[For Seniors] Refresh Your Mood! Lively, Get-Moving Games
As we get older, we tend to have fewer opportunities to be physically active.
Even in senior facilities like day services, people may end up sitting for long periods during activities like crafts.
Why not try incorporating some lively, movement-based games?
Of course, it’s fine to stay seated!
Even without strenuous movements, simply rolling your arms or marching your feet a little can loosen the body and make for good exercise.
Please be sure not to overdo it—have fun while keeping an eye on how you feel!
There are plenty of games that get everyone moving and energized.
- [For Seniors] Recreational activities and games that let you have fun while strengthening your legs
- For Seniors: Fun and Lively Exercise Recreation
- [For Seniors] Fun Recreational Activities Without Equipment
- For Seniors: Effective Recreation for Preventing Care Needs—Have Fun While Staying Healthy
- [For Seniors] Exciting Team-Based Recreational Activities
- [For Seniors] Enjoy safely even during the COVID-19 pandemic: Seated activities
- Recommended Indoor Exercises for Seniors
- [For Seniors] Easy and fun seated activities you can do in your room
- [For Seniors] Simple Recreational Activities You Can Enjoy While Seated
- [For Seniors] A Fun Sports Day! Recreational Activities You Can Do Safely
- [For Seniors] Simple Tabletop Games: Fun and Engaging Recreational Activities
- [For Seniors] Recommended Dances You Can Move To and Enjoy
- [For Seniors] Recreational Activities Enjoyable in Large Groups
[For Seniors] Refresh Your Mood! Lively, Active Games (31–40)
Pool Stick Valley
Let’s have fun with a balloon volleyball game using pool noodles you can even buy at 100-yen shops.
Make a ring with one pool noodle and hang it from above.
Have the seniors sit in chairs in a circle, each holding a pool noodle.
When the balloon comes to them, they hit it back with their noodle.
If they can aim well, have them try to send the balloon through the hanging ring.
With a target to aim for, seniors are sure to get excited about balloon volleyball! It also seems like a great way to encourage interaction with those around them.
Newspaper Ball Rolling Game
The “Newspaper Ball Rolling Game” uses newspaper sheets to pass balls along! Within each team, members split into pairs; each pair holds the ends of a sheet of newspaper and transfers the ball onto the neighboring pair’s newspaper.
The final pair places the ball into a box, and the team that gets all their balls into the box first wins! Handling thin newspaper is trickier than you might expect.
Even older adults will likely enjoy the challenge, saying things like, “It just won’t do what I want!” The difficulty also changes with the type of ball, so it’s a great idea to prepare various balls of different sizes and weights.
Balloon Tennis
How about trying “balloon tennis,” using a uchiwa fan as a racket and a balloon as the ball? You can even pretend the table is the court.
Don’t just hit the balloon back to your opponent—get creative by fanning the balloon with the uchiwa to play defense, too.
It’s sure to turn into an exciting, heated game!
Balloon Flap-Flap Game
Gather around a table with a single balloon placed in the center.
Each person holds a fan and flutters it to keep the balloon up.
This is the “Balloon Flutter Game,” where you see how long you can keep the balloon floating above the table.
Fan carefully so it doesn’t go flying off the table from too much force!
balloon volleyball
How about trying a game of “balloon volleyball” together? Swap the volleyball for a balloon and attack it while staying seated! Balloons can move in unpredictable, quirky ways, so it’s sure to be exciting.
Plus, it’s nice that it won’t hurt even if it hits your hands or head.
[For Seniors] Refresh Your Mood! Lively, Movement-Based Games (41–50)
Towel relay
The “towel relay” where you pass a towel to the person next to you.
Just handing it over as is is too easy and not very fun, right? In this version, you make a rod by rolling up newspaper, hook the towel onto the end, and pass it along like a relay.
Adding a bit of decoration to the newspaper rod also makes it visually enjoyable.
Gum-Gum Kick Bowling
It’s a game where a newspaper ball is connected to your foot with a rubber band, and you try to kick it to knock down milk-carton pins in front of you.
It tests fine control of your foot—like whether you can bring the ball into a good kicking position and transfer your kicking power effectively.
You can also see individual styles: will you focus on a single, concentrated kick to topple as many pins as possible, or prioritize speed by kicking repeatedly? You can adjust the difficulty by changing the length of the rubber band or the size of the ball, so let’s have people try it in various configurations.