Lovely senior life

[For Seniors] Collection of Pet Bottle Cap Puzzle Challenges

[For Seniors] Collection of Pet Bottle Cap Puzzle Challenges

Last updated:2025/6/3

Social worker / Care workermoko
My name is Moko, a mother of three who admired my mother and worked in the care industry as a care worker and as a medical social worker (MSW) in a hospital. I will be drawing on my previous experience to write mainly about caregiving. Thank you in advance.
Worked as a certified care worker for 17 years.Nanaka
I’ve been working as a certified care worker for 17 years. I’m Nanaka, a caregiving web writer. I decided to pursue this profession because I wanted a job that would help people. Having worked in day care for many years, I’ve experienced a wide variety of recreational activities. Exercise set to music, in particular, always created a cheerful atmosphere and was very well received. I’d be delighted to continue delivering writing that resonates with readers through caregiving-related articles. Thank you for your support.

There are many recreational activities that make use of plastic bottle caps, aren’t there? Among them, have you heard of the plastic bottle cap puzzle, which is recommended for preventing dementia? It’s a recreation that uses sheets with pictures or letters and matching caps that have the corresponding pictures or letters on them.

Because small caps are used, it helps with hand and finger rehabilitation and also stimulates the brain.

In this article, we introduce a variety of prompts you can use for plastic bottle cap puzzles.

There are a wide range of ideas—from simple pictures and numbers to national flags and difficult kanji—so please choose prompts that match the physical and mental condition of the elderly participants.

[For Seniors] Collection of PET Bottle Cap Puzzle Challenges (1–10)

prefectural capital

One-Question Drill to Memorize Prefectural Capitals: Mnemonics for the Capitals of Japan’s 47 Prefectures / Listen-Only / Geography

prefectural capital

There are 47 prefectures in Japan, right? How about a plastic bottle cap puzzle with the capital of each prefecture written on it? Write the prefectural capitals on both the caps and the sheet.

It might be nice to make the sheet look like a map of Japan.

Some seniors will likely have connections to certain prefectures where they live or where they’re from.

They may have memories tied to those regions and feel nostalgic about the past.

It seems like this game could spark lively conversations about memories from all over Japan.

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Road sign

[Road Signs / Traffic Signs] A video for adults to learn road signs. Kids can learn numbers from 1 to 100 at the same time.

Road sign

There are many different road signs.

Even when taking a walk with older adults, you may come across signs.

Many signs seem to have similar designs.

Apparently, even the pedestrian signs come in several varieties.

Write the same sign on a cap and on a sheet, and have the older adults match them.

Since many look alike, you can almost hear cheerful laughter and comments like, “Oops, I got it wrong.” It might also be nice to share little trivia about road signs while doing the puzzle.

Gaining new knowledge could make it an even more enjoyable time for the older adults.

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Kanji with the shinnyō radical

Try listing as many kanji with the shinnyō (辶) radical as you can!

Kanji with the shinnyō radical

Let me introduce a kanji PET-bottle-cap puzzle.

There are many kanji in Japan, and by using radicals such as the ones for “fish,” “tree,” or “metal,” you can create an interesting puzzle game.

For example, write kanji that include the shinnyō radical—such as 進, 辺, 逆, and 遊—on caps and on a sheet.

Then place the cap with the matching kanji onto the corresponding kanji on the sheet that has the shinnyō radical.

You can also color the kanji on the sheet and the caps.

Through this puzzle game, you might even discover an unexpected side of older adults, such as their deep knowledge of kanji.

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Olympic sports pictograms

Tokyo 2020 Olympics Moving Pictograms – All 50 Events | TOKYO Olympic Pictograms

Olympic sports pictograms

The pictograms used on emergency exit signs.

Pictograms are symbols that convey information or warnings through pictures and diagrams.

There are also pictograms inspired by Olympic events.

At the Paris 2024 Games in France, there were reportedly 62 pictograms in total, including both the Olympics and the Paralympics.

I think many older adults are also interested in the Olympics.

A bottle-cap puzzle that uses the pictograms from the Olympics held in Japan in the familiar year of 2020 would likely be a hit.

It might even remind some people of the Tokyo Olympics held in 1964.

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Kanji for sports

[Difficult Kanji Related to Sports] Impressive if You Can Read Them! A Challenging Kanji Quiz on Ball Sports (20 Questions in Total)

Kanji for sports

There are probably many seniors who look forward to sports news on TV and in the newspapers.

Sports like baseball and the Olympics can be enjoyable just to watch.

Some seniors may have played sports as a hobby in the past.

In that case, a sports-themed plastic bottle cap puzzle could be a great way to engage them.

Write the names of sports in kanji on the caps and place them on a sheet with the same sport written on it.

The sheet could also include illustrations of the sports.

We’d love for them to enjoy a kanji-based sports puzzle while getting into the spirit of sports.

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The 24 solar terms

Twenty-Four Solar Terms: Origins and How to Remember Them!

The 24 solar terms

In the traditional calendar that divides the year into the four seasons of spring, summer, autumn, and winter, there are the 24 solar terms, including the spring equinox, summer solstice, and autumn equinox.

The winter solstice—when people customarily eat pumpkin and red beans—is also one of these 24 solar terms.

Furthermore, each of the four seasons is subdivided into six parts.

Even today, this calendar remains indispensable for agricultural work.

So, let’s try a 24 solar terms puzzle.

Place bottle caps labeled with the 24 solar terms onto a sheet that also lists them.

Try getting creative with the sheet by arranging it in a circle with the sun at the center, or by dividing it with colors that evoke spring, summer, autumn, and winter.

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Kanji of country names

[Kanji Country Name Quiz] Country names in kanji <40 countries>

Kanji of country names

In Japan, country names are often written in katakana.

However, when written in kanji, some countries use surprisingly unexpected characters.

So, let me introduce a bottle-cap puzzle that uses country names in kanji.

Prepare a sheet with one character missing from the kanji spelling of each country.

Then, place plastic bottle caps labeled with single kanji characters into the blanks.

It’s fun to create these kanji sheets over a world map, and it also serves as a hint.

Have participants imagine each country, think about the appropriate kanji, and place the caps accordingly.

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