Accessibility statement

Built so more children can play

Accessibility is part of how we build every page and every game, not a layer added at the end. This page says plainly what we do today, and what we have not done yet.

Last updated 2026-09-28.

What we do today

Reading Access, on every page

The "Aa" button (bottom-left on every page) lets a reader change text size, letter, word and line spacing; switch to the OpenDyslexic font; turn on a reading ruler; use a calmer focus mode; and have text read aloud with each word highlighted as it is spoken. Settings are remembered on this device only — no account, nothing sent anywhere.

Keyboard first

Every page has a "Skip to main content" link. Menus, buttons and game controls are real buttons that take keyboard focus and show a visible focus ring. Chess and board-game squares can be reached with Tab and chosen with Enter. Anything you can drag also has a tap or button alternative.

Big, clear targets

Buttons and links are at least 44 × 44 pixels. Younger-age activities (ages 3–8) use larger targets still, and fewer choices per screen.

Light and dark, both checked

Every page follows your device's light or dark setting, and we check both. We aim for WCAG 2.2 AA contrast in both schemes. A right or wrong answer is never shown by colour alone — there is always a word or an icon too.

Motion you control

If your device asks for reduced motion, we turn animations down. Nothing plays sound or moves on its own when a page opens. Sound can be muted, and the setting is remembered.

Listening instead of reading

Story chapters and audio dramas come with narration, a line-by-line highlight that follows the voice, and a full transcript you can open. Younger activities are built to work without reading at all.

Calm by design

No countdown-to-fail timers, no lives to lose, no pop-ups, and one main task per screen. Nothing is taken away if you miss a day. This helps everyone, and it is especially important for learners with ADHD, anxiety, or a low-energy day.

What we have not done yet

Board squares announce their name (for example "Square e4"), but not yet which piece is standing on them. Full screen-reader board narration — piece, last move, check and capture — is on our list and is not shipped yet.
We check pages with automated tests (every page is loaded in both colour schemes and checked for named controls, a page heading and keyboard focus) and by looking at screenshots. We have not yet had a full audit by an outside accessibility specialist.
Some older printable PDF books are not yet tagged for screen readers.

Our target

We aim to meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 at level AA across the site and the web games. That is our goal, and the gaps above are where we do not meet it yet. We do not diagnose, label or treat any condition. These are supports that anyone can turn on.

Tell us what is not working

If something is hard to use — a button you cannot reach, a colour you cannot read, a game you cannot finish with a keyboard or a screen reader — please email hello@sparkanvil.org with the page address and what happened. A grown-up should send it for a child. We read every message, and we treat an accessibility problem as a bug to fix.