[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
Indoor games everyone can enjoy (1–10)
Popcorn Game
Even if you know that moving your body is good for your health, you might still feel reluctant to get active.
So here’s a fun popcorn game that lets you exercise your feet while enjoying yourself.
Sit in a chair and place paper plates on both knees.
Fill the plates with lots of crumpled-up paper balls.
Think of the paper plates as frying pans and the crumpled paper as popcorn for the game.
When someone says, “Ready, start!”, flutter your legs and march your feet to shake the paper popcorn out of the plates.
Watching the crumpled paper fall from the plates looks just like popcorn popping in a heated frying pan.
Because it’s an exercise you can do like a game, it seems like older adults can enjoy participating too.
Pull with your feet! Snail race
Let’s try a foot-powered indoor exercise! Pull with your feet! Here’s the idea for a Snail Race.
Indoors, your movement range is limited, so your activity level can drop…
Does that sound familiar? That’s when you should try this: Pull with your feet! The Snail Race.
Spread a towel under a chair and place a plastic bottle on the towel with a snail motif attached.
The game is to use only the strength of your feet to pull the “snail” toward you as quickly as possible without knocking it over.
Give it a try!
I wonder what it is?
Would you like to try a recreation game called “What Is It?” that tests your dynamic visual acuity? The rules are very simple.
First, tip a desk onto its side, and have the facilitator hide behind it.
Then the facilitator lightly tosses an object upward, and the players must answer what the thrown object is.
Start with familiar items like a tissue box or a pen.
Once you get used to it, mix in unusual or unfamiliar objects.
As a variation, you can also ask about the number or the color of the items thrown.
Makimaki Apple Game
For a recreation activity in a caregiving setting, we propose the “Makimaki Apple Game”! First, place paper apple cutouts on a sheet of construction paper and attach them.
Set them a short distance away, then connect the stick and the paper with clear tape.
By twisting the stick to wind up the tape, you pull the apple closer to you.
It would be very exciting to race with several people! By starting from the crafting step, participants can experience both making and playing.
Please give it a try together and have fun!
Table hockey
Introducing table hockey, a game that’s a blast whether you’re playing with a small group or a larger one.
Since you play seated, anyone can join in.
Cover the table so the ball won’t fall off anywhere except from the two ends.
Make strikers out of cardboard, place the ball in the center of the table, and you’re ready to go! Play to five points—the winner is the one who sends the ball off the opponent’s end of the table.
It’s fun while also helping to build arm strength, reaction speed, and decision-making, so it can be used as an occupational therapy activity as well.
Give it a try!
Indoor games everyone can enjoy (11–20)
Pikagoro
As we age, it’s said that handling multiple tasks at the same time becomes more difficult.
Using both the mind and body has brain-training benefits, and if you move your body while thinking, you can expect even greater brain activation.
This time, I’ll introduce the Pika-Goro game.
Have the older adults sit facing each other, each holding two sticks.
The caller says “pika-pika” or “goro-goro.” On the cue “dokan,” the older adults should both grip the sticks and raise them.
Once everyone gets used to it, calling out “pika-pika” or “goro-goro” several times and then feinting can make it even more exciting.
Flying Fukuwarai
Some older adults may have played fukuwarai during the New Year holidays.
Fukuwarai is the game where you’re blindfolded and place facial features onto a face, right? Part of the fun is not being able to place the features correctly.
But with “Flying Fukuwarai,” there’s no blindfold.
Instead, you toss large facial feature pieces onto a sheet of paper with a large face drawn on it.
Of course, it still often results in hilariously misplaced features, which makes it exciting.
And because you throw the pieces while looking at the face, it’s said to help train spatial awareness.
Spatial awareness is the ability to perceive positions and shapes within space.
When it declines, people may get lost on familiar routes or bump into things more easily.
Give Flying Fukuwarai a try for a fun brain workout!