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

A game where you create prefecture names using 16 katakana characters

[Elderly Recreation] Rec Master Series Part 16: 'Find the Prefecture'

Let me introduce a fun thinking game where you create Japanese prefecture names using 16 katakana characters.

Write one katakana character per square on a sheet, preparing a paper with 16 characters.

Then, combine the katakana to see how many prefecture names you can form and compete for the highest count.

It’s likely to get lively if you split into teams, set a time limit at each table, and take on the challenge.

It’s also a fun game that can help prevent cognitive decline and stimulate communication, so give it a try.

You might discover something new!

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mayumi

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Hiragana cards

Hiragana Card Game

This is a game where you use a set of kana cards laid out in the playing area to make as many words as possible within a time limit.

You can play with various patterns, such as specifying the number of characters—like “two-character words”—or setting themes, such as “names of vegetables.” If someone gets stuck playing alone because they can’t think of words, it’s recommended to play in teams and cooperate.

You can make it challenging by limiting the available characters, or ramp up the excitement by adding more full sets of the 50-sound kana to broaden the range of words.

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kappamaki

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nervous breakdown

[Senior Recreation] Onigiri Concentration (Memory Game)

Let’s make the classic concentration (memory) game with handmade cards so it’s simpler and more fun! Here’s one example.

Draw a single rice ball (onigiri) on each postcard-sized card, and on the back, draw or paste a picture of a filling that would go inside the onigiri.

To make the memory game work, be sure to prepare the pictures in pairs—two or four of each, or any even number.

Once you’re done, just play concentration! You can even allow about 10 seconds to memorize where the cards are.

It’s not only a brain workout—it’s also visually fun because the cards feature food!

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SAKI

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Colorful Card Rec: Fish Edition Quiz

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

From the familiar to the unfamiliar, you can freely adjust the difficulty! Introducing the Fish Radical Quiz.

There are so many kanji that use the fish radical, and their readings change dramatically depending on the character on the right.

In this quiz, you keep switching the right-hand component and guess how the kanji is read.

Thinking about which fish it might represent mobilizes memory, reasoning, and language comprehension, providing excellent cognitive stimulation.

It also encourages lively communication among participants with fish-related topics.

Using colorful cards makes it visually fun too—be sure to make some and give it a try!

Urashima Tarō Game

Win by luck without trying! The Urashima Taro card game is effective brain training for seniors.

Watch out for the tamatebako! Let me introduce a Urashima Taro card game.

First, prepare 18 Urashima Taro cards, 9 Princess Otohime cards, 9 Tamatebako (mystery box) cards, and 18 Turtle cards.

Stack them all face down.

Take turns flipping one card at a time.

If you reveal Urashima Taro and a Turtle, you get 1 point.

If you reveal a Tamatebako, you get 0 points and all the cards you’re holding are confiscated.

If you reveal Princess Otohime, you get 1 point, plus you reclaim any confiscated cards and may draw 2 additional cards.

The player with the most points from the cards they’re holding at the end wins.

Since which card appears is entirely up to luck, even people who aren’t confident at card games can enjoy it casually.

Give it a try!

Mackerel and Spanish mackerel: a game where you only take the cards with the same kanji

Card battling game, two types, elderly people, recreation, day service, rec activities, caregiving, indoor game, party, game

If you want to train your visual discrimination, try this! Here’s a game where you only grab cards with the same kanji.

First, write two similar-looking kanji—such as 鯖 and 鰆—on cards, making sure each one appears the same number of times.

When the game begins, one person quickly gathers all the mackerel (saba) cards, while the other quickly gathers all the Spanish mackerel (sawara) cards.

The player who gathers all of their cards first wins.

Because you have to instantly tell apart similar shapes, it naturally boosts fine visual recognition, and it also seems to improve concentration and decision-making.

It’s fun to include a variety of kanji, symbols, or pictures, too.

Give it a try for inspiration!

Proverb Match

[Senior Recreation] Card Game: Proverb Matching!

Let me introduce a proverb matching game that stimulates your vocabulary while having fun.

First, prepare 20–30 proverbs and write the first half and second half on separate cards.

Lay the cards out randomly on a table and look for pairs that form complete proverbs by matching the first halves with the second halves.

Because it uses familiar Japanese proverbs, it encourages you to revisit your memory, rediscover culture and general knowledge, and activate cognitive functions.

The sense of achievement when you find the correct pair can also boost self-esteem! It will be even more exciting if you split into teams or pairs and work together.

Please give it a try.