[For Seniors] Easy to try. Fun, crowd-pleasing recreation

Uchiwa Balloon Relay

[Physical Play] Fan the uchiwa and do a balloon relay!

This is a relay-style game where players move while keeping a balloon bouncing with a handheld fan (uchiwa), go to a target point, and come back.

Competing in teams helps build strong focus on the balloon and good movement speed.

If you skillfully incorporate a forward flick with the fan, you can gain speed, but quick forward movement is also required, so good judgment is key.

If keeping the balloon bouncing while moving is too hard, another recommended rule is to keep the balloon resting on the fan as you go.

By alternating your gaze between the balloon in your hand and the direction of travel, you can also sharpen your visual focus.

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kappamaki

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Onigiri Concentration

[Senior Recreation] Onigiri Concentration (Memory Game)

This is a concentration/memory game where you flip over onigiri cards and try to match the same fillings.

Since there are many cards for each filling—like “12 umeboshi” and “6 cod roe”—you have a relatively high chance of getting a match even when drawing at random, which is part of the appeal.

While it’s important to engage your memory—such as recalling where cards were—be sure to celebrate correct matches so everyone feels good and stays enthusiastic about the game.

If matching proves difficult, it’s also recommended to reveal all the cards and give players time to memorize their locations.

In the end, compare everyone’s hands and get excited about how each set of fillings came together.

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kappamaki

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Beanbag Tower

Senior recreation! Everyone’s hooked! Beanbag tower!! #shorts #seniorRecreation #dayService #recreation #heartwarming #hilarious #beanbag

Many older adults may have played with beanbags when they were young.

Some may have also played beanbag games with their own children or grandchildren.

Here’s a game that uses those beanbags to build a tower.

The rules are simple: compete to see how many beanbags you can stack on top of an upside-down paper cup.

By holding and stacking the beanbags, you can expect to improve or maintain fine motor balance and concentration.

You can focus and play on your own, or make it a team competition for extra excitement.

If you like, please give it a try.

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Nakajima Junko

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Casual Ball Curling

[Easy-to-prepare and exciting recreation] [Day service activity] Simple circle-style ball curling

Curling became well-known through the Winter Olympics, so many of you may already be familiar with it.

It’s a team game where you compete to see which team can get their balls closer to the center ball.

Preparing this recreation is as simple as getting a few balls ready.

That’s all it takes to create a fun activity that helps participants interact more with each other.

Since it can be played while seated, it’s also appealing because it can be enjoyed in a way that suits the physical and mental conditions of older adults.

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Nanaka

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Frog Frisbee Game

[Recreation] Aim for the frog’s mouth and throw the frisbee! Throw it! (Sawayaka Muroran Building No. 2)

June 6 is designated as Frog Day because the Japanese onomatopoeia “kero-kero” (ribbit) can be read from the date.

Frogs have long been beloved as creatures that let us feel the seasons.

I’d like to introduce a recreation activity themed around this commemorative frog day: the Frog Frisbee Game.

First, make a target out of cardboard with a frog motif.

Then make a cardboard frisbee and start throwing.

It might also be fun to design the target as a frog’s mouth so it looks like you’re feeding it.

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yamamoto

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Goldfish Game

Goldfish game #nursingCare #nursingHome #careFacility #recreation #rec #elderly #game #KitasunaHome #dayService

At festival stalls, there’s usually a goldfish scooping game, right? Besides scooping, here’s a fun game that uses goldfish as the theme.

Two people hold the ends of a face towel, and place a goldfish plushie or a crafted goldfish on the towel.

While shaking the towel, they toss the goldfish into a basket that’s been set up in advance.

Assign points based on the size of the basket and the distance to the basket.

This innovative goldfish game should be enjoyable for older adults as well.

It also seems like it would be exciting to play as teams.

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Nakajima Junko

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Shiritori

Shiritori Anywhere

Shiritori, a word game many of us have played since childhood, is also a recommended recreation for people with dementia.

One of its strengths is how easy it is—no materials or preparation required.

It’s handy for filling small pockets of time, like on the bus when going out to the suburbs.

Another plus is that you can adjust the difficulty to match the person’s cognitive level.

You can customize freely with rules like “three-letter words only” or “food items only.” You could also set a goal, such as “finish after connecting 50 words.”