Games and recreational activities enjoyable in a wheelchair
We’ve gathered a selection of recreational games that people who use wheelchairs can enjoy.
When you’re playing together with someone who uses a wheelchair, what kinds of activities do you choose?
If everyone is using a wheelchair, a few ideas might come to mind, but it can be tricky when people who use wheelchairs and those who don’t are playing together, right?
So in this article, we’ve selected not only recreation that can be enjoyed in a wheelchair, but also activities that people who use wheelchairs and those who don’t can enjoy together.
Use this as a reference and have a great time with everyone!
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- [For Seniors] Simple Recreational Activities You Can Enjoy While Seated
- [Sports] Recreational games using a ball [Play]
- [Elementary School] Quick and Easy! Indoor Recreational Activities Perfect for Lower Grades
- A collection of simple indoor recreational games
- Games and activities everyone can enjoy together. A collection of fun play ideas.
- [Simple Games] Recommended Indoor Recreational Activities for Adults
- [For Seniors] Simple Tabletop Games: Fun and Engaging Recreational Activities
- Indoor activities and recreational games recommended for December
- Games you can play with just conversation. Classic and popular activities you can enjoy without any props!
- Play ideas kids can enjoy from 1st to 6th grade [indoors & outdoors]
- [For Seniors] Fun Recreational Activities Without Equipment
- For Seniors: Effective Recreation for Preventing Care Needs—Have Fun While Staying Healthy
Games and Recreational Activities Enjoyable in a Wheelchair (21–30)
Picture shiritori
When I was in elementary school, I wasn’t particularly good at drawing, but I still got super excited about the annual sketching day.
How about you? Let’s try playing “Drawing Shiritori,” a game that’s fun even if you’re in a wheelchair and even if you’re not good at drawing! It’s a popular segment on many variety shows, so it’s sure to be a hit!! The rules are simple: look at the picture the previous person drew, imagine what it is, then draw your own picture and connect them like in regular shiritori.
In fact, it might be even more fun if the drawings aren’t great! Draw on a big sheet of poster paper, and after you’re done, put it up in the hallway or the hall so everyone can see it!
Sukiyaki rock-paper-scissors
Here’s an introduction to a game with a delicious-sounding title: Sukiyaki Rock-Paper-Scissors! It starts with a question like, “What ingredients do you like in sukiyaki?” Each team names six sukiyaki ingredients, draws them, and makes cards.
Then all the cards go into a bag and are mixed.
Now rock-paper-scissors finally comes in: starting with the winners, players draw ingredients from the bag, and the first person to collect all six sukiyaki ingredients wins.
If you draw a duplicate of a card you already have, you have to return it to the bag, so luck plays a role too.
From the drawing phase onward, it’s a recreation activity you can take your time with and really enjoy.
a human head
A familiar TV segment: “What’s in the box?” While it doesn’t seem to appear on television as often in recent years, it’s a well-known game that’s fun even with a large group.
You can put all sorts of things inside, but the real crowd-pleaser is a human head.
For the person reaching in, just feeling something warm and moving is enough to make them think, “Is it alive? Will it bite?”—a heart-pounding moment.
Viewers will laugh at reactions like licking or gentle nibbling, and you’re sure to see screams and big reactions.
The person putting their head in should wear an eye mask or similar for protection, and it can be done safely.
It’s also recommended as entertainment for large events.
Tea dumplings & tea buns
This is a finger game played to a song called “Ocha Dango & Ocha Manju.” For “Ocha Dango,” you answer with the number that adds up to 5 with the number the leader shows.
For example, if the leader shows 2, the correct answer is 3.
“Ocha Manju” works the same way, but you use both hands to show the number that adds up to 10 with the leader’s number.
It’s fun to play to the rhythm, and since you’re thinking as you play, it also works as brain training.
Gather in a circle and enjoy playing together.
Magical Banana
The popular variety show “Magical Brain Power!!,” hosted by Eiji Bando, was something everyone looked forward to every week.
The show spawned many games and became a huge craze among both kids and adults.
The most popular of all was “Magical Banana.” It’s a game that’s still enjoyed today in various forms.
The rules are very simple: you just link associated words—“Magical Banana: when you say banana, you think yellow; when you say yellow, you think sunflower; when you say sunflower, you think summer,” and so on.
It’s a game everyone can enjoy, whether they use a wheelchair or not.
Brimming with nostalgia, it comes highly recommended!