In this article, we have reviewed the best board games for the elderly. If you are in a hurry, the table below gives a quick snapshot of the top ones.
Contents
Are your parents or loved ones above the age of 55? If yes, then they can fall victim to dementia. There are about 5 million people in America over the age of 55 that have age-related dementia.[1]
Your loved ones can have impaired judgment and memory loss as a Dementia patient. Due to this frequent memory loss, they will require special care and treatment.
One of the best ways to keep your elderly loved ones engaged while adding fun and excitement to their lives is to gift them classic board games. There are plenty of these games available in the market that can help such patients sharpen their abilities while also having fun.
Let us have a look at some of the best board games for the elderly.
Our Top Choice – Monopoly Classic Game
The Monopoly Classic Game is our top choice for Best Board Games For The Elderly because of the following reasons:
- Classic board game enjoyable to people of all different age groups.
- Multiplayer game, you can play this game with four or five family members or friends.
- It does include smart decision-making and thinking carefully.
- Your thinking ability will sharpen due to playing this game.
- This classic board game has excellent longevity.
Best Board Games For The Elderly
#1 Monopoly Classic Game
This Monopoly classic game is among the best board games for the elderly as it is a thrilling and entertaining game. You can play this board game along with your family and friends. It is a simple board game with a lot of fun and exciting aspects.
Features and Benefits
- Capture And Win: You need to capture a maximum number of pieces or areas on the board to win. It is a fast-paced board game that will continue to excite you for a very long time. You get many additional accessories with this game, such as fake money, property cards, and so on.
- Smart: This game involves fake money and property. You will have to make essential decisions considering the number of resources that you have. The player with the maximum net worth wins at the end.
- Longevity: This classic board game has longevity in comparison to other standard board games. You are very unlikely to have two games identical to each other. Every time you play this game, the whole experience would be different as it also depends upon the players you are playing with.
- Versatile: You can play this board game with people of all different age groups, such as your spouse, children, grandchildren, or friends. This classic board game has other fun and captivating elements that cater to engage all the people.
Why should you buy it?
You should buy this classic board game as it is enjoyable and entertaining. The concept of competing against your family members and friends is very thrilling. You will experience great fun and joy when you emerge victorious after playing this classic board game. This classic and timeless strategy play is our top choice among the best board games for the elderly.
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#2 Yahtzee Board Game
This Yahtzee classic board game is also a traditional yet entertaining game. This game’s main objective is to get a full house or all the numbers on your scorecard. You will experience the fun and thrill while playing this game with your loved ones.
Features and Benefits
- Ergonomic: This game has a casino-style design. This design also includes a superior dice shaker or mixer. You have to keep or put the dice inside the shaker and let them fall on the board.
- Multiplayer: There is no limit to the number of people you can play this game with. You get over 100 scorecards with this classic board game. The minimum number of players needed to play and enjoy this game is two players.
- High Quality: All the components of this board game, including the board, dice, scorecards, are made from high-quality and superior materials. These components would remain as good as new even if you use or play the game very regularly.
- Fun: This game is entertaining and exciting, due to which it’s a great recreational product for the elderly. Older adults often suffer from boredom and loneliness. These people can use this game to participate in a fun activity.
Why should you buy it?
You should buy this Yahtzee board game as it is a great ice breaker or a fun activity. You can play this game with your friends and family members whenever you get together. It is also a great way to pass the time when you feel bored. It is one of the best board games for the elderly.
#3 Days Of Wonder Ticket To Ride Board Game
This ticket-to-ride board game is a classic cross-country adventure game. The player will travel across the country on the board, collecting matching cards. You can use these cards you get to retrieve or unlock iconic train routes so that you can cover the continent.
Features and Benefits
- Fast: This board game is a fast-paced action game. You can complete one round or game of this game from anywhere between 30 minutes to 60 minutes depending upon the number of players playing the game.
- Simple: This classic board game has a simple design with basic rules. You can play this game with your loved ones without needing to explain a complex game to them. Playing the game will create a fun and exciting environment that involves other players as well.
- Multiplayer: The number of players that can simultaneously play this board game is between two to six players. Playing this game is a delightful task or activity that can lighten up your friends or family.
- Smart: This board game is ideal for the elderly to play this game even when alone. You can play it with Amazon Alexa by using your echo devices.
Why should you buy it?
You should buy this classic board game as it is compatible with every Amazon Echo device. You can use the Alexa feature of these devices to read the rules and regulations of this game, and you will not need a traditional rulebook due to this feature.
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#4 Scrabble Board Game
This scrabbles. The board game is one of the most intuitive and fun board games. You will seriously work up your brain muscles while playing this game. People experience a high level of thinking and concentration by playing this classic board game regularly.
Features and Benefits
- Multiplayer: You can play this game with a maximum of four players as this classic board game has four sides and four tile slots. You can spend quality time with your friends and family members while playing this game.
- Smart: Improve your vocabulary by playing this game regularly. You even get a comprehensive guide or manual that explains all the instructions of the board game.
- Versatile: This classic board game is very versatile. There are a variety of scoring and playing variations of this game. You will not easily get bored with the game due to its versatility.
- Ergonomic: This classic crossword game has more than 100 tiles or letters. It also includes four tile racks that would help you form different words without revealing them to your opponent. You will not lose any letter tiles as you can safely store them inside the drawstring bag.
Why should you buy it?
You should buy this classic board game as it improves your vocabulary and spelling skills. Thinking and forming words from limited resources and letters helps to increase your concentration and thinking levels. This board game is perfect for the elderly as playing this game also occupies their time and attention.
