Accessible Computer Games
Contact: Steve Crawford
Tel: 07740 777 364
E-mail: sales@azabat.co.uk
Azabat Software have developed 4 volumes of games, a total of 18 different games, and two touch-typing tutors. The programmes are supplied on CD-Rom and are incredibly easy to use. You don't need a screen reader or any special software and there is no installation required, as they run from the CD. You simply put the disk in the PC and let the games begin.
Each volume contains 4 or more games and costs 40 pounds. Individual games can be purchased if desired and cost 16 pounds each, hence it is more economical to buy a volume. UK postage is free and there's no VAT. The games are as follows:-
Azabat Games Collection: Volume 1
A collection of 4 popular games. Designed for blind and visually impaired people and suitable for computer novices through to experts.
Yahtzee
In the game of Yahtzee you have five dice and a score card. There are 13 categories on the score card and in each round you can throw the dice up to 3 times. At the end of each round you have to choose which category you want to score your points against. You can choose any available category but once you've used a category you cannot use it again or change your mind. Thus, there are 13 rounds and the overall aim is to score the highest number of points.
Blackjack
This is the classic casino game of Blackjack. The aim is to score as close to 21 without going over. You play against the dealer and bet an amount of chips for each hand. If you go over 21 you automatically lose but if you score more than the dealer you win.
A standard pack of 52 cards is used and the pack is shuffled before each hand. Jacks, Queens and Kings are all worth 10 points, an Ace can count as either 1 or 11, and the other cards are worth their own value.
Klondike (Solitaire)
Klondike is the most popular version of Solitaire, and is played with a standard pack of 52 cards. At the start of the game, 28 cards are dealt incrementally into 7 columns. Column 1 contains one card, column 2 has two cards, column 3 has 3 cards and so on. The cards are all face down, except the top card in each column is turned face upward.
The remaining 24 cards are kept, face down, in a pile called the stock, and the top card is turned over.
There are four foundation piles, one for each suit, and the aim of the game is to build the foundations up from ace through to king until all the foundation piles are complete. You can only move the top card from each column, or the top card from the stock, on to the foundation piles, and provided, of course, that the move is legal.
Connect 4
Connect 4 uses a board with 7 columns and 6 rows. Each player starts with 21 counters of their own colour and they take turns to place a counter in one of the 7 columns. The board is vertical so the counters build from the bottom upwards. The aim of the game is to get a line of 4 counters the same colour in any direction, vertically, horizontally or diagonally.
In this version, you play against the computer. Your counters are red and the computer plays blue and you always get the first move.
Azabat Games Collection: Volume 2
There are five word games and one number game on this CD. Designed for blind and visually impaired people and suitable for computer novices through to experts.
Hangman
At the start of the game, the computer selects a common word at random and tells you how many letters it contains. You then guess, letter by letter, and are told if the letter you chose is contained in the word. For each incorrect guess, a piece of the hang man picture is drawn. There are 10 pieces to the drawing and you have to get all the letters in the word before the picture is complete.
Kount-down
This game is based on the popular TV programme but has no affiliation with it.
At the start of the game, use the cursor right and cursor left keys to alternate between the choice of vowels and consonants, then press the enter key to pick a random letter from the chosen set.
When you have chosen 9 letters the computer will automatically begin a 30 second timer. The idea of the game is to rearrange the letters to find the longest possible word in the allocated time.
However, the timer is only there as a guide, and you do not have to type in the word you have found. Thus, you are not competing against anyone except yourself. You can take as long as you like and you can choose to play with fewer than 9 letters if you wish.
Anagrams
Anagrams is similar to the Kount-Down game except the letters are jumbled from an existing word, so you know there is a solution which uses all the letters.
At the start of the game, use the cursor right and cursor left keys to choose the length of the anagram. You can choose any length between 4 and 9 letters, then press the enter key to make your selection. The computer will choose a word, of the length you have chosen, and scramble the letters to form an anagram.
Number Crunch
This game is also taken from the popular TV show. The idea is to take 6 randomly generated numbers and try to get as close as possible to a target number by using a combination of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.
At the start of the game, use the cursor right and cursor left keys to choose how many of the 6 numbers should be large. Large numbers are 25, 50, 75 and 100, and you can choose one, two or three large numbers. The remaining numbers will be small, meaning between 1 and 10.
Target
This game is similar to anagrams, except the aim is to make as many words as you can from the randomly chosen anagram. The words must be at least 3 letters long, you can only use the letters given, and each word must contain the middle letter.
At the start of the game the computer picks 9 letters and reads them out. It then suggests a target for the number of words, based on the difficulty.
