Board Games for Blind People: Chess, Monopoly, Dice and More

Blind people play the same board games as everyone else, on adapted sets: raised and recessed squares, pegs that hold each piece in place, and braille or tactile marks on the pieces, tiles, cards and dice. Most adapted sets keep the print and the colors, so blind and sighted players share one board.

Below, game by game: how the adapted version works and who makes or describes it. Our sources are the American Printing House for the Blind (APH) and its VisionAware guide, the UK's RNIB, the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB), the International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA), and the makers Mattel and Spin Master. Pages were checked on October 31, 2026. For gift ideas with prices, see gifts for blind people; for games on a screen, see video games for blind people.

Key points

• Chess is played on equal terms. Adapted boards have raised black squares and a hole in every square for pegged pieces. IBSA has no sight classes in chess: blind and sighted players compete against each other.
• Classic family games have adapted editions. APH's VisionAware guide describes a Braille and Low Vision Monopoly and a Deluxe Braille Scrabble. RNIB sells a braille Scrabble, a tactile Connect 4, tactile draughts (checkers) and a tactile Ludo.
• Most braille dice have dots, not braille. The dice VisionAware, AFB and RNIB describe have raised or indented dots you count by touch.
• The Rubik's cube has a tactile version. Spin Master's Rubik's Sensory Cube gives each color its own shape you can feel. It was made with the National Federation of the Blind (NFB).
• You can adapt the games you already own. VisionAware and AFB suggest textured pieces, rubber bands on the boxes, puffy paint on the board and braille labels on the cards.

Board games for blind people at a glance

Chess

An adapted chess board lets you feel the position without knocking the pieces over. IBSA describes boards at least 20 by 20 cm with the black squares raised 3 to 4 mm, a hole in the center of every square, and a nail under each piece that fits into the hole. The black pieces have a pin on top, so you can tell them from the white ones, and you know each piece by its shape (IBSA). AFB's product directory lists a Designer Chess Set built the same way: tactile markings that tell the two sets apart, and a peg under each piece that fits a hole in the board (AFB).

During a game, the blind player announces every move aloud and writes the moves in braille or records them. There is no sight classification in chess, IBSA says, so blind and sighted players compete against each other (IBSA). How tournament rules handle a blind player against a sighted one, with two boards and every move called out, is in sports for blind people.

Where to play. In the US, the United States Blind Chess Association (USBCA) runs games by email and in real time on Lichess or Skype, each player using their own adaptive set (USBCA). In the UK, RNIB points to the Braille Chess Association, which offers coaching, adapted chess sets and clocks, three tournaments a year and games by correspondence. You don't have to read braille to join (RNIB).

On a braille display. APH calls its Monarch Chess app "the first digital, refreshable braille display chess game." Each piece shows its braille letter (P for pawn, N for knight and so on), the black pieces get an extra braille dot, and you can play the computer or a person (APH). A deafblind writer in AFB's AccessWorld adds that chess and checkers suit a braille display because they are turn-based, and that a player can keep a physical board alongside to feel the position (AFB AccessWorld).

Checkers (draughts)

RNIB's Tactile Draughts Set (draughts is the British name for checkers) has a wood-framed 8×8 board with raised black squares and recessed white squares. Every square has a drilled hole, so the pegged counters stay in place. Instead of black and white counters, one player's light wooden pieces have a tactile circle and the other player's don't, and six larger pieces, three each, serve as kings (RNIB).

APH's Games of Squares is an 8 by 8 inch grid board with contrasting colors and distinct textures and shapes. Checkers is one of its games, along with tic-tac-toe and a few APH originals. You apply the hook-and-loop material once yourself, and the instructions come in large print and braille (APH).

An ordinary set can work too: VisionAware suggests gluing a textured surface to the center of one color's pieces. It also describes a Deluxe Chinese Checkers with a wooden board, holes for the pieces, and pieces in different shapes and colors (VisionAware).

Monopoly

There is a braille Monopoly. VisionAware, part of APH's ConnectCenter, describes Braille and Low Vision Monopoly: extra-large playing cards in braille and large print, and a 20-inch square board with an overlay that helps you find the spaces and the properties. The edge of every space is labeled in braille and print, and the instructions come in braille (VisionAware).

VisionAware doesn't say who makes it, and we found no page about it from Hasbro, which owns Monopoly. If you buy one, ask the seller who makes it.

Scrabble

RNIB sells a Braille Scrabble it describes as a tactile and easy-to-see version of Mattel's Scrabble. Each tile shows its letter and its value in print and in braille. The board has large squares with pegs at each corner to hold the tiles, and "tactile markings on the premium word squares." A built-in stand lets you turn the board to face you on your turn. It is for two to four players aged 10 and up (RNIB).

VisionAware describes a Deluxe Braille Scrabble: tiles in large print and braille, with the print raised as well; a tactile board with a raised ridge around the edge to keep the tiles in place; and instructions in braille and on audiotape (VisionAware). Either way, a player reads the tiles with the braille alphabet.

Dice and dominoes

The braille dice these organizations describe don't use braille numbers: they have dots you count by touch. VisionAware's Braille Dice have raised bold black dots and measure 3/4 inch (VisionAware). AFB's directory lists Brailled Dice with black tactile dots on a white background (AFB). RNIB sells a soft 14 cm foam die with indented black dots you can feel, for games and group activities (RNIB).

