Scissors, stone, paper.
It’s only three words, but for some, these five syllables hold the potential to provide hours of entertainment.
Games give us joy and a collaborative atmosphere. They break the ice and allow for social interaction. Be it board games, skill games or computer games – there is an insatiable variety. These can also be appealing to elderly nursing home residents and foster relationships among seniors.
We present some game tipps for seniors in this blogpost:
Crossword
It’s no secret that older people love to do crossword puzzles. However, it is not self-evident that the tasks are adapted to the knowledge of seniors.
Through the game, home residents can be entertained and exercise their memory at the same time.
Board games
When it comes to organizing games for seniors, they should be easy to handle: Large figures and a high-contrast, clear playing field are especially important. A popular candidate among board games for the elderly is Malefix. The players‘ ambition is to move from the starting position at the bottom, to the target position at the top. In doing so, they can put stones in the way of other players and proceed strategically. Other classics such as solitaire, checkers or chess are also well received.
Magnetic drawing board
A drawing board for older people provides a platform for many creative ideas. The large board includes a magnetic pen. This draws metal beads to the surface of the board when the player approaches the pen. This allows users to draw small pictures. Two game variations:
1) One player draws a term, such as an apple, on the board. The other players have to guess which term it is. The players take turns. The player who has guessed the most terms at the end wins.
2) Each player gets a board. A term, for example house, is named and each player has one minute to visualize the word. After 60 seconds, everyone shows their little work of art.
Then it is time to observe: Who has drawn windows in their house? Which of the houses would the players most like to move into? Who has smoke coming out of the chimney?
Revelling in memories
The biography game Life Memories aims to bring past moments to life and facilitate conversations about fond memories. Each card carries a theme and asks appropriate questions of the players.
For example, there is a card titled „Red lips should be kissed.“ The associated questions are „Who was your first really great love?“, „How did you meet?“ and „What did your parents say about that?“.
The questions encourage seniors to tell each other about their memorable moments. If the home residents have photos from their lives with them, they can share those as well.