To help you keep track of the game, you can type in each word as you spot it. Remember to press the enter key at the end of each word to submit it. The computer will say each letter as you type it and if you make a mistake just press the backspace key.
Each word that you submit is carefully checked and must conform to the rules, as mentioned earlier. The computer has a basic dictionary of 30,000 words and an extended dictionary of 100,000 words.
Link Words
There are 3 variations to this game. Use the cursor up and cursor down keys to change the game.
In link words, the aim is to find a word which completes the first word and starts the second. To give you an example, the computer might say, V, I, L, L, 3 letters, N, C, Y. The link word in this case is "age". It completes the first word, making it into, "village", and begins the second word, which is, "agency".
In lost words, the aim is to find a 3 letter word which sits in the middle of a 9 letter word. To give you an example, the computer might say, B, A, R, 3 letters, D, E, R. The lost word in this case is TEN, making the word, BARTENDER.
"All scrambled up" is the same as lost words except the 3 letter word in the middle has been scrambled. So, to give you an example, the computer might say, B, A, R, N, E, T, D, E, R. The middle three letters should be rearranged to spell TEN, making the word into BARTENDER.
Azabat Games Collection: Volume 3
A collection of 4 popular "grid" games. Designed for blind and visually impaired people and suitable for computer novices through to experts.
Sudoku
Within a 9 x 9 grid, place the digits 1 to 9 in such a way that each row, column and box contains each digit - once, and only once.
These puzzles are not easy, but not impossible, and can be solved logically. You can select by square, row, column or box and hints are available throughout.
The programme has an auto-resume feature, which automatically saves the current game when you quit and continues from the point you left off when you start again. Or you can just start a new game.
You can also enter your own puzzles, perhaps from a newspaper or book, and save and play them whenever you wish.
Battleships
Battleships is believed to have been devised by British prisoners of war during World War 1. There have been many variations over the years but this version sticks closely to the original.
Each player has a square grid, measuring 10 by 10, into which the computer has randomly positioned a number of ships. The positions are different for each player. With each turn you make 3 guesses. There are four types of ship placed within the grid, each of varying size.
This game can be played against the computer or against another player.
UXB
UXB is short for unexploded bomb. You have a square grid containing a number of hidden bombs and your task is to work out where the bombs are without getting blown up. This is done by performing controlled explosions on selected squares.
This is a logic puzzle, based on Windows™ Minesweeper. The programme has an auto-resume feature, which automatically saves the current game when you quit and continues from the point you left off when you start again. Or you can just start a new game.
Memory
In this game, the computer takes a pack of 52 cards plus two jokers, shuffles them and lays them out face down. Players take turns to choose two cards, which are revealed. If they match in value the cards are removed. If they do not match, they are placed face down again. The player with the most pairs at the end of the game is the winner.
You can either practise on your own, play against the computer or play against another person.
Azabat Games Collection: Volume 4
A collection of 4 popular "strategy" games. Designed for blind and visually impaired people and suitable for computer novices through to experts.
Backgammon
Ancient board game, over 5000 years old. Players take turns to roll a pair of dice and move their pieces around a board, trying to be the first to remove them from the board. Uses a combination of skill and chance. Play against the computer or against another person.
Dominoes
From a standard set of 28 dominoes, players take turns to place a piece at either end of the domino chain, or draw a piece from the boneyard if they cannot play. You can play against the computer or with a second player, which could be quite interesting as, unlike the conventional game, each player would know the other player's pieces.
Draughts (Checkers)
The classic game of Draughts, which is also known as Checkers, is played on a standard chess board. Players move their pieces diagonally, jumping over the opponent's pieces to take them. Play against the computer or against a second player.
Scrazabat
An accessible clone of a famous letters game in which letters are placed on a 15x15 board to form words, horizontally and vertically in crossword-fashion. You can play against the computer or with a second player. You can play with either a standard or an advanced dictionary and you can ask the computer for hints.
Touch-Typing
Azabat have two touch-typing tutors, one for beginners and one for advanced, and they cost 30 pounds each. There are discounts for site-licensing as follows: a 4 user pack costs 89 pounds and a 10 user pack costs 199 pounds.
The beginner's touch-typing tutor has 7 lessons and 7 exercises, starting with A, S, D and F and working up to using all the letter and number keys.
The advanced touch-typing tutor starts from where the beginner's ends. It has 5 sections which deal with the letters, capitals and punctuation, shortcuts and combinations, an introduction to Braille and a collection of spelling tests.
Backgammon
You can download a SAPI5 version of Azabat Backgammon and try it out in demonstration mode - it plays for a few minutes each time then cuts out but it should give you a flavour for the programme. You can buy a registration code if you like the product.