It doesn’t matter how old we get, games will always be the one thing that takes us back to being a 10-year-old who loved games. Elderly people are no exception to this, while they may not have the mobility for all the games we used to enjoy as a child, there are still several games that can enjoy and play.
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Playing games has several advantages for people of all ages and even the elderly.
Some advantages are as follows:
The majority of games can be readily adjusted to fit the player, even though some older players may have physical or cognitive limitations. You can find shorter games that last five to ten minutes for persons with short attention spans, or you can find card or board games with larger lettering.
A few senior citizen-friendly gaming categories are presented here, along with some inspiration to help you narrow down your options.
Researchers discovered that regular participation in memory, reasoning, and mental speed exercises led to significant increases in brain function in a study involving almost 2,800 seniors. These cognitive benefits continued for the next five years, demonstrating how simple it is to maintain mental acuity with a minimal time commitment.
The outcomes were significantly better when a range of activities were used, thus it could be beneficial to discover novel and possibly more difficult methods to play. Board games are a typical source of activities that stimulate different brain regions, and most seniors can pick them up and play them with ease.
Jigsaw puzzles help us to sharpen our minds and develop our visual-spatial perception, memory, and also logic. Additionally, they have been found to reduce blood pressure and slow down our heart rate, thus helping us to relieve stress and relax. Also, there is a range of puzzles that have been specifically made for the residents of the dementia care homes.
Ubungo is an abstract puzzle game invented by a Swedish game designer and it can be played by 2-4 players. In Ubongo, you’ll be working as a team with your very own fellow players to unlock the various puzzles of interlocking geometric shapes the fastest to accumulate your gem collection.
A fun game that can be played solely by a group of people, Cranium includes several types of riddles such as acting, sculpting, drawing, and music. Work with other players to move around the board and carry out the many tasks. These challenges can be so tricky, so watch out for the ones that make you draw with your eyes closed, spell words backward, and hum a song – usually with hilarious consequences!
Cluedo is a murder mystery game that has been a very classic family favorite since the 1940s. In Cluedo, each player tries to figure out the murder puzzle through logic, to find out who, with which weapon, and in which room committed the crime. There are different versions of Cluedo from which you can choose, and many of them have very fun themes such as Game of Thrones, Harry Potter, and many more.
A timeless classic, chess, and checkers sharpen your reasoning and strategic play as you devise a way to checkmate your opponent. For chess or checkers, it will be a must to apply strategy, think ahead, and try not to let your opponent know your next move. Both the games have been found helpful in improving attention, concentration, and memory, by thinking back to the previous games and combinations of moves. Alternatively, why not add the element of time to increase suspense?
A fun game with our family, in Ticket to Ride, students work to collect railway routes that take them to most cities around the globe. There are lots of different options for Ticket to Ride such as Poland, San Francisco, Europe, Amsterdam, and London, just to mention a few. Ticket to Ride which is a game appropriate for all age groups is an excellent choice for beginners or those who prefer a quieter game.
Through a nicely illustrated and somewhat eccentric board game, Dixit allows you to play with your imagination and creativity to deceive other players and move on the board. The players then take turns in being the ‘ storyteller’, fabricating a sentence for a picture card that they have chosen. The other players draw the rest of the cards they think best match the sentence, and everyone votes for the one they think the storyteller has drawn. Filled with unexpected turns game is both harmless and amusing in itself.
Along with those classic board games, Scrabble will be a game to be played by all who love words, when they spot letter patterns and connect words altogether to win points. Partner with two to four people and take your vocabulary to the next level. Moreover, you can challenge a computer in Scrabble or compete with other online players.
A card game like Blackjack, UNO is an attractive card game where players have to finish their cards by matching the color of it with the upturned card at the top of the deck. The game is called UNO because when players have only one card they are left with, they need to say ‘UNO’ or pay a penalty. UNO is an easy game for the entire family to play.
A great card game that has the perfect time-killing effects, Solitaire could even be played as a computer game. If you have a little free time, and you want to quit playing solitaire, you can create different versions of it: Klondike (classic version), Pyramid solitaire, Golf solitaire, and Yukon.
Therefore, we can say that elderly people too have games that they can enjoy and play. Companionship is a crucial part of any person’s life especially for elderly people, and games like these can be super beneficial for the elderly people to have a enjoyable evening.
