The 4th Tactile Carnival

Welcome to the 4th Tactile Carnival!

What is the Tactile Carnival? It's the brain-child, obsession and trade mark of my friend, Scott Stoffel. He's part engineer, part little boy and a whole lot of fun. He understands how inaccessible the world can be, because he is DeafBlind like me. He's stood on the outside wishing he could play but knowing it could never be.

Some people would sadly walk away, give-up and curse this dark and silent life. Scott's not like that. He sees a problem and begins working on what can be changed to make things better. That is how the Tactile Carnival was born.

Carnival style games can be accessible to people who are DeafBlind or blind. The trick is to make them as tactile as possible. Touch is what we know best. It illuminates what we can't see or hear. Just like that, we are no longer on the outside. Instead, we are playing fun games, winning tokens and "buying" cool prizes. For one day, for a few hours, we are the center of the universe and no longer feel like something inhuman. That's what makes the Tactile Carnival so awesome.

Scott has hosted four Tactile Carnivals in the past year. The original and 4th were held in East PA, near where he lives. The 2nd carnival was an Earth Day theme for children at the Overbrook School for the blind. The 3rd carnival was a space-themed evening activity at the DeafBlind Camp of Maryland. As Scott's friend, I've had the pleasure to attend the past two carnivals and serve as his guinea pig as he develops new games.

Here is my experience at the 4th Tactile Carnival on October 12th, 2013. The first word that comes to mind is: CROWDED. The carnival was paired with a Deaf-CAN SSP awareness event. Over 100 people attended. There were 15 DeafBlind people and a few hearing-blind. The bravest guests wore blindfolds or low vision goggles and ear-plugs and set out to see what it's like from the DeafBlind perspective. There was free food and a lot of chatting. But let us skip ahead to the games... We begin with Scott's game descriptions, followed by my own comments.

Wipe-Out! - Surf's up! Advance your surfer up the scoring board by rolling the right numbers on the tactile dice. But if you roll the wrong number, it's a wipe-out, and you must start over with your next surfer. Drop one of your three life-preservers at the spot your surfer is on to preserve that spot as your next surfer's starting point, unless the shark gets you.

** With all the people, getting around the crowd and trying to find my disappearing SSP's, I was unable to play all the games, including this one. However, I tested it in July. It's a tough game of strategy and luck. I made the mistake of dropping my life-preservers too early. On my last board, I came so close to the end. But, no good... Wipe-out!

 The Hot Wheel - Place your four discs on the betting board and see how long you can keep the giant wheel spinning. Each time the wheel stops on one of your lucky numbers, your score increases. Land on Party Street or the Fast Lane to nab bonuses. But avoid the Yield, Traffic Jam and those fatal Stop signs. The 24-inch wheel is marked with raised numbers, letters and street signs.

** This is the new version of "Spin to win." It's much easier, longer and all-around more exciting. Spin-city and watch your pile of tokens grow! I was burning hot on this one... twice!

Godzilla vs. Angry Birds - The Angry Birds have a bigger problem than pesky piglets-a lot bigger! Guide your five clay Angry Birds characters across the tactile game board to the safety area and win points. Pick up bonuses by grabbing the birdfeeders along the way. It's easy, except for that one little problem. The gigantic monster is standing in your way, and he'll try to -- stomp -- your Birds flat on the board. And don't get clobbered by the Big G's huge tail when he turns. You'll need some strategy and luck or end up as a Godzilla footprint!

** Yes, you read that right. I told you Scott is crazy... and very creative. This game is the best of the best and sure to be a Tactile Carnival classic.

My turn against Godzilla was as intense as high-stake poker. You really have to think about where you put your birds. I was biting my nails every time the big, bag G. stomped around the board. (His movements are controlled by special dice rolled by the person managing the game.) I picked up some feed and danced around the board, trying to avoid those nasty feet and big long tail. I didn't appreciate it when Godzilla's tail was half-way up my nose as I tried to maneuver my birds. Then it happened. STOMP! The birds are made of Play-Doh and literally flatten into a monster footprint. It doesn't get more tactile than that. Luckily, I got my other four birds across and won many tokens.

Treasure Island – Pirates have hidden a chest full of loot on a deserted island. Explore the island by turning over tiles and seeing or feeling what's under them. Collect loose coins and earn points. If you find the treasure chest and copper key, open the real wooden chest and find out what's inside. Discover the silver key and you'll also get to open the secret compartment inside the chest. But beware of the pirates!

