[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! A Collection of Group Game Recreation Ideas (1–10)
Fan Beanbag Relay
Struggling with those slippery beanbags!? It’s the “Fan Beanbag Relay,” where you catch a beanbag on a fan and pass it to the next person! While it’s easy to hand a beanbag to someone using your hands, it won’t behave so well when you can only use a fan.
The rules are simple and easy, but it requires a bit of tension, so it’s sure to get all older adults excited! You can do it seated, or stand and walk over to the next person while keeping the beanbag on the fan—feel free to adjust the format as you observe the group.
Rich Man game
The “Tycoon Game,” where you compete for the total score of the squares where the ball stops, combines ball-throwing exercise with brain training for calculating points! Spread sheets of paper with numbers and instructions written in a grid on the floor, and take turns throwing a ball toward the squares.
You receive cards equal to the number on the square, and the person with the most cards at the end becomes the Tycoon! Including squares like “All forfeited” or “Points doubled” will make it even more exciting for sure! You could also ask questions like, “If you add this number to the cards you’re holding now, how many will you have?” and proceed while calculating together.
Rubber Ball Table Game
The “Rubber Ball Table Game” lets you enjoy playing with a ball while staying seated! Sit in chairs around a table and keep the ball bouncing as you pass it, set rules like skipping one person when passing, toss it back under specific conditions, or push the ball by hand like table tennis—there are many ways to play.
You can even add an extra ball and play while tracking two balls at once for a more effective workout for both body and brain.
It’s sure to bring out your inner child and have everyone thoroughly engaged!
[For Seniors] Have Fun! A Collection of Group Game Recreation Ideas (11–20)
Pikagororek
The “Pika-Goro Rec” game: after the cue that follows “Pika-pika ~ Goro-goro ~,” which is “Dokan!”, the player with the finger inside quickly pulls it out! Pair up in twos.
One person makes a tube with their hand, and the other inserts their index finger into the tube.
At the shout of “Dokan!”, the person making the tube tries to grab, while the person with the finger tries to pull it out before getting caught.
If you pause before the cue or slip in different words to fake people out, it gets even more exciting! Once you get used to it, try playing in a circle with three or more people: make a tube with one hand, raise your index finger with the other, and insert your finger into the neighboring person’s hand-tube.
Bridge Dropping Game
The “Bridge Knockdown Game,” where you throw beanbags to collapse a towel bridge! Drape a towel between two chairs and place weights like water-filled plastic bottles on both ends.
Throw beanbags or balls at the towel, and whoever collapses the towel bridge first wins.
If hits are rare or progress is slow because the beanbags don’t land well, try playing in teams and taking turns.
By cheering each other on and cooperating, older adults can enjoy the game and deepen their connections with one another.
giant ball rolling
A “Giant Ball Roll” that’s so tantalizingly close to stopping you can’t help but get hooked! Set up a frame—using a hula hoop, for example—in the center of a circle, and roll a large ball toward the frame.
If the ball fits neatly inside, you clear the game! When people think of giant ball rolling, they often imagine a relay at a sports day, but with a target-rolling rule like this, you can enjoy it even while seated.
If you make it a day-by-day competition or a team match, older participants will get even more fired up! It might also spark conversations between neighbors—“So close!”—and help break the ice.
Delivery Game
The “Delivery Game,” where everyone works together to carry gifts! Split into teams and sit in a line.
Starting from the person at the front, pass the gift to the person next to you.
The last person in line places the received gift into a box.
Once all the gifts are in the box, the person at the front pulls in the box using the string attached to it, bringing it to their hands.
The team that rings the bell inside the box first wins.
It’s a fun, fully cooperative game that combines various actions: receiving and passing, then pulling in the box!