Playing board games in older age can be especially important, as numerous studies have shown that it plays a significant role in keeping the mind sharp and maintaining cognitive abilities. Regular playing of board games contributes to improvements in brain function and may reduce the risk of dementia in older age. Board games not only strengthen memory and problem-solving skills but also improve social interactions, thereby reducing the feeling of loneliness among older adults. Additionally, board games provide an entertaining and communal activity that helps older people actively engage in a social environment, thus supporting emotional well-being and a positive outlook on life.
Board Games for the Elderly: A Guide
Of course, the role of grandparents is also very important, but this time we won't focus on that. We would like to recommend board games that, according to experience, are often enjoyed by the older generation, so it might be worth trying them out in your own families. And don't forget, this isn't just about your older parents or grandparents; it's also about you, because playing these games can bring a whole new quality to your relationships.
Here are five popular board games that are particularly recommended for older players:
Ticket to Ride
Ticket to Ride is a true classic and an excellent introductory game, as its rules are not too complex, yet there is plenty to think about.
Players collect train cards to claim railway routes on the board, aiming to connect cities based on their destination tickets. Longer routes and completed tickets score more points, but incomplete routes result in penalties. The player with the most points at the end wins the game.
Tools
1 game board, 240 train car pieces, 110 train cards, 30 destination ticket cards, 5 scoring markers, and a rulebook.
Skills Developed
The game enhances strategic planning, decision-making, route optimization, and spatial reasoning, as players must carefully choose and connect railway routes while blocking opponents.
Carcassonne will be featured here once we add it to our collection!
Codenames
The classic Codenames in a picture version, which makes it playable with younger children as well.
Tools
A standard Codenames box includes 200 double-sided word cards, 40 key cards, 16 agent cards (red and blue), 1 assassin card, 7 innocent bystander cards, a sand timer, and a rulebook
Skills Developed
The game develops critical thinking, word association, teamwork, deduction, and communication skills.
Azul
Beautiful tile-laying strategy game.
Tools
100 resin tiles, 4 player boards, 9 factory displays, 4 scoring markers, 1 starting player marker, 1 linen bag.
Skills Developed
Strategic thinking, pattern recognition, planning ahead.
Dixit
Dixit is a card game that invites players to rely on their intuition and imagination to guess which card one player, the storyteller, is describing.
In Dixit, one player is the storyteller for the turn and makes up a sentence or phrase that might describe one of their cards. Then, each player selects a card from their own hand that they feel best matches the storyteller's description, and after shuffling and revealing the cards, all players except the storyteller vote on which card they believe belongs to the storyteller.
Tools
Dixit includes a deck of 84 unique, beautifully illustrated cards, a game board, six wooden rabbit tokens as player markers, and 36 voting tokens in six different colors.
Skills Developed
Dixit develops creativity, abstract thinking, and social interaction skills as players interpret and guess the story behind the images.
These games are not only fun but also help maintain cognitive abilities and offer great opportunities for building intergenerational relationships.
Personal Experiences with Board Gaming in the Family
A few years ago, I also started buying board games for my mother (now 63 years old), and I'm very proud of her because she plays a lot nowadays. She plays with her own mother (who is 82 years old), with her partner (also 63 years old), with me and my wife, and with her grandchild as well. Today, they have quite a collection on their shelf: Axio Rota, Azul, Kwatro, Punto, Qwirkle, Rummikub, Tantrix, Word Bits, Word Winder. There are also games from my collection that we've played together and they now own: Abszolút megvadult betűk (Hungarian roll and write board game), Kiwi. I think this is a pretty impressive list.
In our case, the involvement started with Qwirkle; we played it a lot, and several members of our family received it as a gift from my mother. The next success was Kwatro, and now, for over a year, Rummikub has been the game that trumps everything else. Let's take a closer look at these three games:
Qwirkle
Take it or leave it? That’s all there is to it—yet every decision makes you sweat.
Players take turns placing tiles in a shared grid, matching either colors or shapes in a row or column. The more tiles placed in a sequence, the higher the score. A Qwirkle (a full set of six matching tiles) earns bonus points. The player with the highest score at the end wins.
Tools
108 wooden tiles featuring six different shapes in six different colors.
Skills Developed
This game enhances pattern recognition, strategic thinking, spatial awareness, and planning skills, as players must carefully place tiles to maximize their points.
Kwatro will be featured here once we add it to our collection!
Rummikub will be featured here once we add it to our collection!
Of course, any other list can work too; these are just the games I have had good experiences with. The important thing to remember is that board games are not just for children or young adults; they're for all of us. So, if there's an older person in your family who you think would enjoy board gaming, then find a suitable game and go for it, game on!
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