diff --git a/evennia/utils/evmenu.py b/evennia/utils/evmenu.py
index ff2804415..ecf21c2c0 100644
--- a/evennia/utils/evmenu.py
+++ b/evennia/utils/evmenu.py
@@ -1206,7 +1206,16 @@ class EvMenu:
                 else:
                     # add a default white color to key
                     table.append(f" |lc{raw_key}|lt|w{key}|n|le{desc_string}")
-        ncols = _MAX_TEXT_WIDTH // table_width_max  # number of columns
+
+        # check if the caller is using a screenreader
+        screenreader_mode = False
+        if session := getattr(self.caller, 'session', None):
+            screenreader_mode = session.protocol_flags.get("SCREENREADER")
+        # the caller doesn't have a session; check it directly
+        elif hasattr(self.caller, 'protocol_flags'):
+            screenreader_mode = self.caller.protocol_flags.get("SCREENREADER")
+
+        ncols = 1 if screenreader_mode else _MAX_TEXT_WIDTH // table_width_max
 
         if ncols < 0:
             # no visible options at all