[For Seniors] Enjoyable Indoor Activities! Recreations and Games That Engage the Mind and Body
Have fun moving your body together while giving your brain a workout, too! If you’re looking for games that train balance, indoor recreation is highly recommended.
We’ll introduce ideas you can fully enjoy even while seated, such as the Chopstick Pick-Up Game, the Balance UFO Game, and Ping-Pong Ball Transfer.
In particular, the actions of carefully pulling out chopsticks and placing items on a disc naturally build concentration and a sense of balance.
These ideas are perfect for seniors to enjoy together, so why not give them a try?
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- [For Seniors] Enjoy the Cold Winter! Seated Activities You Can Do
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- [For Seniors] Enjoy safely even during the COVID-19 pandemic: Seated activities
- Hand games that liven things up for seniors—also great brain training
- [November Health Topic] Indoor Recreation Ideas for Older Adults
- [For Seniors] Recreational Activities Enjoyable in Large Groups
- [For Seniors] Fun Small-Group Recreation
Brain-training effects with brain teasers and quizzes (1–10)
Color Matching Game
It’s a game where a colored tape is stuck to the bottom of each paper cup, and you choose a toilet paper roll decorated in the same color and place it on top.
By placing a long roll on the unstable surface of a cup bottom, players focus on gauging stability and controlling their strength.
Setting a time limit or making it a head-to-head match adds a sense of speed, which I also recommend.
You can raise the difficulty—and further encourage strength control—by adjusting how unstable the placement surface is and the length of the rolls.
Brain Teasers: Riddle Quiz
The “Brain Gym Riddle Quiz” that sparks inspiration is a wordplay game that’s fun to think through.
Each prompt has a little twist, so the answer won’t always come to you right away.
By shifting your perspective—looking at the order or appearance of words, or everyday events—you’re nudged closer to the solution.
Part of the charm is how the puzzles can make you go “aha!” or even laugh.
Since it’s about creativity rather than knowledge, anyone can join in casually, and the time spent thinking becomes a pleasantly stimulating experience.
It’s a brain-training game that gently loosens up your mind while you enjoy yourself, and it’s especially recommended for older adults.
Same Letter Fill-in-the-Blank Quiz
Effective brain training! Here are ideas for a same-letter fill-in-the-blank quiz.
On the screen, words are shown in hiragana, but they have holes marked with circles.
No matter how many circles there are, complete the word by using the same hiragana for all the circles! For example, the characters “○か○ま” appear, and you’re told, “Fill the circles with the same character.” There are 20 such questions.
Each one has a 20-second time limit, but there are hints, so take your time and think it through.
You’ll feel refreshed when you find the answer!
Brain-boosting riddles: activate your brain in 20 seconds
Let me introduce a perfect brain-training game for when you want to consciously get your mind moving: “Brain-Boost Riddles: Activate Your Brain in 20 Seconds.” By thinking of answers within a short 20-second time limit, you naturally train your concentration and quick thinking.
The problems are simple yet clever, stimulating creativity and memory to promote brain activation.
The sense of achievement when you solve them boosts motivation, and continued practice can be expected to deliver real results.
It’s a brain-training idea that works great for lively group fun or at your own pace solo.
Bomb Game
It’s a game where players take turns answering with words that fit the given theme, while passing a ball that contains a timer to the next person.
It tests both your creativity to quickly come up with words from the theme and your reflexes to swiftly pass the ball.
Although the time limit is announced, the timer is inside the ball and can’t be seen, so you don’t know exactly when it will go off, which adds a sense of tension to the game.
The act of retrieving words from memory while moving your body also helps stimulate the brain.
small change calculation
Let me introduce a brain-training exercise that uses counting coins: the Coin Calculation game.
Coins will appear on the screen—memorize them within the time limit and calculate the total amount.
The double task of taking a quick look, memorizing, and then calculating greatly activates your brain.
Calculating and paying money are essential activities for living in society.
In fact, it has been reported that in the early stages of dementia, counting coins becomes difficult, leading people to rely more on bills.
If you’ve had fewer chances to shop in your daily life, please give this a try.
What’s in the box? Kendama.
The kendama’s unique shape, with the ball and handle connected by a string, seems like a promising hint.
Whether someone has handled one before, and how familiar they are with the toy, would likely affect the accuracy rate.
Since it’s hard to identify it from the feel of the wood alone, it might be better to touch and check the shape as you go.
If the shape and feel still don’t give it away, hints like “New Year,” “toy,” or playing with a ball might help some people figure it out.