Playing games can be an effective brain exercise for seniors or elderly people. As it is proven by multiple studies that older people who are actively stimulating their brains tend to have better memory and cognitive skills than those who aren’t.
Furthermore, playing games is a fun and engaging activity that can help to boost their mood and will have a good impact on their mental health. If you still don’t know what games are convenient to be played with your elderly loved ones, here are some ideas!
1. Board Games
Board games like Chutes and Ladders, Monopoly, and Othello are great to be played together with your family members including the elderly ones because it is fun and it can also be a way to practice the strategic thinking of your seniors.
2. Word Games
Similarly to the board games, word games like Scrabble, Crossword Puzzles, and Boggle can also be played together with your family members. Not only fun, but these games are also great to sharpen your senior's brain by practicing critical thinking, creativity, and problem-solving skills.
3. Card Games
Card games like Poker, Spades, and Bridge can bring a lot of fun in your family activity. When playing card games, you don’t really need to think of strategies as they mostly require spontaneous acts. Thus, your seniors can just relax while having a great time with their loved ones as they don’t need to think much about the game.
A bus ride can get really boring especially if you go for a long ride to travel across the city for any reason. Playing with your mobile phone, listening to music, or chatting with the person beside you can only last for so long before you get bored and don’t know anymore what to do.
That’s why trying to prepare several fun and engaging games could be the best way to keep the long journey exciting. Hence, we try to gather several games and activities ideas you can do during your long bus ride. The best part is, you don’t need to bring many items and it can be played by everyone! Hence, you can also use this as a reference for travel games for seniors.
1. Twenty Questions
Start the game by dividing the people into two groups, then choose one person to represent their group to stand in front of the bus. That person must think about an object, place, person, etc. The opposing group's job is to guess correctly what is in that person's mind by asking 20 questions that can only be answered with yes or no.
2. Name That Tune
It is a really fun game where everyone gets to play their favorite song for the others to guess the title. There are several ways to play this game from playing the tune from your phone, singing some lines of the song, or listening to the song that is playing on the radio. Whoever guesses the title correctly will get to play the next song. This is one of the most fun travel games for seniors because their music tastes can be so different from the younger ones.
3. Tic Tac Toe
This game is best to be played with the person beside you as it only requires two people to play. You can use your pen and paper to draw your X’s and O’s or you can also do this on your phone notes or other applications. To spice things up you can add rewards or punishments for each other.
4. Hangman
This game is really similar to the Twenty Questions with extra rules,
a. One person will choose a word and draw empty slots required to write the word.
b. The others need to guess the word letter by letter and each time they are wrong the person will add a line to the hangman.
c. If no one guesses correctly until the hangman is hanging, that person wins.
5. Tell Me a Story
This is an unending story kind of a game. One person will start off the story by saying 4 words. Then, the next person will continue the story by adding 4 more words. Set up the maximum time to make up the words so it is easier to get the winner. This game is good for creativity as you need to make up words in a short amount of time.
6. Would You Rather
This game is also best to be played with the person beside you especially if they happen to be your old friend. Simply ask each other questions where you must choose between two options or scenarios. You can look up for the questions on Google or you can also make it yourself.
We also have more printable game you may like:
Lego Board Game Printable
Printable Candyland Board Game
Printable Monopoly Board Game
Elderly people tend to lose some of their physical ability and their mobility often becomes limited due to many factors. Obviously it affects their daily activities and they may not be able to do their hobbies anymore. But, it doesn’t mean that they cannot enjoy their life and have a good time.
There are many stimulating activities that have many benefits to improve the quality of their life, and here are some of them.
1. Creative Activities
Doing creative activities is a fun way for elderly people to spend their time while exploring the artistic side they may have not explored yet. It is also beneficial for their health as a study has found that doing creative activities can reduce stress and anxiety, increase positive emotions, and improve the overall medical condition. They can choose a specific activity they want to do from drawing, making scrapbooks, knitting, making jewelry, etc.
2. Gardening
Gardening is an activity that will allow elderly people to go outside and be physically active. The activity is relaxing and gives them the chance to get some vitamin D from the sun outside. They can plant anything they want from flowers, fruits, and vegetables and once they are blooming, it will add enjoyment for them.
3. Exercising
Keeping the body moving is an important thing even for seniors. It helps their body to stay fit and gets the endorphins flowing. The most common and easiest choice might be walking as they don’t really need to prepare anything and they can do this together with people in their community. Of course, the options are not limited to walking. They can join a swimming, yoga, or aerobics club and they can even just exercise in their home by following exercise videos.
4. Reading (incl. higher learning)
Reading is a way to nourish the brain and it is no exception for older adults. Besides the enjoyment, reading also has other benefits such as reducing stress, improving sleep, and improving memory. If possible, joining or making a book club can also be an option so they can share their opinions and socialize.
5. Finding New Hobbies (cooking, baking, movies)
Exploring new hobbies is great for older adults especially if they can no longer do their old hobbies. There must be many interesting activities they haven't tried yet because they were too busy with work and life when they were younger. They can start by doing some cooking and baking, watching new movies and TV shows, or even do some dancing.