Dominoes work the same way. RNIB's white plastic dominoes have raised black dots and a tactile ridge between the two halves (RNIB), and VisionAware describes heavy-duty plastic dominoes with raised bold black dots. Since neither dice nor dominoes need braille, they suit players who don't read it.

Rubik's cube

People search for a braille Rubik's cube, but the official tactile version uses shapes, not braille. Spin Master, which owns the Rubik's brand, announced the Rubik's Sensory Cube in January 2024 for the cube's 50th anniversary: a 3x3 cube with "a distinguishable tactile shape for each color of the cube." You solve it by matching shapes by touch where a sighted solver matches colors. Spin Master said the cube was designed to include the visually impaired community, that even the packaging would include braille, and that it would launch in partnership with the National Federation of the Blind (Spin Master).

Rubik's own page for the cube didn't open for us, so check that it is still sold where you shop.

Card games and UNO

Many companies make decks of playing cards in large print, braille or both, VisionAware says. How a braille playing card is marked, and how to braille your own deck, is in braille playing cards.

UNO has an official braille edition. Mattel's UNO Braille was developed in partnership with the National Federation of the Blind. "Braille is featured on every card in the 112-card deck," Mattel says, as well as on the packaging, and the instructions come in audio and in printable braille (Mattel).

More games: Connect 4, Ludo and backgammon

Connect 4. RNIB calls its Tactile Connect 4 an "Official Hasbro game modified so it can be enjoyed by everyone." The red counters have a hole in the middle and the yellow ones are solid, so you always know which counters are yours. It's for ages six and up (RNIB).

Ludo. RNIB's Tactile Magnetic Ludo has tactile start circles, track, home straight and home triangles. Each corner names its color in contracted braille, and each square of the track has a braille number, without the numeral sign that braille numbers usually start with (see braille numbers). The magnetic counters stick to the board and carry a tactile symbol for each color: a dot, a single line, a double line or a cross. It comes with one tactile die (RNIB).

Backgammon and bingo. RNIB also sells tactile backgammon, and its shop lists bingo among its games (RNIB).

Make any game accessible at home

You don't always need a special edition. VisionAware's tips for the games you already own (VisionAware):

• Label the boxes. Put a rubber band around the Monopoly box to tell it from Scrabble, or attach a game piece to the outside of each box. Colored tape, pipe cleaners, Velcro, craft paint or velour furniture pads also work as markers.
• Mark the pieces. Glue a textured surface to one player's checkers.
• Use contrast for low vision. Dark pieces stand out on a white placemat; avoid patterned or striped table covers.

AFB's AccessWorld suggested in 2010 marking cards with a braille writer or a Dymo labeler, and using puffy paint to mark sections or paths on a game board. It named Uno, Old Maid and Phase 10 as card games that are easy to mark with braille, and Bananagrams as a word game whose 144 tiles become playable once you braille them (AFB AccessWorld).

For the labels themselves, how to emboss clear tape and which braille stickers exist is in braille labels; for raised marks that need no braille, see bump dots. For a younger child, the ideas in toys for blind children work for games too.

Where Braillito fits

Braillito, our app, teaches braille. It teaches the braille cells in lessons with exercises you play, with lives, levels and a daily streak: 59 lessons in 8 worlds in English. It also has a translator, a dictionary and a cell builder. The English lessons are uncontracted braille (grade 1); they don't teach contracted braille or transcription, and Braillito isn't a braille transcriber.

Nothing here means any of these makers or organizations uses or endorses Braillito. Braillito is not a board game: it teaches braille, the code on the Scrabble tiles, the Monopoly cards and the Ludo track above, and if you want games that practice braille itself, our classroom ideas are a place to start. The translator on braillito.com shows how a word or short phrase looks in UEB, such as a label for a game box, but it only applies the rules a program can apply, so it doesn't replace a transcriber. Without paying, the braille translator works in any browser.

Braillito is a subscription with no free version; depending on the plan, it starts with a free trial or a discounted first period, if it's your first subscription (is Braillito free?). Get Braillito.

Frequently asked questions

Can blind people play chess?

Yes, and on equal terms: IBSA has no sight classes in chess, so blind and sighted players compete against each other. Adapted boards have raised black squares and a hole in each square for pegged pieces, the black pieces have a pin on top, and the blind player announces each move aloud (IBSA).

Is there a braille Monopoly?

Yes. APH's VisionAware guide describes Braille and Low Vision Monopoly: extra-large cards in braille and large print, a 20-inch board with an overlay to find the spaces, every space labeled in braille and print, and braille instructions (VisionAware). It doesn't name the maker.

How does a braille Rubik's cube work?

The Rubik's Sensory Cube from Spin Master swaps colors for shapes: each color has its own tactile shape, so you solve the cube by matching shapes by touch. Spin Master says even the packaging includes braille, and it made the cube in partnership with the National Federation of the Blind (Spin Master).

What games can blind and sighted people play together?

Almost all of the games above, because the adapted sets keep the print and the colors: Scrabble tiles in print and braille, Monopoly cards in braille and large print, a checkers board with raised black and recessed white squares, Connect 4 counters you tell apart by touch, and UNO Braille. In chess, blind and sighted players compete against each other. Dice and dominoes with raised dots need no braille at all.

Monopoly, Connect 4 and, in the US, Scrabble are trademarks of Hasbro; UNO and, in the UK, Scrabble are trademarks of Mattel; Rubik's Cube is a trademark of Spin Master. Braillito is not affiliated with them.