Accessibility in Puzzle Games, and Where It Runs Out

Some barriers in this genre are removable. One of them, so far, is not.

Puzzle games are often assumed to be broadly accessible: no reflexes required, no complex controls, no reading. Some of that is true and some of it is not.

What is genuinely accessible

Input demands are low. Four directions and a rotate. That maps onto almost any control scheme, including switch access and eye tracking, in a way that a game requiring precise aiming does not.

No language. Nothing needs translating for the game to be playable.

No reaction speed at low levels. The early levels give you a second per row. That is a very different demand from a game requiring frame-accurate responses.

What is removable with effort

Speed pressure can be addressed with modes that do not accelerate, or with adjustable gravity. Many games offer this; TETERI currently does not, which is a real gap.

Colour dependence can be reduced by giving every piece a distinct shape outline, brightness and pattern, so the board reads without hue discrimination. TETERI draws each block with a light top edge and dark base for exactly this reason, though it lacks an explicit colourblind palette.

Motion sensitivity can be handled by honouring the system's reduced-motion preference, which TETERI does: shake and scanlines off, particles and flashes damped.

Menu accessibility is straightforward and frequently neglected: keyboard focus, visible focus rings, properly labelled dialogs.

What is not currently solved

Playing without sight. The board is a spatial arrangement that changes continuously, and there is no established way to convey it non-visually at the speed the game requires. Audio approaches exist experimentally and none of them makes a game like this playable at pace.

TETERI announces the run starting, level changes and the final score to screen readers. That provides orientation and outcomes, not play. Claiming otherwise would be dishonest, and it is worth saying plainly rather than listing accessibility features and letting the gap go unmentioned.

The general point

"Accessible" is not one property. A game can be excellent on motor accessibility and impossible on visual accessibility simultaneously. Being specific about which is which is more useful than a badge.

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