[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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- 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
Senior games using beanbags (11–20)
Treasure Hunt
Prepare about 10 to 20 paper cups and line them up in a row with the rims facing down.
Put beanbags inside a few of them, and you’re ready to go.
Treat the beanbags as treasure and play a treasure hunt game! First, have the participants play rock-paper-scissors to decide the order.
Starting with the first player, each person may lift only one paper cup per turn, and the first person to find a beanbag wins.
If you’re playing with two people, another fun way is to each hide beanbags under a set number of cups, and see who can find the other person’s beanbags faster.
Games for seniors using beanbags (21–30)
Beanbag game
It’s a game where you toss beanbags toward a board placed at a distance and try to see how many you can stack on it.
The board is set on a base like a stack of empty cans, so you need to balance the beanbags as you place them—your control is tested, too.
If you make it a head-to-head format to see who can keep throwing without collapsing the setup, it adds a mind game of predicting where the opponent will throw, which should heighten concentration.
Let’s adjust the sturdiness of the base to suit the participants and proceed with rules that many people can enjoy.
Indoor games everyone can enjoy (1–10)
Ping-Pong Takoyaki
This is “Ping-Pong Takoyaki,” a game played with items like ping-pong balls and empty egg cartons.
You pretend the ping-pong balls are takoyaki and the egg carton is the takoyaki griddle.
Mark a few spots on the egg carton beforehand.
Create a ramp to roll the ping-pong balls into the egg carton using cardboard and a plastic bottle.
Hold three ping-pong balls and, using chopsticks, release them one by one from the ramp so they land in the carton.
Score 10 points if a ball lands in an unmarked spot, 30 points if it lands on a marked spot, and compete based on the total score from where the three balls land.
Paper Cup Pulling Game
Explosive power—the ability to move your body quickly when it counts—is an important factor for avoiding danger, isn’t it? This game lets players read changes and instantly turn them into quick movements, and the differences in reaction speed make it all the more exciting.
Everyone holds a string connected to a paper cup, which are gathered in the middle.
When the music stops, you must quickly pull your cup back toward you.
There’s also someone in the middle holding a basket to try to catch the cups, so focusing on the quickness needed to avoid being caught is another key point.
If too many people are getting caught, a helpful tweak is to have the catcher not hear the music, slightly delaying their timing.
Paper Cup Flap Game
Although fanning with an uchiwa is a simple motion, it requires fine wrist control.
This game focuses on that wrist control and the subtle adjustments of force when using an uchiwa—the key is whether you can generate wind effectively.
Use the uchiwa to blow air at a paper cup placed on a table and measure the time it takes for the cup to cross the line on the far side.
Swinging the uchiwa widely can create a stronger gust, but it also raises the risk of the cup falling off the table, so the point is to concentrate on maintaining precise control.
Rock-Paper-Scissors Ball Passing Game
Here’s a team-vs-team, high-energy Rock-Paper-Scissors Ball Relay game.
First, divide into teams.
Arrange chairs in a single row for each team, facing each other, and have everyone sit.
Next, the two players at the front each hold a ball and play rock-paper-scissors.
The winner passes their ball to the next teammate, and this repeats down the line.
The team that gets their ball back to the front first wins.
It’s exciting because you can clearly see which side is in the lead, and it’s great for engaging both the mind and body at the same time.
Over the Mountain
If you enjoy park golf or bowling, I recommend a recreation activity called “Over the Mountain.” First, prepare a large piece of cardboard or a plastic board.
Fold it into a mountain shape and make several holes near the peak.
Players roll a ball toward the holes, aiming to get it over the mountain.
You can roll the ball by hand or hit it with something—either is fine.
Since balls tend to pass through more easily than you’d expect, making the holes larger and more numerous works well.