9 Fun and Engaging Memory Games for Seniors: Puzzles, Card Games, and More

Simple ball games typically played by children reduce agitated behavior and increase cognitive performance in individuals with Alzheimer’s disease.^[01] Physical activity releases dopamine and serotonin and keeps the brain engaged, helping with common dementia symptoms and improving the brain’s performance.

Some easy ball games for seniors with less mobility can include:

• Tossing a ball back and forth
• Playing catch
• Kicking a ball back and forth

Chess and bingo offer more than a fun pastime and friendly competition for seniors. These cognitive games for elderly seniors can slow cognitive decline and improve the quality of life.^[02,03]

These games are common among the elderly in care homes and nursing homes. You can also try playing them at home to engage your loved one:

• Chess involves complex planning, strategizing using an array of specific moves, and countering an opponent’s surprising attacks.
• Scrabble is excellent for early stages of dementia, especially when played with larger tiles. It fosters language play through tile shuffling, not just vocabulary retention.
• Snakes and ladders, an ancient Indian classic of climbing ladders and sliding down snakes, involves the use of counting skills via rolls of dice and provides a sense of accomplishment and overall fun.
• Dominoes, played by matching like numbers on one half of a game piece to those on another,is a notably social game that encourages anticipation and excitement.^[04] It also hones number and pattern recognition simultaneously.
• Bingo stimulates multiple senses, including hearing, sight, and touch. It promotes social interaction, and it can easily be modified based on personal abilities by using smaller or larger cards, playing multiple cards, etc.

Newer board games on the rise

New memory games may take some time to learn, but they can be more enjoyable for some seniors. They’re just as effective as the classics, but with some fresh new twists.

If you’re loved one’s ready for something new, try out the following stimulating board games:

• Qwirkle flexes the brain through tactical strategy and forward thinking. It provides a challenge while still being easy to play. This game involves matching colors and shapes while also using math and strategy to achieve the highest scores. It helps players hone recognition, planning, and problem-solving skills.
• PicLink involves 36 photo tiles that can be categorized by subject and color. The game is designed to improve a player’s short-term memory and ability to associate like attributes while encouraging engaging conversation.
• Call to Mind is designed specifically with memory care patients in mind. With easy-to-understand rules, this game guides players through reminiscence and conversation. It boosts morale and self-esteem for all players and improves memory recall. Moreover, it gives caregivers insight into the thought processes and emotions of loved ones with Alzheimer’s or another type of dementia.

It’s important to consider the following when shopping for a new game for your loved one:

• Overly complex games can cause confusion and frustration, potentially drawing more attention to what your loved one can’t do rather than what they can.
• Time-sensitive games can add unnecessary pressure and stress.
• Some games include small pieces that can present a choking hazard.
• Games with loud noises or bright lights and colors can cause discomfort and agitation in those with dementia.
• Too much physicality may lead to stress, confusion, or aggravation.

Jigsaw puzzles are a fun, low-stress activity for seniors that promote visuospatial cognitive abilities.^[05] This refers to the ability to imagine objects, create large shapes out of small components, and understand differences and similarities between objects.

Puzzles also engage touch perception, which is the brain’s ability to understand sensations and information coming from the skin. They can help reduce anxiety and distract busy, wandering minds.

Perfect for time alone, or as a group activity for an added element of connection and socialization, here are some different puzzles your loved one might enjoy.

Sudoku

Sudoku is a great number puzzle game that can strengthen short-term memory, pattern recognition, and general critical thinking skills.

Careful thought and concentration are essential to complete each puzzle. This benefits a person’s working memory and overall mental function.

Carefully introducing an online, timed version of sudoku may help improve response speed.

Wooden tangram puzzles

Wooden tangram puzzles come with different shapes of laminated wood pieces that a player matches to a template.

The game engages fine motor skills, improves thinking skills, sharpens visual-spatial awareness, and enhances creativity. Tangrams are also meditative and soothing, helping reduce stress and anxiety caused by mental decline.

Jigsaw puzzles

These classic puzzles come in various sizes and complexities, which makes them perfect for seniors with both early- and late-stage dementia. Jigsaw puzzles help reduce stress, encourage fine motor skills, and improve visual perception.

Studies indicate that, over time, they may also help players improve their processing speed, mental flexibility, and episodic memory.^[05] This is a person’s ability to recall specific, life-shaping memories like their first day of school or a first kiss.

For an added effect, try creating your own puzzle with an image that’s meaningful to your loved one. Whether it’s a cherished family photo or a picture of their favorite vacation spot, the image will add sentimentality and help spark nostalgic memories for your loved one.

Read more:5 Best Puzzles for Dementia Patients

Let our care assessment guide you

Simple games are the best memory games for elderly seniors. A game where a senior has to match or pair things is great for exercising different parts of the brain. Here are some simple matching games.

