In 2019 we discovered a an amazing escape room run by Access Escape, the reason it caught our attention was that it was accessible to people who are blind or have visual impairments.
Hannah Hammond and her partner started Access Escape to offer an inclusive approach to escape rooms and level the playing field for everyone taking on the challenge. In our 2019 article Hannah told PosAbility:
“We decided to open up this pop up after playing multiple escape room games in the UK and abroad and got hooked on all the amazing puzzles. After finishing a room I mentioned that it was unfair that not everyone was able to take part in such a fun activity that I love doing so much. Me and my partner decided that there must be something we could do to bring this to a wider audience and decided that we were going to create a pop up escape room in London that does just that.
“I have been to escape rooms before where my team had forgotten to bring their glasses and as the lighting has been so dim in that particular room and it had a lot of written puzzles and small number locks, they have not been able to participate in all of the game.”
Their physical escape room (when open) is played completely in the dark, players must uses their other senses to feel, hear and smell their way around the room in 60 minutes to unlock the door and win the challenge.
Enter COVID-19
As with all other venues last year, the pandemic put a swift stop to the accessible fun of their escape room. However, this did not stop Hannah, who decided to create a series of online games accessible for the visually impaired community.
EscapeTheMailbox
If you sign up to EscapeTheMailbox you will be sent a free mini game straight to your email once a month. These mini games are based over email and allow you to use a search engine to solve the puzzle. If you are stuck you can email ‘clue’ to receive a little help and once you think your have solved the clue you email your answer in, if it is correct you unlock the next email. A great way to keep you amused and have some fun each month!
Witches, Wizards and Wands
This is a Zoom based escape adventure game that you can gather your friends together for and help Hetty Haze the budding witch, decipher codes, power through puzzles and cast spells to see if you have what it takes to become a fully fledged witch or wizard. The immersive experience is guided by a host and it is a great, fun experience to try out over lockdown!
To find out more or to book a game slot visit accessescape.com.
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