[For Seniors] Extremely Effective Brain Training! A Fun Collection of Hand Games

Plastic Bottle Cap Bingo

Plastic Bottle Cap Bingo

Here’s a bingo-style game using plastic bottle caps.

Thread two colors of caps onto a rod alternately, and the player who lines up four in a row horizontally wins.

While you build your own winning pattern, you also need to block your opponent, making it a deceptively simple yet surprisingly deep game.

Additionally, the motion of threading the caps each turn exercises the upper limbs and fingertips, making it an enjoyable and high-quality brain-training activity.

Hosting a tournament or league event would likely make it even more exciting.

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kojifumi

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playing rock-paper-scissors after seeing the opponent’s move (i.e., acting with hindsight/cheating)

[Brain Training] Brain Exercise Gymnastics for Seniors! After-the-Fact Rock-Paper-Scissors [Mental Workout]

Aft-hand rock-paper-scissors is a recreation where you throw your hand in response to the already-shown hand according to the instruction “win,” “lose,” or “tie.” Because it’s an arrangement of a game everyone knows, it’s simple enough for anyone to join, yet it also serves as brain training that requires split-second judgment and quick hand movements.

You can also add various rules like “win with your right hand” or “lose with your left hand,” so you can keep it interesting without getting bored.

It can be played anywhere, so it’s highly recommended.

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kojifumi

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Inchworm Brain Training Exercise

Inchworm Brain-Training Exercises: Today’s Brain Workout #154 – Preventive Care and Dementia Prevention

Let’s stimulate your brain with a finger play that mimics an inchworm’s movement.

Inchworms move by stretching and contracting their bodies, right? We’ll recreate that motion with your fingers as a hand game.

Touch the tips of your index finger and thumb together on both hands.

From there, bend one thumb and touch it to the index finger of the other hand.

Then alternate by bending an index finger to touch the thumb on the other hand, and keep repeating this pattern.

The motion looks like an inchworm, doesn’t it? At first, it can be hard to make each finger meet the opposite one smoothly, but working to make the connections is said to help activate your brain.

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Nakajima Junko

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cat’s cradle

Make your brain lively with cat’s cradle

Ayatori is a game where you create various figures using a string looped around your fingers on both hands.

It’s enjoyed by a wide range of ages, from children to older adults.

Because it involves many fine finger movements, it’s also recommended as brain training for seniors.

Another nice aspect is that it offers many ways to have fun, from simple shapes like crabs, frogs, and stars to more challenging ones.

It can also serve as a chance for seniors to communicate with each other by teaching and helping with tricky parts.

It’s a hand game you can take your time with, and it also supports cognitive training.

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mutō

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Let’s pay the money.

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Independent Project Work Log 70. Let's Pay MoneyTranslationHandmade teaching materialsSpecial Needs Education#AutismNeurodevelopmental disorder#After-school Day ServicesTokachi# developmental support (ryōiku)

♬ A heartwarming cute song for everyday scenes(840142) – Sumochi

When you go shopping, you pay money and think about the price of items, right? Let’s turn those actions—using your hands to take out and put away money, and calculating item prices—into a training idea.

Using cards that show products and their prices, place money that matches each price on the cards.

Checking out at a store is effective for finger dexterity and brain training.

It’s also helpful for older adults who want to practice for real shopping trips.

Many seniors want to go shopping, but if someone hasn’t shopped for several years, it can be difficult to do it smoothly right away.

With money-handling practice, why not gradually get used to shopping and paying at the register?

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Nakajima Junko

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Proverb Match

[Senior Recreation] Card Game: Proverb Matching!

Let me introduce a proverb matching game that stimulates your vocabulary while having fun.

First, prepare 20–30 proverbs and write the first half and second half on separate cards.

Lay the cards out randomly on a table and look for pairs that form complete proverbs by matching the first halves with the second halves.

Because it uses familiar Japanese proverbs, it encourages you to revisit your memory, rediscover culture and general knowledge, and activate cognitive functions.

The sense of achievement when you find the correct pair can also boost self-esteem! It will be even more exciting if you split into teams or pairs and work together.

Please give it a try.

Mackerel and Spanish mackerel: a game where you only take the cards with the same kanji

Card battling game, two types, elderly people, recreation, day service, rec activities, caregiving, indoor game, party, game

If you want to train your visual discrimination, try this! Here’s a game where you only grab cards with the same kanji.

First, write two similar-looking kanji—such as 鯖 and 鰆—on cards, making sure each one appears the same number of times.

When the game begins, one person quickly gathers all the mackerel (saba) cards, while the other quickly gathers all the Spanish mackerel (sawara) cards.

The player who gathers all of their cards first wins.

Because you have to instantly tell apart similar shapes, it naturally boosts fine visual recognition, and it also seems to improve concentration and decision-making.

It’s fun to include a variety of kanji, symbols, or pictures, too.

Give it a try for inspiration!