[For Seniors] Handmade Game Ideas You Can Enjoy
Games and recreational activities are essential in senior facilities like day-care centers.
In this article, we introduce handmade games you can enjoy.
Some are made using recycled materials like milk cartons and newspapers, while others use items you can get at 100-yen shops, such as paper cups and disposable chopsticks.
All of them involve thinking, competing, and playing, so they serve as brain training—and best of all, they foster communication.
In team competitions, everyone might get fired up, focus on the game, and end up in a frenzy!
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[For Seniors] Handmade Game Ideas You Can Enjoy (81–90)
The “Haa” game
I’d like to introduce a game called “Haa Game,” where everyone acts out prompts and guesses each other’s roles.
Staff make handmade voting cards and voting chips using drawing paper, hand them out, and then everyone selects one prompt card from the set we prepared.
After distributing an Act Card to each person, act out the prompt’s line according to the situation assigned to you.
When acting, you may only use your voice and facial expressions.
The others consider which kind of “haa” you’re performing and vote.
After everyone has acted, reveal the correct answers.
Each correct guesser earns 1 point, and the performer earns points equal to the number of people who guessed correctly.
The player with the most points wins! It’s a game that encourages active communication while giving your brain a workout.
Mackerel and Spanish mackerel: a game where you only take the cards with the same kanji
If you want to train your visual discrimination, try this! Here’s a game where you only grab cards with the same kanji.
First, write two similar-looking kanji—such as 鯖 and 鰆—on cards, making sure each one appears the same number of times.
When the game begins, one person quickly gathers all the mackerel (saba) cards, while the other quickly gathers all the Spanish mackerel (sawara) cards.
The player who gathers all of their cards first wins.
Because you have to instantly tell apart similar shapes, it naturally boosts fine visual recognition, and it also seems to improve concentration and decision-making.
It’s fun to include a variety of kanji, symbols, or pictures, too.
Give it a try for inspiration!
Kick Bowling
This is kick bowling, where you kick a ball to knock down pins! We recommend making the pins out of cardboard or Styrofoam so they fall with just a light touch.
The great thing about this game is that it’s fun whether you kick while standing or sitting in a chair.
Adjust the distance to the pins and the ball’s size and weight to suit each older adult.
Kicking a ball not only provides exercise benefits but is also perfect for relieving stress.
Let’s help everyone blow off some steam!
Picture-matching puzzle from a 100-yen shop
It’s a puzzle game where you match picture tiles you have on hand to the same pictures shown in a grid.
Making it is simple: attach pictures to the compartments of a sectioned case, and attach the same pictures to plastic bottle caps.
A key point is that the bottle caps are just slightly larger than the grid squares—pressing them into the squares also helps train finger dexterity.
Because the activity develops decision-making by having players find matches based on the grid’s pictures, it’s also recommended to mix in some dummy pictures that don’t appear in the grid.
A simple activity using ohajiki (small traditional Japanese game pieces)
Some older adults may have played ohajiki when they were young or with their children.
Here are some simple recreational activities you can do with ohajiki.
Beyond lining them up on a table or floor and flicking one with your finger to hit another, there are many ways to play.
For example, you can play a curling-like game by flicking ohajiki onto a sheet with a circle and point values, or stack the pieces upward.
With a bit of creativity, it seems there are plenty of ways to enjoy ohajiki.
In addition to using your fingertips, these games can help improve concentration and promote communication.
A puzzle where you fit counters (ohajiki) into a frame
Group recreation where everyone gets lively together is fun, but taking time to think carefully and enjoy things at your own pace is important too.
This time, we’re introducing a finger dexterity puzzle using ohajiki (small glass game pieces).
Preparation is very simple: get some paper and ohajiki.
Draw circles on the paper about the same size as the ohajiki, and place the pieces around them.
Using your index finger, try to push the ohajiki into the circles.
You can change how it feels a lot by drawing circles slightly larger or smaller than the ohajiki and making a rule that they only count if they fit exactly, or by trying fingers other than the index finger.
Because it also engages spatial awareness, it serves as brain training.
It’s also recommended as a recreation activity in senior care facilities.
Beanbag Bingo
This is a game where players alternately place beanbags on a grid, and the first to make a line of four wins.
It’s important to aim to complete a line with your own color, but you should also be mindful of blocking your opponent’s line.
Using beanbags is another key feature—the action of carrying and placing them on the grid helps develop grip strength and provides arm exercise.
The game strongly emphasizes strategic thinking, as play style varies by player, so you’ll need to adapt your strategy depending on your opponent.
By playing repeatedly, you may even discover your own surefire winning methods.