[For Seniors] Extremely Effective Brain Training! A Fun Collection of Hand Games
As a form of recreation for older adults, many facilities incorporate hand games that involve moving the fingers and arms.
It’s said that making fine movements with the fingertips or performing different motions with the right and left arms helps activate the brain.
In this article, we’ll introduce a variety of hand games that also serve as brain training.
These hand games range widely—from activities that only move the fingertips to ones that use the arms, and even the upper body and legs.
Please choose activities that match participants’ physical condition.
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For Seniors: Highly Effective Brain Training! A Fun Collection of Hand Games (21–30)
10-minute morning exercise
It’s hard to get your body moving in the morning, isn’t it? And everyone feels a bit groggy right after waking up.
At times like that, try some quick exercises to wake up your body and brain.
First, bring the fingertips of both hands together, then spin the opposing fingers in circles as if they’re playing tag.
Do this from the thumbs to the little fingers.
Next, move the muscles in your face, such as by opening your mouth wide.
Finally, use both your hands and feet for a full-body exercise.
If you’re an older adult, please prioritize safety and try these exercises while seated.
Beanbag Bingo
Here’s a bingo-style game using beanbags that you can enjoy with one hand.
Prepare a sheet of paper with a 5-by-5 grid.
Take turns with your opponent placing one beanbag on a single square.
The first person to line up four beanbags in a row—vertically, horizontally, or diagonally—wins.
Beanbags are light, so there’s little risk of injury if they fall, which is a plus.
While aiming to make your own line of four, you’ll also try to block your opponent.
It’s a game that encourages focused thinking and may help stimulate the brain.
Try playing while seated in chairs with older adults, and have fun getting lively together.
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.
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.
hanging towel
Let me introduce a unique game that uses towels.
Prepare towels about the size of a face towel.
Stand at a distance and throw the towels so they hook onto a target stick.
Each person throws three towels, and you compete to see who can get the most towels onto the stick.
Since you’re throwing towels that you normally use to wipe your face or hands, the unexpected twist makes it lively and fun.
You can also replace the stick with a basket and turn it into a game where you throw the towels into the basket.
It can be played while seated, so it should be easy for older adults to take part as well.
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.
clothespin tree
Let me introduce the Clothespin Tree.
Gather some beanbags and secure them to a pair of chopsticks, then clip clothespins onto the chopsticks in alternating positions.
If the structure topples or the chopsticks break when adding a clothespin, you lose.
The action of opening and closing clothespins also stimulates the brain.
For gameplay, preparing clothespins in various colors is recommended—you’ll end up with a colorful tree that’s visually enjoyable.
It’s a fun activity using familiar materials, and once your Clothespin Tree is complete, displaying it as a decoration can also spark conversation.