles to fit the needs of all, we can strive to make board gaming as inclusive and accessible as possible,” said Stéphane Carville, CEO of Asmodee. “As an industry leader, we want to create products that can truly make a difference in people’s lives. Board gaming is social by nature, and Access+ titles allow families and friends to re-introduce the fun of board gaming to their loved ones with special needs, creating moments of happiness that can only come from shared experiences.”
Access+ titles are ideal games for medical practitioners, schools and caregivers who have people with special needs, including cognitive disabilities, under their care. Accessibility features of Access+ games include bigger, thicker and easy-to-hold cards, adapted rules, different difficulty options and a “single-player” version to promote patient autonomy. Each game comes with a booklet presenting the benefits of playing this game, according to scientific experts. You can learn more at the studio’s website: http://www.accessplus-asmodee.com