[For Seniors] Let’s Have Fun While Training the Brain! Handmade Card Game Ideas

A game where you make long words using the Japanese syllabary (gojūon)

[Fun Recreation] Brain Training with Japanese Syllabary Cards! Directly from Kenichi Yamaguchi!

Simple yet fun! Here’s a game where you make words using the Japanese syllabary (gojūon).

The rules are easy: Prepare cards with hiragana for all the gojūon and lay them out in order.

Participants create words using the gojūon; they get to keep the cards for the characters used in their word.

Repeat this, and when no more words can be made with the remaining characters, the game ends.

The player with the most cards at the end wins.

It’s perfect brain training because you have to come up with words using limited letters! You can also play in teams and brainstorm words together for extra excitement.

Give it a try!

poetry karuta

[Senior Recreation] Rec Craftsman Series Part 195: 'Song Karuta' [Songs/Lyrics/Intros/Quiz/Karaoke/Brain Training]

This is a game that uses popular songs, a little different from a typical “intro quiz.” It’s a highly recommended recreation that lets you enjoy brain training by engaging your vision, hearing, and memory! First, make about 50 pairs of cards: one with the song title and one with the opening lyrics.

Think of them like karuta, with reading cards and grabbing cards.

The rules are simple: lay out the cards with the song titles, and the host sings the song written on the reading card.

Even if you’re not very confident in your singing, it’s fine—the game will definitely liven things up.

It also sparks fun conversations about memories of the songs, like “When this song was popular…” It’s a truly enjoyable quiz! Older adults will likely know many of these hit songs.

Colorful Card Rec – Idiom Quiz

[Senior Recreation] Quick Brain Training! Recreation Using Handmade Cards [Preventive Care, Day Service Activities, Elderly Care]

This is an idiom quiz that looks like it could strengthen language skills.

In this version, you look at several prompts and answer which body part they have in common.

For example, if the idioms are “cut through the wind,” “shrug,” and “breathe,” the common body part would be “shoulder.” In Japanese, you often hear expressions like “cut through the wind with your shoulders,” “shrug your shoulders,” and “breathe with your shoulders.” Try creating questions like this.

Since these are expressions everyone knows, it should be fun for groups.

As a variation, it could also be fun to work backward from a body part to come up with related idioms.

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yamamoto

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Communication Card

[Magical Brain-Training Cards] Communication Cards [Brain Training + Communication]

If you’re looking for a card game that energizes the brain and the heart, this is a must-see! Here’s how to play a communication card game.

The rules are very simple: prepare several cards with prompts such as flowers, animals, colors, or foods.

The person who draws a card names three things related to the word on the card.

For example, if someone draws a card that says “Flowers,” it’s OK if they can name three flower names like tulip, cherry blossom, and dandelion.

It seems great for improving vocabulary and memory! If you add twists to the prompts, like “Something great about the person next to you” or “Something that made you happy recently,” the conversation will definitely take off.

Give it a try!

Enjoy Sports! Pictogram Cards

Pictogram Card No. 016 [Handmade Toy by a Nursery Teacher]

These are cards that use pictograms, familiar from labels of Olympic events.

Sometimes it’s hard to tell which event it is from the pictogram alone.

Let’s have players infer the event by looking at the pictogram’s silhouette.

On the back of each pictogram, include the event name and a clear illustration so players can check the correct answer.

You could also arrange the pictograms in the order of a program listing the event names, among other rules—there are many ways to enjoy these cards.

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kappamaki

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Chinese cuisine card

@firstkidstv

We played a fast-paced Chinese-food-making card game as a family and it was a blast 🤣👍Supersonic RestaurantFamily game

♪ Original Song – First Kids TV – First Kids TV

Feel the irresistible rush! How about enjoying a card game that uses the names of Chinese dishes? Players hold cards with parts of dish names like “tan,” “men,” and “chā.” They take turns quickly stacking their cards onto the plate in the center so that the combined cards form proper dish names.

The player who runs out of cards first wins.

Because you have to instantly recognize dish names and play your cards, it really tests your reflexes and sense for word sounds! It’s a humor-filled game that’s sure to spark laughter with slip-ups and the creation of weird new “dishes.” Give it a try and make your own version at home!

Mix-and-match flag

@hirose_ds

TranslationElderlyRecreationRecriMix togetherFlag#Cognitive functiondeclinePrevention

♬ HandClap – Fitz & the Tantrums

The Mix-and-Match Flags activity also deepens knowledge about colors.

The method is very simple.

First, give participants origami paper in various colors.

Next, present a target color.

If the target is “pink,” for example, one person would hold up red origami and another would hold up white.

The idea is that participants cooperate to create the target color.

If you first explain which color combinations produce which colors, it can also help train memory.

Have everyone work together and enjoy the excitement.

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yamamoto

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