[For Seniors] Test Your Memory!? Ideas for Whiteboard Games
Recreation using a whiteboard is a staple in care settings.
It’s easy to do anytime, anywhere, costs almost nothing, and the appeal is that a wide variety of games can be enjoyed by both small and large groups.
In this article, I’d like to introduce memory games that use a whiteboard.
There are plenty of games that test memory—such as how many words you can recall or what can be inferred from a hint.
They’re perfect for brain training too, so be sure to give them a try.
- Fun Brain Training! Memory Games for Seniors
- [For Seniors] Brain Training with a Whiteboard! Fill-in-the-Blank Exercises & Quizzes
- [For Seniors] Brain-Training Recreation Using a Whiteboard
- [For Seniors] Play Long and Have Fun! A Whiteboard Activity with Brain-Training Elements
- [For Seniors] Fun Brain Training! Lively Whiteboard Activities
- [For Seniors] Brain Training! Recall Quiz Collection!
- Recommended for brain training: a proverb quiz using a whiteboard
- [Brain Training] Lively Word Quiz for Seniors
- [For Seniors] Ideal for Dementia Prevention: Easy-to-Practice Reminiscence Therapy Topics
- [For Seniors] Fun and Engaging Brain-Training Recreation
- [For Seniors] Lively Wordplay Game: Fun Recreation for Elderly Care
- [For Seniors] Brain Training Recommended for Dementia Prevention
- [For Seniors] Great for Brain Training! Question Card Ideas
[For Seniors] Test Your Memory!? Whiteboard Game Ideas (21–30)
Speaking of ◯◯, the ◯◯ game
The “When you think of ◯◯, you think of ◯◯” game is a fun way to recall all kinds of words.
Everyone takes turns saying keywords out loud that come to mind for the theme.
It really livens things up if you choose familiar themes like seasons or events.
You can write them on a whiteboard, or just say them aloud—either works.
Splitting into two teams and competing is fun, too.
It’s a great way for older adults to draw on their rich experiences and knowledge, so you can mix in personal stories and keep a warm, friendly atmosphere.
It also helps stimulate the brain, so why not give it a try?
Common Hiragana Fill-in-the-Blank Quiz
Let me introduce a common-hiragana fill-in-the-blank quiz that’s also effective as brain training.
In these puzzles, there are multiple blanks within a word or phrase, and you fill all the blanks with the same hiragana character.
For example, in “か○○○き,” all the blanks would be filled with “た.” One of the big attractions is that some problems can have multiple correct answers, and you can adjust the difficulty by increasing the number of letters.
Start with around four characters and gradually increase the number of blanks! It also sounds fun to line up multiple words and fill them all with the same hiragana character.
Dice word prompt
How about trying a “Dice Word Challenge,” where you draw lines on a whiteboard to divide it into six sections, put a prompt in each, and have people answer based on the roll? For example, prepare it like: 1.
Drinks 2.
Sports 3.
Place names 4.
Animals 5.
Sweets 6.
Plants.
Then have the participant roll a die and name three items in the category that comes up.
For instance, if they roll a 5, they could answer cake, chocolate, and candy.
If you mix in some light chit-chat about the words they give, the conversation will flow and everyone will have a lively, fun time!
How many can you name? Game
It’s a game where you compete to see how many words that fit a given prompt you can come up with within a time limit.
The key is how smoothly you can pull fitting words from your knowledge.
Choosing the prompt is important too: for example, with patterns like “-n -n” in Japanese, the more possible answers there are, the more your speed in retrieving words from memory is tested.
You can play by challenging yourself solo to see how many you can list, or make it lively in a turn-taking format like the Yamanote Line game.
Arunashi quiz
The “Aru-Nashi” quiz is probably a familiar game for many older adults.
Write one word each under the “aru” (has) and “nashi” (doesn’t have) columns.
After listing a few words under both sides, ask the older adults to answer what the items in the “aru” group have and what the items in the “nashi” group don’t have.
As they think about the answer and have that moment of insight, they can feel the joy and fun of figuring it out.
This kind of feeling is also called an “Aha! experience,” and it’s said to increase blood flow in the brain.
It’s a recreational activity that gets lively even in groups, encouraging conversation and deepening interaction among participants.
Brain training with rock-paper-scissors
It’s a game where you create patterns that switch between rock, scissors, and paper hand shapes, then go through those different patterns in order.
The key is thinking about what shape comes next.
Having players say the shapes out loud while making them is also important; thinking, moving the hands, and speaking at the same time helps activate the brain.
Start at a slow tempo at first, then gradually increase the speed to make it more challenging.
It might be easier if you write the sequence on a board in words so players can refer to it while figuring out the shapes.
A quiz to find the odd-one-out kanji
It’s a game where you look for the odd-one-out kanji whose shape is slightly different from the others that look the same on the board.
Tracing the lined-up characters with your eyes and spotting what feels off helps stimulate the brain.
The more characters there are, the longer it takes to find the odd one out, so it’s recommended to gradually increase the number to really get your brain working.
It could also be fun to aim for missed odd ones by using patterns like kanji with many strokes or subtle differences that are easy to overlook.