Exploring Rulebook Accessibility and Companionship in Board Games via Voiced-based Conversational Agent Alexa

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The inaccessibility of rulebooks hinders the rule learning experience of board game players who are blind or have low vision (BLV). We conducted two qualitative studies to explore the design of conversational agents (CAs) that can support BLV players’ learning and provide companionship. In Study 1, we recruited 14 BLV participants and identified their rule learning challenges, with emphasis on cognitive load, and co-designed functional and social characteristics in Amazon Alexa that can support rule learning and offer companionship. We then developed a new Alexa skill and had 9 BLV participants evaluate our skill against the Alexa skill for the game Ticket to Ride (Study 2). We generated four design principles for CAs to support board game rule learning for BLV people: conciseness, pausing capacity, customization, and companionship.