#5 Pressman Family Classic Chess Board Game
The Pressman family classic chess board game is a better version of the traditional chess game. This game is played between two players; it requires the players to outsmart and out-think their opponents. Chess is a game that requires you to have high concentration and think sharply.
Features and Benefits
- Quality: The chessboard of this game is of superior quality. This board has a folding design that enables you to store the chessboard along with its pieces comfortably. All the pieces in this classic board game are made from high-quality Staunton.
- Versatile: People above the age of eight can play and enjoy this game. This chess board game also includes well-defined instructions. These instructions explain to you all the rules and regulations of playing this game.
- Fun: You can never be bored of playing chess, it can be a very engaging game. Learning chess completely is not possible. You can always find new things to learn and improve. It is also a strategic game that requires you to be very active.
- Ergonomic: The dimensions of this chessboard are 16.75 x 1.75 x 8.5 inches. The weight of this chessboard is also less at 5 ounces. You can even easily carry this game while traveling or during your vacations. This classic board game can fit inside your bag without any hindrance.
Why should you buy it?
You should buy this classic board game as it is ideal for the elderly. These people can keep their brains active while playing this game with an opponent. The minimum and a maximum number of players that can play this game simultaneously are two players.
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#6 Hive Classic Board Game
This hive classic board game is unique and different from your traditional and old board games. This game does require aboard, and you can set the playing area with the help of the playing pieces. This game’s innovative and fresh design is among the best board games for the elderly.
Features and Benefits
- Multiplayer: This game requires a minimum and maximum of two players. It is a fast strategic game that requires you to go against your friends.
- Ergonomic: This game is pretty fun and exciting. You have to capture the pieces of your opponent, and the player gets points for capturing from the opposing team. Capturing the queen will get you maximum points.
- Quality: it has the playing pieces in shape and sizes of different insects. These pieces are made from high-quality materials that make this board game durable and long-lasting.
- Awards: This classic board game has also won multiple awards and prizes. It is a fresh and unique game that is also suitable for the elderly. These people can enjoy and play this game with their loved ones.
Why should you buy it?
You should buy this game as it is unique. The main objective of this game is to capture the queen bee from its hive. The opponents compete against each other in a race to capture the opposing queen.
#7 Battleship
Battleship is a classic two-person strategy board game. It involves setting up a board that has numbered squares with ships and then trying to guess the location of your opponent’s ships. Every time you get a hit, your probability of finding out the other squares that the ship has been hit occupies increases. The objective of the game is to sink all of the opponent’s ships. This game involves strategy, thinking skills, memory, adaptability, and of course, loads of fun while away your time!
Features and Benefits
- Classic Game: Almost everyone would have played this game in their childhood. As such, it is a great gift for a loved one. It not only brings back memories of their childhood but is a great companion to while away time.
- Two-player: The game involves only two players, making it easy to play it with just one more companion needed. Hasbro has provided two portable and easy-to-carry battle cases with the set so that you can set up the game quickly anywhere.
- Skills: The game is a perfect way to challenge memory retention and mental faculties. You have to keep track of every square on the board and remember every hit and miss as you play along. Since the boats are of different sizes, there is a strategic aspect, making it hard to plan your next move even after a hit.
- Advanced Play: This board game also includes a feature that lets you launch simultaneous multiple attacks on your enemy, making it even more interesting.
Why should you buy it?
We have all played Battleship in our childhoods. It is a classic strategy game that really challenges the mental faculties. Memory retention and strategic judgment are critical to winning this game. This makes it one of the best board games for the elderly.
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Buyer’s Guide: Best Board Games For The Elderly
Simple And Fun
The best board games for the elderly should be simple and fun. The game you choose to play with the elderly must have basic rules and regulations so that you can enjoy them. Your parents or grandparents should be able to understand and comprehend these rules easily.
Versatile
A classic board game is also versatile; these games are versatile in their playing styles or approaches. Due to the versatility in a board game’s playing style, you can get a different game and experience every time you play it.
Durable
The best board games for the elderly are also highly durable, these board games have pieces, and the board is made out of superior quality materials. Even you play these games after a long time, they should be in excellent condition that is as good as new.
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Frequently Asked Questions: Best Board Games for the Elderly
How do you entertain a person with dementia?
You need to engage in fun and exciting activities or games with a person suffering from dementia. Reassuring the person about their safety and situation also plays a major and important role. A dementia patient will trust you and open up to you if you are friendly and patient. Small and simple activities such as reading, writing, drawing, and playing are enough to keep them hooked.
Benefits of playing board games with the elderly?
If you play board games with your elderly, then you are helping them out. There are many important benefits to playing board games with the elderly, preventing them from being lonely. In a lot of cases, the elderly that are lonely can easily get depressed.
Playing board games with their family and friends also makes their day entertaining. If you play strategic and competitive games, they also improve the individual’s thinking and concentration levels.
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Conclusion
Older adults often suffer from boredom and loneliness. These people can use games to participate in a fun activity.
In our opinion, the Monopoly Classic Game is the best choice among the various options that we have considered, because you can play this board game with people of all different age groups, such as your spouse, children, grandchildren, or friends.
The Hasbro Gaming Yahtzee is our next best choice because this game is entertaining and exciting, due to which it’s a great recreational product for the elderly.
If you are looking for a value for money option, you can also consider the Family Classics Chess by Pressman - with Folding Board and Full Size Chess Pieces, which offers great value and features at a very reasonable price point.
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