Fun Brain Training! Memory Games for Seniors

Fuzzy Memory Quiz

[Today's Rec] "August 20 (Sat)" Easy indoor recreation using a whiteboard: "Vague Memory Quiz"

This is a quiz where you’re asked to identify the exact shapes or sequences of things you casually see in everyday life.

The choice of questions—like traffic light colors or corporate logos—is an important point, and the more something blends into daily life, the harder it is to recall accurately.

If you sketch what vaguely comes to mind on a whiteboard, it can help organize your memory and bring you closer to the answer.

By retracing your own memories and clearly imagining the shapes, let’s work on stimulating your brain.

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kappamaki

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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!

Letter Display Game

[Senior Recreation] Easy Activities Using a Whiteboard [Day Service Recreation, Brain Training, Preventive Care]

Let’s try a “letter-picking game” using hiragana magnets and a whiteboard! In this game, you pick one magnet with a letter from the a-ka-sa-ta-na rows, decide a theme based on the letter that comes up, and give an answer.

For example, for place names or countries that start with “a,” answers could be Akita Prefecture or America.

You can prepare a variety of themes in advance, or let older adults choose the themes—it should be fun either way.

Since it can be played while seated and is effective as brain training, it’s perfect for recreational activities in senior care facilities.

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moko

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Brain training with Rock-Paper-Scissors on Mito Komon

[Dementia Prevention • Hand Exercises] Brain Training with Rock-Paper-Scissors to the Tune of Mito Kōmon!

Many older adults have probably watched the drama Mito Kōmon at least once, don’t you think? It’s about Mito Kōmon traveling around Japan, and the show’s theme song is famous too.

Using the theme song “Aa Jinsei ni Namida Ari,” let’s do a finger-play activity with the rock-paper-scissors motions.

Clap your hands, make a fist (rock) with one hand and pull it toward yourself, while making a hand (paper) with the other and extend it forward.

Another pattern is: clap your hands, make a fist (rock) with one hand and extend it forward, then use scissors to pull it back.

It might be easier for older adults to participate if it’s a song they already know.

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Nakajima Junko

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Brain-training hand game drawing different shapes with each hand

[If you can do it, that’s amazing] Please put out your right hand.

In everyday life, we rarely make different movements with our left and right sides.

So when we do, the unfamiliar motions stimulate the brain and help activate it.

This time, try making a right triangle with the fingers of your right hand, and move the fingers of your left hand up and down.

It’s a simple motion, but surprisingly challenging.

Your right and left fingers might end up doing the same thing.

Still, by thinking through the movements, you activate your brain.

When you’re doing something you’re used to, the brain supposedly doesn’t get activated.

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Nakajima Junko

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Word association game about spring

Brain Training: Word Association Game — Spring

Let me introduce a “word association game” that’s fun to play while chatting and can accommodate any group size, from a few people to many.

Given a prompt like “What comes to mind when you hear ___?”, say aloud as many associated words as you can think of.

Writing all the answers on a whiteboard so everyone can see helps prevent duplicates and also uses existing answers as hints to spark further associations.

Reflecting on your own experiences and thinking about words, seasonal foods, culture, and other commonalities with the topic engages the brain, which may help prevent cognitive decline.

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kojifumi

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Who am I? Animal edition

[Three-Hint Quiz] Who am I? <Theme: Zoo> 5 Easy Quiz Questions!!

Let me introduce a game where you guess an animal based on three clues: “Who am I?” As each hint is given, you get closer to the answer, so by the final hint you should be able to figure it out.

You can show the questions, but you can also run the game for a large group by reading them aloud without showing them.

This creates the dual task of memorizing the prompts and thinking while remembering, which stimulates the brain.

It’s a recommended activity because it’s fun and may help prevent cognitive decline.

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kojifumi

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