[For Seniors] Liven Up Your Day Service! Fun Beanbag Toss Activity
One of the items often used in day-service recreation is the beanbag (otedama).
Beanbags filled with adzuki beans or rice are soft balls that don’t hurt even if they hit you, making them a safe tool for everyone from children to older adults.
While many people picture juggling with two or three beanbags, it can be hard to come up with other ways to play.
In this article, we’ll introduce a variety of recommended beanbag games for day-service recreation!
Many of them are easy to play while seated, so older adults can enjoy them with confidence.
Give some new beanbag games a try!
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[For Seniors] Let's Have Fun at Day Service! Enjoyable Beanbag Toss Activities (11–20)
Beanbag Tower
When you think of otedama (beanbags), many people probably imagine juggling two or three of them without dropping any.
But with a bit of creativity, there are plenty of games you can play using otedama.
Try stacking them to make a tower.
Start by placing a paper cup upside down as the base, then stack the beanbags on top.
Using the paper cup helps you focus on balance so the beanbags don’t topple over—this is the key point.
Concentrating on the activity can help older adults refresh their minds, too.
And if you use light beanbags, it’s safe even if the stack loses balance and falls.
Beanbag Bowling
How about an easy bowling game using beanbags and plastic bottles? Set up plastic bottles of different sizes at the edge of a table, then toss a beanbag from the opposite side so it slides across the tabletop and knocks the bottles down.
Just like real bowling, you can play as individuals, or make it a team competition to amp up the excitement.
By the way, since it’s a good brain exercise, have participants calculate their own scores based on the bottles they knock down!
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.
tablecloth trick
Tablecloth-pulling is a classic party trick or performance, isn’t it? Without using real dishes or a tablecloth, you can play the game simply and safely with newspaper and beanbags.
Stack the beanbags on top of the newspaper, then try to pull the newspaper out without toppling the stack.
If you’re competing as a group, you can count not only success or failure but also how many beanbags remain.
It’s a game you can enjoy while seated, and it also seems like good training to sharpen reflexes.
pole toppling
Stand a chopstick or another stick of a handy size upright, and place several beanbags around it so the stick stays standing on its own.
On their turn, each participant removes one beanbag.
If someone knocks the stick over, the game ends right there.
It takes the ability to judge which beanbags are safe to remove and fine motor control, making it a good workout for both mind and body.
It’s a simple game, but once you try it, it’s guaranteed to get exciting!
Beanbag darts
It’s a game where you throw beanbags at a target, aiming to land them in higher-scoring areas.
The large, clearly marked bullseye gives it a curling-like feel, letting you experience a sense of sport.
Using light beanbags reduces physical strain, and since the main objective is simply to raise your own score, the game proceeds peacefully.
By sharing tips on how to throw the beanbags and offering each other various advice on the spot, participants can also deepen their camaraderie.
[For Seniors] Let’s Have Fun at Day Service! Enjoyable Beanbag Toss Activities (21–30)
Juggling Balloon Reveal
It’s a game where a box is packed with inflated balloons, and you toss beanbags into it with the aim of knocking the balloons out of the box.
As you keep playing, you’ll get a feel for how the balloons and beanbags interact to send the balloons flying out.
By sharing the tips each person picks up, you can both improve at the game and strengthen your camaraderie.
It’s fun as a tabletop version using a box as the stage, but if you mark off a larger area with tape, you can move your body more and enjoy it in a healthier, more active way.