PBS Kids’ Cyberchase Echo Explorers Now a Tactile Game on Monarch

A new partnership between American Printing House (APH) and the team behind the PBS KIDS series, Cyberchase, is bringing a popular mainstream game to a new innovative tactile format. Through this collaboration, the award-winning Cyberchase game, Echo Explorers, has been adapted into a tactile adventure on the Monarch. As the Monarch ecosystem continues to expand, developers remain focused on creating accessible applications that allow users to engage with the same games enjoyed by their sighted peers.

“Many sighted children learn through educational games, but students who are blind or low vision often lack equal access,” said Greg Stilson, APH Vice President of Digital Transformation. “This partnership helps close that gap.”

Echo Explorers follows the Cyberchase characters Matt, Jackie, Inez, and Brigit as players use echolocation to navigate cave systems and rescue bats that pollinate Brigit’s beloved cactus apple flowers. Originally created for the PBS KIDS platforms, the game was designed with accessibility at its core, including full screen reader compatibility. It is part of a collection of “born accessible” digital learning games developed by The WNET Group  in partnership with Bridge Multimedia for the Emmy-winning PBS KIDS math and environmental adventure series, Cyberchase.

Building on that inclusive foundation, APH partnered with The WNET Group and Bridge Multimedia to take accessibility even further by translating the game into a tactile experience on the Monarch. “Echo Explorers is a huge testament to the power of inclusive design,” Stilson said. “Because accessibility was built in from the very beginning, it allowed us to more easily adapt the game for this new platform.”

To bring the adapted game to life, tactile artists recreated the animated scenes as tactile graphics, accompanied by braille image descriptions for each stage of gameplay. This approach allows players who are blind or low vision to explore the game through touch and braille while following the same storyline and challenges as sighted players.

“With this partnership, students who are blind or low vision can play Echo Explorers on the Monarch using braille and tactile graphics alongside sighted peers who are playing on tablets or computers,” Stilson said. “This shared experience fosters inclusion, socialization, and learning through play.”

Echo Explorers is available for free on the PBS KIDS website, through the PBS KIDS Games app, and now in tactile format on the Monarch.