Hereford Board Gamers are top of their game for access and inclusion

More information on accessibility and other guides here www.herefor.games/knowledge

Clear information and signage of buildings, access, people and help available

Taken from https://www.facebook.com/groups/Herefordgamers/posts/3078644015771814

We try really hard to make sure everyone has the best possible experience they have, from guests, traders to our amazing volunteer team. I will leave to one side the gamey stuff, choice of games, how to teach games etc. We’ve been slowly but surely improving this taking feedback on board. I’ve given some example of worse cases, many are based on real experiences

WE have already. Bus stop signs. To make the function of each area, to help guests find where to go to join in activities and what activities are on offer. Worse case- A room of 60 to 70, dozens of people mostly with their back to you and no clear indication of how to join in with any activity or even what activities are on offer, even worse the room goes silent as you enter people look at you and then look back at the games. No one greets you. Name / Pronoun / Accessibility tags Name tags to allow guests to share their name, pronoun and any accessibility factors. Name tags help with meeting new people and pronouns help normalise sharing them and are hugely important. Enabling sharing accessibility issues also normalises talking about them and may help getting more support. Worse case: Guests being miss pronounced, called by the wrong name the entire session despite correcting the person. Being wrong judged for being introvert / neuro diverse Dedicated greeters, greeted quickly. Larger events we’ll have a dedicated greeter, at smaller events one of the team will aim to great all guests in 30 seconds. Worse case: Attending an event and not being greeted, for newer, anxious or neurodiverse folks they may never come back or go to another games event again. Mental Health support and info We have contact numbers for mental health services and a range of fliers and guides located in a quiet corner. This normalises talking about and supporting mental health Worse Case: Joking mocking mental health issues, and well being, Training for our volunteers, allyship, diversity and gender inclusive language Our volunteer team is trained and regularly discuss diversity and allyship and we have focus teams to guide us. With our code of conduct we aim to actively challenge negative behaviour, this include reinforcing negative stereotypes including gender stereotypes. Clear but positive code of conduct In person and online we have a visible code of conduct which is set from place of positivity to build a positive culture. We will always aim to support and promote good behviour but bad behaviour needs to be challenged Worse: ‘That person’ who is a ‘bit’ toxic but ‘harmless’, or rude that no one does anything about and people just don’t come back.

Clearly Identifiable team Our volunteers are identifiable by their lanyards (it’s fine to use Tshirts or what ever) our name badges include pronouns to normalise them Worse case: No idea of who is charge, who you can ask for help or support. Hopefully plain English instructions. We aim to always write in plain English, being mindful or terminology and assumed knowledge Event templates Event templates, including as much information about the events as we can, where when how much, accessible, food and drink, parking. Venue signage Clear signage from front of building to our location Venue photos and tours Details of the venues online include a full tour and photos of the venue empty and full Alternate ways of arranging games We aim to provide alternate ways of arranging games and communicating with other guests. Booking forms, discord, Facebook

Dedicated volunteers to support guests At our larger events we have volunteers who have no other duties other than looking after guests, no teaching games, being free to chat, support arrange games Welcome area: An area to meet players, play some like ice breaker gamers where you can relax enjoy and then be sign posted onto further games. Accessibility and inclusion! – Here for Games Knowledge ------------ New this year Accessible toilet The core is a wonderful venue but the toilets are not accessible. Simple fix we hire one in. This is our single biggest expenditure ever Quiet zone We have two spaces to go and be alone, recharge, hide or what ever you need, one is an existing community garden and the other is a simple garden gazebo in the carpark.. Not fancy but the best we can do. It’s a compromise but we’ll continue to see what else we can do. Guest lanyards here for- We’ve added a line to our guest lanyards, a place to declare what you are here for, this will help our team and other guests make sure you get what you want out of the event.

Additional support Stickers A totally optional badge where you declare any additional support or requirements you may have, we promote this on our name badges but there isn’t that much space. This also normalises talking about issues and support Pronoun badges A large print distinctive sticker in a gender neutral colours (lets not enforce stereotypes) there is a pronoun space on all name badges but if it’s important we’ll help make sure it can be seen. We also do introductions with pronouns.

Traders ask me about Traders are awesome, they are a huge part of the community and I don’t want them to be bored. So we are pushing the community and networking aspects over the ‘selling / buying aspects’ with an ask me about sign to encourage conversation, connection and knowledge sharing. This should enhance the experience for both traders and guests Accessiblity aids A small selection of aids to make gaming a bit easier, dice tower, card holder and magnifiers, we aim to grow this selection. Welcome sign A welcome sign to welcome guests, and set the scene, this will be more useful for smaller events when ----------------------------- Improved this year Player wanted signs Updated from the simple flags which are bright, we’ve added a base (which looks awesome) and space to announce how many spaces you have left. This means a player can see there is a game available, go over, see what the game is and how many spaces there are. That’s a lot of information gathered without any need for social interaction The instructions are on the back of the player wanted cards.

Games want signs Similar to above but for player wanted, too nervous or not able to walk about looking for a game, Ideally you’d ask one of the team but we get it, pop up a flag and we’ll spot you and help you find a game, or and other players can too. Updated Staff ids Two small changes the leadership team are more clearly identifiable, this will support guests escalating issues or wanting to get to the right person first time. Mental Health First Aiders Not only do we have a small team of mental health first aiders, they will be cleared marked by the ID, Asking any of the volunteers for help is ideal but for mental health matters is more sensitive so going to the right people first time may help and provide confidence. ----------------------------- Things we can do better- Image descriptions, alt test, ensure texts is only available in images. Audi descriptions. We are building a team to work on improving our capabilities and support for Folks with visual impairments. Final thoughts we are not saying you need to do al of this, just check the list see what works, maybe consider what you may not have thought of and next time you run an even give it a fresh look and assessment it’s easy to get ‘comfortable’ and stop pushing. Small changes can make a huge experience to people, often those who need the socialisation the most. All any feedback is welcome and I'll likely edit this post to polish. Passionate about knowledge sharing and inclusion like us? Join the team www.herefor.games/knowledge