Memory cards

Memory cards help seniors with their short-term memory as they try to memorize the placement of cards.

Here’s how to play:

• Get a deck of memory picture cards, or lay out a deck of playing cards, and place them face down on a flat surface.
• Then, take turns flipping over two cards at a time to try to match them. If they match, the player gets to keep them and take another turn. If they don’t match, they flip the cards back over and the turn goes on to the next player.
• The player with the most pairs wins in the end.

Sequence games

Sequence games involve memorizing a sequence of colors, numbers, shapes, images, music notes, etc. The player first looks at a sequence and tries to recreate it to match the original. This helps seniors with the recall function of their brain.

Solitaire, blackjack, crazy eights, and go fish are common games for the elderly in nursing homes. They’re fun, inexpensive ways to connect with friends, and they stimulate the mind.

Benefits of card games include the following:

• Encourage socialization and friendly competition
• Stimulate the brain through mental math, problem-solving, and encouraging quick response times
• Exercise the fingers and hands through shuffling, dealing, and discarding
• Are adaptable for mild cognitive decline by adjusting gameplay or using large print playing cards

Read more:Easy Card Games for Dementia Patients: The Science Behind the Entertainment

Word games encourage attention to detail and reduce stress. Searching for words in a grid can improve a senior’s visual and spatial perception. The games also build problem-solving skills, brainstorming, and use of critical thinking.

Some of the most popular word games include:

• Word searches
• Crosswords
• Hangman

Word searches and crosswords are inexpensive memory games for seniors. You can buy affordable booklets in-store, print free word games at home, or download free apps on a senior’s tablet or smartphone.

While word games can be fun and mentally stimulating, keep in mind that they could also cause stress or agitation in seniors with late-stage dementia. As you play, stay aware of your loved one’s behavior, and recognize when it’s time to stop.

To make these games more approachable, make sure the word puzzles have large print and don’t use diagonal or backward words. This way, the game remains easy yet challenging enough to hold your loved one’s interest.

Talk with a Senior Living Advisor

Using the five senses is a great way to exercise different parts of the brain, which could help with a senior’s overall memory function. Here are some games associated with each sense to help your senior loved one engage and recall.

Touch

A recent game that’s been popular on the internet and in some senior living communities is blindly guessing an object by feeling it.

Place random objects with different textures to confuse the player and get them to engage their brain. You can use household objects like a hairbrush or crayon. Or, make it harder with objects like a peeled grape or a bushy plant.

Taste

To engage a senior’s taste buds, you can do a blind taste test. This could include different types of drinks or snacks.

To play this, the player closes their eyes or puts on a blindfold when trying the food or drink. For example, you can use different sodas and try to guess each one.

To make it harder, you can include different brands of the same flavor, like Pepsi versus Coca-Cola or Fanta versus Sunkist.

Smell

Scents are often associated with memories, so this is a great way to promote reminiscence and get the brain thinking. For an easy game to engage the brain and nose, you can dab essential oils on cotton balls or hold up fragrant items in front of a blindfolded individual to see if they can identify the smell correctly.

Hearing

To engage listening skills, you can play a game of “guess the song.” Play some of their favorite artists or songs from their childhood to help them with recall and association.

Sight

You can set up a scavenger hunt or a bingo game where your loved one can look for certain objects and cross them off. Try giving the games a theme and include clues to help them think creatively.

To keep up with digital space, memory games have expanded into apps. Nowadays, there are specific apps that may help improve the ability to complete day-to-day tasks, like shopping and managing finances, and they may generally help keep the mind sharp.

The following top-rated online games help reduce stress and provide a sense of accomplishment while targeting skills like a senior’s response speed, problem-solving skills, and ability to strategize.

• Lumosity is a leading phone app featuring over 50 brain-training games and puzzles. Each challenge tests memory, attention, flexibility, and problem-solving skills.
• BrainHQ is a brain-training app built on years of research in neurological science and related medicine. It delivers a variety of online exercises that work out attention, brain speed, interpersonal skills, navigation, and intelligence.

A recent study on brain training smartphone apps showed seniors who played BrainHQ experienced a sizable improvement in executive function, working memory, and reaction time.^[06]

Read more:Best Dementia Apps for Seniors and Their Caregivers

If these options don’t appeal to your loved one, you can search for free printable memory games for seniors online, or look for booklets filled with puzzles for aging adults at a store near you. You can also download some of these memory games as apps, so your aging loved one can play anywhere on their tablet or smartphone.

Whether you prefer electronics or the tried-and-true classics, any investment in a memory game is an investment in the prolonged comfort and well-being of your loved one. There are no clinically proven ways to reverse the effects of Alzheimer’s and other types of dementia. However, memory games can help combat normal, age-related mental decline.

If you’re concerned about caring for someone experiencing memory loss, you may want to seek expert care. Reach out to a Senior Living Advisor at A Place for Mom to find the right care option for your situation.