By Blake Fisher
Ian Sutherland has deuteranopia. This means that he has difficulties distinguishing between different shades of green, red, and brown. Sutherland is also part of a board game group. His colour blindness doesn’t mean he can’t see these colours, but if a red and brown are put side by side, he often struggles to tell the difference.
When choosing games his group often must take into consideration his colour blindness. He suggested three games that are ideal for a player with deuteranopia.
Betrayal Legacy
Photo via Cartamagica
Betrayal legacy is a semi-cooperative game for three to five players in which each player takes on the role of a character exploring a haunted mansion and its grounds. Each character takes turns opening doors and adding new rooms and events to the mansion until the sudden and inevitable betrayal of one of their co-explorers.
There is a massive book detailing what the traitor does to defeat their former friends, each betrayal is determined by what rooms and items have been encountered during the cooperative phase of the game. The legacy format of the game is unique due to the game tying each previous adventure into the next through a huge story. Sutherland enjoys this game because every token, tile, and card has clear text and icons to differentiate them from each other.
Root
Photo via Meeple Times
Root is an area control game in which adorable woodland creatures compete to rule the forest. The game is completely asymmetrical, meaning each player is trying to accomplish this feat in a different way and often through different rules. The game is colourful and vibrant, with incredible artwork.
There was careful consideration put into each of the gameplay components, with every player having unique icons and pieces to easily differentiate immediately between them. The only complaint Sutherland has is the colouration of the title on the box.
“If you look at the colours in the logo, the red and the green at quick glance can be difficult for me to distinguish,” said Sutherland.
Clank Legacy
Photo via Board Game Geek
Another legacy format game, Clank is all about getting into a dungeon, stealing everything you can get your hands on, and getting out before being eaten by an enormous dragon. The game merges an adventure map with building your own unique deck of action cards. You draw cards from this deck each turn to determine just how you’ll get your hands on the lot.
Sutherland can easily distinguish the pieces of this game despite the lack of clear iconography on some of the pieces and that’s due to the colour palette chosen.
“The green and the yellow aren’t too close together, it’s more of a grass green than a lime green.” said Sutherland, which makes for an easy distinction to his eyes.
Board games have exploded in popularity recently, and there is guaranteed to be something out there for every player to enjoy regardless of personal preference or ability.
