Accessibility information for our venue at 29-30 Morley Street, SN1 1SG
Parking and venue access:
There is a short stay public carpark directly in front of our venue (Granville Street Carpark). It has 18 disabled parking bays, several of which are located on the side that is closest to us. These are available on a first-come-first-served basis.
https://www.swindon.gov.uk/directory_record/22946/granville_street_car_park
Our front entrance has a short ramp up from the pavement and a slightly raised threshold through the inwards-opening door.
Toilet facilities:
We have 2 unisex toilets at our venue, both located on the ground floor. The larger one of these (approx. 2.25m x 1.8m) is a disabled toilet and is fitted out in accordance with Approved Document M of The Building Regulations.
Wheelchair accessibility and physicality of our games:
Our Pieces of Eight tabletop game is located on the ground floor with a wide entrance door and space for a wheelchair user. Our Sub Terra and CREW games are both located on the first floor, up a flight of 17 steps, so are not easily accessible using a wheelchair. The staircase is approx. 1.3m wide, has bannisters on both sides, and has LED stair nose lighting.
In Pieces of Eight, players are seated at a long table for the duration of the game. There are no physical challenges, but the team will need to lift crates on and off of the table. The crates are relatively heavy so should be lifted jointly by 2 people.
Sub Terra has a mix of puzzle types, none of which are particularly physical. A few are located at a lower level, so at least one player on the team will need to be able to crouch down or kneel to access and solve those puzzles. Without spoiling anything, the game and its layout are designed to evoke the feeling of being underground in a mine, however no crawling is required and the spaces are not intended to feel claustrophobic. There are several floor surfaces in the game, one of which is slightly uneven. We can provide a chair inside the room upon request.
CREW is predominantly a seated experience, with moments when players will need to stand up to resolve game actions. There are no physical challenges and the ‘spaceship’ itself is a smaller but open space.
Sound-related accessibility of our games:
Pieces of Eight does not include any audio puzzles. The game introduction is presented via an interactive ‘book’ with full text as well as an accompanying audio narration. Typed hints are delivered using the same ‘book’, with an audio cue to alert players – the ‘book’ is in full view at all times. The games master can trigger additional audio messages for interacting with teams, but these are not necessary for solving the game.
Sub Terra includes 1 fully audio puzzle for which we can provide a transcript during the game. Typed hints are delivered via a screen in the room and players are alerted to the presence of hints via an audio cue but can equally request hints while waiting at the screen. The game introduction video is delivered via the same screen and has full subtitles.
CREW includes 1 audio puzzle that has an alternative solving method, however the game features a character that responds to player actions and gives extensive instructions via audio. The introduction is partly delivered by the same character and it is very important that players are able to understand the instructions given at this time because of the repeated nature of certain tasks. For this reason, CREW will be especially challenging for players who are deaf or hard of hearing. As a backup, there is a screen in the room that the games master can use to deliver typed hints.
Pieces of Eight, Sub Terra and CREW all include an ambience track that plays in the background to help build immersion. This can be turned down upon request, but please be aware that the audio alert for hints may be on the same channel. As a result, we will need to turn the sound back on temporarily for the hint alert sound to play.
Light- and colour-related accessibility of our games:
Our Sub Terra and CREW games use lighting changes to increase immersion and reflect key parts of the story or game progress. They both have periods of low lighting that involve all players, however puzzle elements that are used at these points will generally have individual, brighter light sources. If needed, we are able to override the light settings in Sub Terra and turn on full brightness in the room; low light periods in CREW are very short (around 1 minute) so we do not currently have an override. Pieces of Eight has atmospheric lighting fitting a medieval building, meaning it is slightly dimmer than a typical dining room. As such, we have also provided optional handheld lanterns to help teams see any smaller details.
If you still feel you will need to use a personal light source during any of the games, for example a phone’s torch, please let us know before the game starts.
CREW is not suitable for players who suffer from light sensitivity because the game includes various light effects that are crucial to gameplay, including: many smaller blinking and flashing LEDs on the various spaceship control panels; main screens that play videos which have some bright/flashing elements; a revolving orange beacon (like the type you’d find on a slow-moving vehicle) that can activate during the game and creates a flashing effect as it rotates. There are no strobe effects.
Pieces of Eight and Sub Terra contain small, fixed blacklights. These are either part of the set design or used to create a ‘reveal’. Ultraviolet wavelengths might not be suitable for players with certain photosensitive conditions.
As far as possible, all puzzles that use colour as a significant element will have an alternative descriptor to help those with colour-blindness. This will usually be an accompanying symbol or text. There are a few exceptions: in CREW, specifically the ‘pilot’ role is not suitable for a colour-blind player; in Pieces of Eight there is one puzzle that uses colour theory as part of the solving method, which is why it does not have the colours of several objects written out below them (however, these can be stated by the games master if needed as there are only 6 relevant objects).
More information:
We want as many people to be able to experience our games as possible, so if your team has a special requirement let us know and we will do our best to accommodate you. Please email us at info@co-decode.co.uk to discuss accessibility further.