![[For Seniors] Liven Up Your Day Service! Fun Beanbag Toss Activity](https://i.ytimg.com/vi_webp/JuX6YCBN7Uk/maxresdefault.webp)
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] Liven Up Day Service! Fun Beanbag Activities (1–10)
Otedama Hoi
Here’s a simple recreation activity using a large bath towel and beanbags.
Two people sit facing each other on chairs and each holds an end of the bath towel.
Place several beanbags in the center of the towel.
Working together, the two people shake the towel to build momentum and toss the beanbags toward a target.
It gets exciting when many beanbags land in the target.
Another key point of this activity is cooperation between the two participants.
Older adults can naturally create opportunities for interaction by calling out to each other and working together.
Through this recreation, it’s likely to bring more smiles to older adults.
Beanbag Catch Relay
Using beanbags and a bucket, here’s a beanbag catch relay.
Have the older adults sit in chairs in a single line.
Give the bucket to the person at one end, and have each person catch the beanbag that comes their way using the bucket.
After catching the beanbag, pass the bucket to the next person.
Catching the beanbag that flies toward you is said to help train reflexes.
Even while seated, you’ll be moving your body, so you can do brain training and exercise at the same time.
Once everyone gets used to it, gradually adjust the difficulty by increasing the throwing speed of the beanbags.
It really livens things up, and attempting tasks that feel a bit challenging is also said to help activate the brain.
Fan Beanbag Relay
Let me introduce a fan-and-beanbag relay that everyone can enjoy.
Have participants sit in chairs in a single row, and use handheld fans to pass along a beanbag.
Because it’s done while seated, even people who find it difficult to stand or move their bodies can likely take part.
Since both the fan and the beanbag are light, it doesn’t require much strength.
And with fans and beanbags, there’s less risk of injury if something is dropped.
Through the relay, people will call out to one another and work together as a team.
It might even spark new interactions.
You can also make it more exciting by forming two lines and holding a head-to-head relay competition.
Wobbly Beanbag Game
Place a tray on top of a plastic wrap core, then stack beanbags on the tray to start the game.
Carefully remove the stacked beanbags one by one without collapsing the unstable base.
Players compete to see how many beanbags they can take without toppling the base.
It’s a game that trains your judgment in choosing which beanbag is easiest to remove and your concentration while removing it.
You can also adjust the difficulty by changing the number of wrap cores.
It’s a game that can be enjoyed while seated.
Beanbag Curling
Curling has become a very popular sport at the Winter Olympics.
It’s a game where players skillfully maneuver large stones on ice, aiming to get them close to the target.
Let’s try a table-top version called beanbag curling, where you roll beanbags on a table! Attach a sheet of paper marked with scores to the table, then roll the beanbags across it.
You earn the points where your beanbag stops, and the player with the highest total score wins! Just like in curling, it also sounds fun to knock into a beanbag you’ve already rolled to push it out or to send another beanbag into a higher-scoring area.
Beanbag Five-in-a-Row
A gomoku game using beanbags, designed with large, easy-to-see visuals.
Players take turns tossing beanbags toward the grid spaces where they want to place a piece, and the first to make a line of five wins.
While it may seem difficult to land a beanbag precisely on the target space, a toss that misses a square isn’t invalid—people nearby can move it to the intended spot.
The goal is to enjoy gomoku while moving your body by tossing beanbags at the desired locations.
It’s a game that combines the strategic thinking of gomoku with physical activity.
Beanbag Block
Let’s train our legs while having fun with a beanbag game.
Pair up and sit facing each other.
One person throws a beanbag so that it reaches the other person’s feet.
The other person blocks the incoming beanbag with their feet.
Each chair has a designated territory around it, and the person who gets more beanbags into the opponent’s territory wins.
Because you use your feet to block the beanbags, you can train your legs while seated.
Successfully blocking will make older adults feel happy, too.
It also creates opportunities to chat with those around you, which can lead to more social interaction.