[For Seniors] Fun and Engaging Brain-Training Recreation
We’ve put together a collection of brain-training puzzles and simple exercises that you’ll want to actively incorporate into recreational activities.
It’s easy to get bored with the same types of puzzles and games, right?
Let’s liven up your recreation time with puzzles you haven’t tried before, or some quirky and fun challenges and exercises!
If it’s difficult, try allowing more time to think or offering hints so everyone can enjoy it as they go.
We’re also introducing plenty of activities that can make people laugh and lighten the mood, even if they don’t know the answer.
Feel free to use these as a reference and put them to good use!
- [For Seniors] Fun Brain Training! Lively Mind Exercises
- [For Seniors] Fun and Lively! Recommended Quiz Questions
- [For Seniors] Hand and finger play roundup: Finger exercises that lead to brain training
- [For Seniors] Easy and fun seated activities you can do in your room
- [For Seniors] Fun Brain Training! A Collection of Tricky Quizzes You’ll Definitely Get Stumped By
- Hand games that liven things up for seniors—also great brain training
- [For Seniors] Fun Recreational Activities Without Equipment
- [For Seniors] Find daily brain training. Today’s recommended brain workout.
- [For Seniors] A Brain-Training, Crowd-Pleasing Word Search Game
- Fun Brain Training! Memory Games for Seniors
- [For Seniors] Lively Wordplay Game: Fun Recreation for Elderly Care
- [For Seniors] Today’s Recommended Activity: Fun and Engaging
- [Brain Training for Seniors] Recommended Hand-Play Recreation for Dementia Prevention
[For Seniors] Fun and Exciting Brain Training Recreational Activities (91–100)
Fill-in crossword
This is a game where you complete a crossword puzzle that already has most of its letters filled in by filling the remaining blanks.
Thinking about which letters work both across and down, and then placing them one after another, helps stimulate your brain.
The more blanks there are to fill, the higher the difficulty, so encourage players to gradually try puzzles with multiple blank patterns.
Sometimes the letters alone won’t lead you to the answer, so in those cases, it’s recommended to reveal hints about the meanings of the words that go across and down.
Quick brain training, “Ready, set!” game
Here’s a simple brain-training game you can do while seated, with no prior preparation.
Pair up in twos.
When one person calls out a number—like “Ready, five!”—both of you raise your hands or feet.
If the total number of raised hands and feet matches the number that was called, you’re correct.
You can make it more game-like by intentionally raising more hands or feet to throw off your partner’s guess, and enjoy training your brain as you play.
It also helps to create a cheerful atmosphere where mistakes lead to laughter.
Since raising hands and feet doubles as light exercise, try it together with older adults.
[For Seniors] Fun and Exciting Brain-Training Recreation Activities (101–110)
Finger rotation exercise
Let me introduce a finger-rotation exercise where you touch the same fingers of both hands together and rotate them.
This exercise was devised by an internist, and it’s said to help improve cognitive function, speed-reading ability, and calculation skills.
Amazingly, more than a third of the cerebrum is devoted to moving and controlling the hands and fingers.
So simply moving your fingers stimulates and activates the brain.
Since you’ll be moving your fingers, it might help to gently massage the bases of your fingers before you start.
The motion is simple—just twirling your fingers—so it seems easy to fit into small pockets of time.
Wobbly Beanbag Game
Create it by arranging everyday materials! Here are ideas for a wobbly beanbag game.
What you’ll use: beanbags, a plastic tray, and an empty plastic wrap core.
The great thing is you don’t need to buy special materials, so it’s easy to try! To set up, stand the wrap core upright on a table and place the plastic tray with the beanbags on top.
That’s it! Participants then take turns removing beanbags from the tray.
The unstable wrap core wobbles, adding a thrilling challenge!
Word search with lyrics about Mt. Fuji
Let’s enjoy some brain training using familiar children’s songs! This time, we’ll use the lyrics of “Mount Fuji.” We’ll make a fill-in-the-blank activity with parts of the lyrics missing, and have participants think about what words go there.
Instead of just recalling the lyrics, they will search for words from prepared letter cards and assemble them.
Finding the correct answer gives a real sense of accomplishment.
Using well-known songs familiar to seniors makes the activity approachable and can also lead into singing.
It’s a fun way to help prevent cognitive decline, so it’s recommended as a recreation activity in senior care facilities.
Tossing balls into a small hole
Let’s try a ball-toss game using a cardboard box and colored balls! Here’s an idea where you aim and throw into small holes.
Normally, in a ball-toss game, you throw small balls into a tall basket and compete on how many you can get in.
This time, we’ll use a flat cardboard box and challenge ourselves to throw balls into small holes instead.
It’s a great way to build concentration and control.
If you don’t have colored balls, you can substitute with beanbags or balls made by crumpling up newspaper.
Flag-raising game
Listen carefully to the commands and try the flag-raising challenge! Here are some ideas for a flag-raising game.
In this game, you hold red and white flags and follow commands like “Raise red, lower white,” raising and lowering the flags accordingly.
It’s a simple yet classic game with unique rules that test your concentration and has been loved for generations.
Just tape cut construction paper onto straws or chopsticks to make the flags, and you’re ready to go! Even if you get tripped up, it’s great to keep the mood light and enjoy the challenge.