For seniors: Fun shiritori—enjoyable and easy to play
Shiritori has long been a beloved game.
It’s also hugely popular as a way for seniors to train their brains and as a venue for communication.
There aren’t any difficult rules—here are some fun variations of shiritori packed with clever twists that make it enjoyable and easy for anyone to start.
There are so many types of shiritori!
Simply connecting words gives your brain a workout and helps you feel refreshed!
Find something that looks interesting in the article and enjoy a wonderful time with your family and friends!
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[For Seniors] Fun Shiritori: Enjoyable and Easy (1–10)
Let’s connect words with shiritori
Let’s play shiritori (word chain) by connecting the arranged characters one by one to reach the goal.
From the many letters, you move vertically and horizontally to continue the word chain.
It could be fun to include some trick paths where, even if you make a valid word, you can’t proceed next.
If you manage the word chain well and reach the goal, older adults are likely to feel a sense of accomplishment.
Searching for words among the letters stimulates the brain, so you can also expect brain-training benefits.
It’s a shiritori game you can enjoy by thinking carefully on your own or lively with a small group.
Lyrics shiritori
There are countless songs around the world, and the lyrics they sing cover a wide range, don’t they? Let’s try a shiritori game using lyrics—this will test not only your knowledge of songs but also your ability to pull lyrics from memory.
Instead of just saying the lyrics as words, it’s best to sing what comes to mind and link them together; if you use the high points of the songs, the game will get more exciting too.
It’s important to think about which songs to choose and where to stop singing, while also considering how easy it is to pick up the next word.
Restricted Shiritori
Shiritori is a simple word game you can enjoy anytime, anywhere—a classic recreational game for all ages.
But playing plain shiritori can get dull, and people often lose interest halfway through.
How about trying a variant with a small twist—shiritori with restrictions? It’s still shiritori, but adding light rules like “only three-letter words” or “food items only” makes it much more thought-provoking and exciting.
[For Seniors] Fun Shiritori: Enjoyable and Easy to Play (11–20)
Cognicise with Shiritori
This is a “Shiritori Cognisize” you can enjoy casually like a game.
While playing shiritori, sit in a chair and do a marching motion with your feet.
Shiritori is a game most older adults have played at least once, and it’s recommended for preventing dementia.
Searching for a word that starts with the last letter of the previous word engages memory and thinking skills, stimulating the brain.
By training the brain, it can help prevent dementia.
Once you get used to regular shiritori, try adding variations, such as clapping your hands when you answer.
It’s an exercise you can do with several people, so it also encourages interaction with others.
Word-Specified Shiritori
Let’s play a fill-in-the-blank style, word-specified shiritori.
We’ll prepare the starting word, some words in the middle, and the ending word in advance.
The older adults participating will connect words to match those preset words.
As you get used to it, try gradually increasing the number of letters to fill in between.
It’s said that the brain is stimulated when something feels “a little difficult.” You can focus on doing the written shiritori by yourself, or work in pairs—it should be fun either way.
Please give it a try.
Kanji Fill-in-the-Blank Quiz
Here’s a recommended Kanji fill-in-the-blank quiz for seniors who are knowledgeable about kanji.
You play shiritori using kanji compound words.
For example: 親身 (kindness), 身長 (height), 長年 (many years), 年月 (years and months) — you take the last character of one compound and use it as the first character of the next.
Doing it on a whiteboard can make it easier for seniors to see and answer.
If you print the questions on paper, individuals can also focus and work on them alone.
It doesn’t require much preparation, so it’s perfect for small pockets of free time.
Enjoy a fun time with the Kanji fill-in-the-blank quiz!
Yokai Shiritori
There have long been many manga, novels, and other works that feature yokai.
Many of you may have read them as children, or enjoyed works with yokai together with your own children or grandchildren.
So let’s try playing shiritori using the names of yokai.
As you play, try to recall which yokai there were—like Azuki-arai, Nurikabe, or Rokurokubi.
If you find it hard to come up with yokai names, preparing a list of major yokai or cards with illustrations of each one can help everyone enjoy the game together.
