[For Seniors] Have Fun! A Collection of Group Game Recreation Ideas
A nursing care facility that many people use every day.
In many places, you can hear lively chatter wherever you go, every single day.
Now, when it comes to daily life in such a facility, it would be great to create moments where everyone present can spend enjoyable time together.
In this article, we’ve put together ideas for group games that we’d love for older adults to try.
We’ve included everything from activities that get the body moving to recreations that also work as brain training.
Be sure to read to the end and find ideas you can put to use!
- [For Seniors] Simple Recreational Activities You Can Enjoy While Seated
- [For Seniors] Refresh Your Mood! Lively, Get-Moving Games
- [For Seniors] Exciting Team-Based Recreational Activities
- [For Seniors] Enjoyment at Day Care: A Roundup of Games and Recreational Activities
- [For Seniors] Fun and Engaging Brain-Training Recreation
- [For Senior Care Facilities] Fun Bingo Game Ideas That Also Work as Brain Training
- [For Seniors] Guaranteed to Be a Hit! Popular Day Service Recreational Activities
- [For Seniors] Lively Wordplay Game: Fun Recreation for Elderly Care
- [For Seniors] Fun! Games and Ideas to Boost Memory
- [For Seniors] Simple Tabletop Games: Fun and Engaging Recreational Activities
- Hand games that liven things up for seniors—also great brain training
- [For Seniors] Fun Small-Group Recreation
- [For Seniors] Enjoy safely even during the COVID-19 pandemic: Seated activities
[For Seniors] Have Fun! Group Game Recreation Ideas (61–70)
Beanbag Catch

Let’s have fun with a beanbag-catching game.
Toss beanbags to older adults seated in chairs, and have them catch the beanbags using a container.
Everyday items like a colander, bowl, or sushi tub work just fine.
It’s enjoyable with both large and small groups.
A team competition to see who can catch the most beanbags is also recommended.
The lively atmosphere will likely encourage interaction among participants, and it’s a refreshing activity for everyone.
Otedama Hoi

Here’s a simple recreation activity using a large bath towel and beanbags.
Two people sit facing each other on chairs and each holds an end of the bath towel.
Place several beanbags in the center of the towel.
Working together, the two people shake the towel to build momentum and toss the beanbags toward a target.
It gets exciting when many beanbags land in the target.
Another key point of this activity is cooperation between the two participants.
Older adults can naturally create opportunities for interaction by calling out to each other and working together.
Through this recreation, it’s likely to bring more smiles to older adults.
Casual Ball Curling

Curling became well-known through the Winter Olympics, so many of you may already be familiar with it.
It’s a team game where you compete to see which team can get their balls closer to the center ball.
Preparing this recreation is as simple as getting a few balls ready.
That’s all it takes to create a fun activity that helps participants interact more with each other.
Since it can be played while seated, it’s also appealing because it can be enjoyed in a way that suits the physical and mental conditions of older adults.
Goldfish Game

At festival stalls, there’s usually a goldfish scooping game, right? Besides scooping, here’s a fun game that uses goldfish as the theme.
Two people hold the ends of a face towel, and place a goldfish plushie or a crafted goldfish on the towel.
While shaking the towel, they toss the goldfish into a basket that’s been set up in advance.
Assign points based on the size of the basket and the distance to the basket.
This innovative goldfish game should be enjoyable for older adults as well.
It also seems like it would be exciting to play as teams.
Kendama

The kendama’s unique shape, with the ball and handle connected by a string, seems like a promising hint.
Whether someone has handled one before, and how familiar they are with the toy, would likely affect the accuracy rate.
Since it’s hard to identify it from the feel of the wood alone, it might be better to touch and check the shape as you go.
If the shape and feel still don’t give it away, hints like “New Year,” “toy,” or playing with a ball might help some people figure it out.
Rock-Paper-Scissors Ball Passing Game

Here’s a team-vs-team, high-energy Rock-Paper-Scissors Ball Relay game.
First, divide into teams.
Arrange chairs in a single row for each team, facing each other, and have everyone sit.
Next, the two players at the front each hold a ball and play rock-paper-scissors.
The winner passes their ball to the next teammate, and this repeats down the line.
The team that gets their ball back to the front first wins.
It’s exciting because you can clearly see which side is in the lead, and it’s great for engaging both the mind and body at the same time.
stuffed animal

Plush toys with all sorts of textures—fluffy, silky, and puffy.
They usually look cute, but when you can’t see them, those textures can be tricky.
Not only are they soft; with pointy parts or thin sections, it’s hard to picture their exact shape.
Since there are plushies of many different characters, you could even turn it into a guessing game to figure out which one it is.
It’s easy to prepare and safe to do, so I recommend it.
Give it a try!


