The right board games and cards games can offer elderly entertaining activities to engage with the family and friends. Recent studies also show that board games and cards games can also help the elderly in many other ways, such as improved quality of life, improved symptoms of depression and anxiety, and ameliorated Alzheimer’s Disease’s manifestations.
In this article, we’re going to be covering our best board game suggestions for the elderly. Starting with our suggestions for the less impaired elderly and then suggestions for elderly with Dementia. Additionally, it is important to consider the participants’ other limitations, such as eyesight and ability to handle game pieces.
The Best Board Games for the Elderly
Bananagrams
The fruity word game! Players race against each other to build crossword grids and use all their letter tiles.
Dixit
Each player at his turn plays the storyteller. He is given a single picture, while the other players get a hand of six pictures.
Chess
Chess is a classic strategy board game between two players who are required to protect their kings.
Hive
Hive is a boardless game that builds strategy skills. Hive is a fun game to play, because of its simple rules, yet challenging for its depth.
Scattergories
The Scattergories game is the fast-thinking game of categories and words! roll the die, flip the sand timer, and think of answers to each category on the category list.
Qwirkle
The abstract game of Qwirkle consists of 108 wooden blocks with six different shapes in six different colors. There is no board, players simply use an available flat surface.
Ticket to Ride
Ticket to Ride is a cross-country train adventure game where players collect train cards that enable them to claim railway routes connecting cities throughout North America.
Tsuro
Place a tile and slide your stone along the path created, but take care! Other players’ paths can lead you in the wrong direction—or off the board entirely!
The Best Board Games for Elderly with Dementia
When selecting games for elders with Dementia, you want to prevent selecting complex games that may cause undue stress or highlight their difficulties. It is also beneficial to allow the participants to select the game being played as they can select a game they had learnt in the past.
Uno
UNO® is the classic card game that’s easy to pick up and impossible to put down! Players take turns matching a card in their hand with the current card shown on top of the deck either by color or number.
Qwirkle
The abstract game of Qwirkle consists of 108 wooden blocks with six different shapes in six different colors. There is no board, players simply use an available flat surface.
Jenga
the perfect game for everyone, with edge-of-your-seat, gravity-defying action.
Checkers
the perfect game for everyone, with edge-of-your-seat, gravity-defying action.
Card Games
Card games are a great option because there are many games to select with various levels of difficulty.
Bingo
Bingo is a great game with low complexity and the provides the right amount of mental stimulation.
Looking for more board game suggestions for the elderly? Contact us by clicking here and we’ll help you find the right games! Have suggestions you would like to share, please leave a comment in the comment section below.
