TacTales
掌意之间
Touch. Imagine. Connect.
TacTales is a tactile storytelling game designed for visually impaired children and youth. Through touch, imagination, and storytelling, players transform everyday objects into characters, places, and stories — creating and connecting in ways that don’t depend on sight.
Why We Created TacTales
THE IDEA
Storytelling often begins with something we see — a picture, a drawing, a scene on a screen. We wondered what might happen if a story began instead with something held in your hands.
TacTales grew from the idea that touch can be a starting point for imagination, not simply a way of identifying an object. A pinecone might become a forest, a piece of ribbon a river, or a wooden figure the beginning of a character.
Rather than adapting a visual game for visually impaired children, we wanted to design an experience around touch from the beginning — one where children could explore, imagine, tell stories, and share their ideas on their own terms.
TacTales is not just a game.
It's a new way to experience imagination.
How It Works
01 Touch
Explore the objects.
Players use touch to explore a collection of objects with different shapes, textures, and materials.
02 Imagine
Create a story
Use objects as inspiration, one player creates a story or clue, giving familiar objects new feelings, associations, and meanings.
03 Connect
Listen. Guess. Discover.
Other players listen to the clue and guess which object inspired it. The reveal opens up conversation as players discover how differently the same object can be imagined.
TacTales in Action
From objects in a box to imagination shared around a table.
“ The same object can become something completely different in someone else' hands. ”
Where TacTales Have Travelled
From one game to classroomes across China
Shenzhen
China
Urumqi
Lhasa
Beijing
Hangzhou
Schools and Centers
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Urumqi School for the Blind, Xinjiang
-
Bethel China Care Center for the Visually Impaired
-
Baoding Special Education Center, Hebei
-
Changsha Special Education School, Hunan
-
Zhengzhou School for the Blind and Deaf, Henan
-
Shenzhen Comprehensive Service Center for Persons with Disabilities
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Zhejiang School for the Blind, Zhejiang
-
Zhangjiakou Special Education School, Hebei
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Wuhou District Special Education School, Chengdu
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Shenyang School for the Blind, Liaoning
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Tianjin School for Students with Visual Impairments
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Guiyang Special Education School, Gui Zhou
-
Bayingolin Special Education School, Xinjiang
-
Chamdo Special Education School, Tibet
-
Lhasa Disabled Persons’ Federation, Tibet
15
SCHOOLS & CENTERS
Partnered
15
CITIES
Across China
450+
VISUALLY IMPAIRED YOUTH
Reached
BRING TACTALES TO YOUR COMMUNITY
Interested in playing TacTales with your students?
For schools, special education programs, and learning centers
TacTales is available free of charge to schools, nonprofits, and organizations serving visually impaired children and youth.
For nonprofits and community organizations
For children and youth who are visually impaired