** This is another old game that Scott improved on. Now, it's much more tactile and easier to win... or at least it was for me! I found the keys and got to open the chest. Tokens, tokens... Give me more tokens! My money bag sure was feeling heavy.

Plinko – The carnival favorite returns with a new scoring system. Braille and large print numbers mark the scoring slots at the bottom of the 30-inch disc drop. Earn points when your discs fall into slots with number values. Win the jackpot by landing all three of your discs in three different slots marked 0.

** Plinko was the big winning game at camp. Scott changed the scoring to make it harder to win. At the 4th carnival this game wasn't as popular. I guess us gamers can't be tricked so easily. I didn't play Plinko this time. I prefer the longer games.

Dingo Royal – The carnival version of Dingo, the popular deaf community game, is fast-paced and fun. The playing cards have large print and braille markings. Score points by clearing away suits. Win the jackpot by clearing all of your cards before the dealer runs out. One or two people can play. New scoring system awards more points.

** I loved Dingo and enjoyed this game at camp, even thought I got creamed by the other player. This time, I really wanted to play against Scott. As it turned out, Mr. Popularity was too hot to catch. We never managed to get together to play.

Astro Chimps - This is no monkey business, or maybe it is! Use the tactile aiming guides to shoot roller pucks and knock down the chimps in spacesuits.  Nail the Hubble Space Telescope in the middle for big points.

** This is a really cute game. I did great with it during my July visit. At the carnival, my luck ran out. I only knocked over one chimp. I always seem to have trouble with the target games during the real thing.

Hold It! - Yep, that's all you have to do! See if you can hold onto the wacky water wigglers in the slippery slime long enough to get them into the scoring bin. It's crazy funthat's sure to make you lose your grip!

** Poor Scott. I keep insisting he needs a slime game. He decided to try something new this time. Yeah, it was goofy fun -- and very easy. This is the game people played to rack up on tokens.

Meteor Shower - Roll your balls down the alley and try to hit the targets beyond the ramp. Check the tactile aiming board to find out where your shots hit. Score points when your balls stick to the Velcro targets. New scoring system awards points for multiple hits on the same target. Get at least one ball on all five targets and win the jackpot!

** Like I said, I keep striking out at the target games when I'm playing for tokens. Maybe I need to slow down or do some practice rounds first. I hit one target. I liked the new kneeling mat that Scott got just for me. I find it easier to play kneeling on the floor.

Extinct! - Once upon a time, the dinosaurs ruled the world. Choose one of the nine jumbo dinosaurs that you predict will outlast all the others as the mighty creatures fall to extinction, one by one. Score points for every dinosaur that goes down before yours. Play the new Bonus Game whenever you discover a hidden Dino Egg: You'll get to choose and hatch a dino egg and see what riches lie within!

** This is one of my favorites. It's definitely tactile. I always pick the brontosaurs because he's the veggie eater. I kicked some pretty good dino-tail and even got to hatch an egg. Big dinos mean big money!

Star Wars Death Star Attack - Relive the climactic scene from the original Star Wars movie! Use your squadron of five X-Wing fighters and the Millennium Falcon to reach and destroy the Empire's ultimate weapon, the Death Star. Earn points by picking off enemy TIE fighters, while your force closes in on the Death Star. Once you are in range, you can choose whether to attack more fighters or go after the Death Star. The game ends when you destroy the Death Star or its turbo laser cannon

** The Star Wars game is one of many that make you shake your head in awe. What kind of freaky, creative and scary smart brain came up with this stuff? The game is so detailed. I did pretty good and blasted that Death Star right out of the sky. Just call me Jedi Master Angie.

You've played all these games, and you are struggling to carry your bundling money bag... What comes next? PRIZES!

The Tactile Carnival is unique because the prizes are high quality and fun items. The trick is trying to narrow down the choices. This time Scott had prizes related to the game themes -- like dinosaurs, A Godzilla t-shirt, pirate things and a surf board cutting board and bottle opener. There were ASL related t-shirts, classic braille games, Halloween decorations, teddy bears and gourmet chocolate.

I wanted one of the little pumpkin decorations that light up. Each one had a different face and silly hat. As soon as I had enough tokens, I ran to the prize table to claim the last pumpkin.

At the end of the day, I had lots of tokens but no idea what I wanted. I did a lot of searching before picking a Pirate Nutcracker for my son's nutcracker collection. I also got him one of the wacky wigglers - minus the slime. After grabbing two Twizzlers, I was done, happy and very tired.

When's the next Tactile Carnival? I don't know. But I sure hope to be there!