Hand games that liven things up for seniors—also great brain training
Hand-based activities are a fun and effective way for older adults to stimulate the brain.
Even simple hand games can stimulate the brain by moving the fingertips, helping to maintain or improve cognitive function.
In addition, doing them to music or together with others naturally brings more smiles and increases opportunities for communication.
In this article, we introduce hand games that are easy for seniors to enjoy without strain and also work as brain training.
Incorporate easy activities into your routine to maintain your health while having fun!
- [For Seniors] Hand and finger play roundup: Finger exercises that lead to brain training
- [For Seniors] Extremely Effective Brain Training! A Fun Collection of Hand Games
- [For Seniors] Fun and Engaging Brain-Training Recreation
- [Brain Training for Seniors] Recommended Hand-Play Recreation for Dementia Prevention
- [For Seniors] Recommended Muscle Training Gear. Simple and Easy
- Fun Brain Training! Memory Games for Seniors
- [For Seniors] Fun! Games and Ideas to Boost Memory
- [For Seniors] Easy to try. Fun, crowd-pleasing recreation
- [For Seniors] Let’s Have Fun While Training the Brain! Handmade Card Game Ideas
- [For Seniors] Enjoy Easily! Hand Play 'Shimoshika Meyo' (If If, Tortoise)
- [For Seniors] Popular Hand-Play Songs: Fun Brain-Training Ideas
- [For Seniors] Recommended Handmade Activities! Simple Ideas
- [For Seniors] Winter Haiku: Introducing Beautiful Masterpieces by Famous Haiku Poets
[For Seniors] Lively Hand Games That Also Train the Brain (1–10)
Hand game to the tune of the Tea Jar Song
We’d like to introduce a hand game you can play to the children’s song “Chatsubo” (Tea Jar).
Make one hand into a fist to represent the tea jar, and use the other hand as the jar’s lid.
As you sing, alternate which hand is the jar and which is the lid.
When doing this, move the lid hand alternately to the top and the bottom of the tea jar.
Once you get used to it, try switching the jar and lid hands more quickly.
Some older adults may remember playing along to the “Chatsubo” song when they were young.
It’s a hand game that can help bring back those memories.
Stacking beanbags
This is a game where you toss beanbags and try to land them on a target without dropping them.
Because it uses light items like beanbags, people with hemiplegia can also participate.
Have older adults sit in chairs some distance away from the target.
Aim for the target and throw the beanbags.
You can use an empty bucket or a trash can turned upside down as the target.
Each person throws three beanbags, and the one who lands the most beanbags on the target wins.
The rules are simple, but it should be exciting.
As everyone gets used to the game, try making the target smaller.
It increases the difficulty, but it’s still fun.
Brain training using hand claps
Finger-play exercises can be done just by moving your hands while seated, so many older adults are able to participate.
I believe many senior and welfare facilities also incorporate hand-based exercises into their routines.
Some older adults may become more and more accustomed to the usual hand games over time.
When that happens, try adding some challenge.
For example, reverse the finger-counting from 5 down to 1 instead of 1 up to 5, or add finger-made numbers to the open–close (gu-pa) hand exercise.
If you get used to the movements and move only your fingers without thinking, it’s said the brain won’t be activated.
So please try increasing the difficulty and give it a go.
[For Seniors] Fun Hand Games That Liven Things Up: Also Great Brain Training (11–20)
bamboo shoot digging
Let’s liven things up with a game themed around one of spring’s seasonal flavors: bamboo shoots.
Some seniors may have even gone out to dig bamboo shoots in a bamboo grove.
In this game, you win if you can catch the bamboo shoot—made from a paper cup—faster than your opponent.
Real bamboo shoot digging takes strength and can be tough, but with this game, where both the “tool” and the bamboo shoot are paper cups, seniors with hemiplegia can enjoy it easily.
Through the game, some seniors might recall times when they dug bamboo shoots or ate them.
Turtle scooping
Here’s a turtle scooping activity that also helps practice finger and wrist movements.
Prepare turtles made from construction paper, protected with lamination, and attach a plastic bottle cap to the back of each one.
Using a ladle to scoop the turtles is recommended.
Try scooping the turtles placed inside a box.
The bottle cap on the back makes them a bit unstable, which is part of the fun.
If using a ladle is too difficult, feel free to scoop with your hands—be flexible so everyone can enjoy it.
It might get lively, just like goldfish scooping at a festival.
Stacking paper cups
Here’s a cup-stacking game that boosts finger strength and concentration.
Get some paper cups and clothespins ready and have fun.
Use the clothespins to stack the paper cups.
Whoever stacks five cups before their opponent wins.
The key is the grip strength you use to open and close the clothespins while stacking.
Once you get used to it, try setting a time limit or playing in teams for an extra challenge.
It’s a game you can enjoy over and over, so give it a try!
Beanbag Balance Game
We’re pleased to introduce “Beanbag Balance Challenge,” a balance-and-focus game for older adults that you can enjoy using everyday materials found at home.
Use packing tape and toilet paper rolls as pillars, and stack cardboard pieces of different sizes by level to build a tower.
The higher the level, the smaller the surface area—and the higher the points.
Participants remain seated and gently toss beanbags, competing to see which level they can land on.
You can freely adjust the difficulty simply by changing the number of beanbags or the throwing distance.
The thrill of aiming and landing a toss, mixed with the suspense of a potential collapse, makes for a recreation activity guaranteed to spark smiles and laughter.
