Losing one’s vision causes a person to isolate from normal social activity. A visually impaired person must figure out new ways to enjoy interacting with others. One of the easiest methods of accomplishing social interaction is through the Internet and online forms of entertainment. “All In Play” is A website that offers social interaction through e-mails, instant messaging and a chat room format or community, as well as online word, memory and card games.


Games found on the website include:

1. The Anagram game which is a word game that requires players to use a given set of letters to make as many words as possible during a posted time limit. The game offers three skill levels, making the game fun for the whole family.

2. Loco Locution – a word game requiring players to guess a word using the first letter of the mystery word, the player’s word knowledge and clues given in the form of sounds. Loco Locution is closely related to the game show called Lingo.

3. Card games include Texas Hold’em, Blackjack, Draw poker and Crazy Eight or better known as Uno. All card games requiring bets are played using fake chips. Each player is given five thousand dollars in fake chips to begin playing a game. No real money bets are allowed. The betting games are just for fun!


Pros:

1. The site has instant message chat and e-mail opportunities for safely meeting other players.

2. Screen reader friendly for all types of screen readers.

3. The cost for access to the games is very reasonable.

4. The site is a good place to meet other visually impaired and sighted people and compete by entering a tournament.

5. The site provides the visually impaired person an equal opportunity to win a game.

6. All betting card games are played with fake chips and no real money is used.

7. The site provides easy access for registering

8. The site offers a variety of levels for players ranging from beginners to experts.

9. A player has the option to play against the computer providing a way for practicing key strokes necessary to play games effectively.

Cons:

1. A membership is charged to obtain access to the games. The fee is approximately ten dollars a month.

2. Paying a fee means the User must have a method of paying online such as a PayPal account or a credit or debit card.

3. The player must download the games from the website to have access to the games. Some players may have concerns loading games onto a computer.

4. Learning to play the games takes time and practice for visually impaired person to become a good player. Each game has a set of keys a player must memorize and understand in order to win a game or play competitively.

5. Some games have time limits requiring a visually impaired person to have key strokes memorized to play the game within the time limit.

6. Learning to play games such a Texas Hold’em takes a great deal of practice for a visually impaired player to keep up with what cards are played and construct a winning hand. Texas Hold’em requires the visually impaired person to use key strokes effectively to understand the game and keep the card game moving.

7. A player must download the games, which can cause problems for a user with a computer that does not have enough ram space to load the games. Users need to know how must space is open on the computer before downloading the games.


Editor’s Note:
I used the “All In Play” 15 day free trial program to complete my research for the article. I have not received any compensation of any type from “All In Play.” I would recommend the site to anyone who enjoys playing card, memory, or word games plus the fun of competition with others – visually impaired and sighted alike. I enjoyed playing the games during the free trial but did not join as a member.