Games for an Alzheimer's patient

December 4, 2013 5:18 PM

My dad has been recently diagnosed with Alzheimer's. For many years, our family has played games when we get together and my mom and dad played games among themselves often; they especially enjoyed cribbage. My mom tells me my dad can't play that anymore because he can't sustain the concentration over the course of the game. I'd like to get Dad a game for Christmas that he can play with my mom, or with my mom and sister, who also lives in the town my parents live. It would have to be simpler than cribbage, but ideally something you could still play over and over with enjoyment. I found an earlier question about gifts for Alzheimer's patients and also some resources online for that general question--but haven't found any suggestions for games specifically.
posted by layceepee to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (23 answers total)

Best answer: Mille Bornes (very repeatable card game-- out of print, unfortunately, but there are a lot of used copies on Ebay)

Quarto (quick, mildly strategic, relies more on spatial reasoning/pattern recognition)

Uno

Mancala
posted by Bardolph at 6:13 PM on December 4, 2013

On cribbage, I had an elderly relative with dementia who still knew how to throw her hands due to years and years of playing, but just couldn't do the count, so perhaps you can adapt how you play in your household to continue that game.
posted by chiefthe at 6:13 PM on December 4, 2013 [2 favorites]

We found that my father-in-law could join in and enjoy a game of TileRummy (RummiKub) even as he grew pretty forgetful.

And its one of our favorite table games, so that was good.
posted by SLC Mom at 6:18 PM on December 4, 2013 [1 favorite]

Posting again so's as I don't misuse the edit button:
Tile Rummy is built on the idea of sets and runs in the rummy card games, so the basic concepts are pretty hard-wired into a lot of older folk I think.
posted by SLC Mom at 6:21 PM on December 4, 2013

My mother (who does not have Alzheimer's, but has impaired cognitive function), does fairly well with Uno (she will lose track of the direction of play, but it's easy enough to remind her). She also does well with Yahtzee, as long as someone else keeps score and is willing to tell her what she has left. If she's having an exceptionally good day, she can play Sequence, though I will cop to having let her win a couple few times there.
posted by joycehealy at 6:36 PM on December 4, 2013

Response by poster: Bardolph's answer helps me be more specific about where my Dad is at: she specifically told me that Mille Bornes, which we all loved and played for years, was to complicated for him now. So I may be asking for something impossible-- a game that's REALLY simple but still fun.
posted by layceepee at 6:37 PM on December 4, 2013

Connect four was a hit when my grandmother had dementia.
posted by donut_princess at 6:42 PM on December 4, 2013 [1 favorite]

Our grandpa Bob, who was a math wiz and Monopoly junkie prior to Alzheimer's, got a lot of enjoyment in later years playing dominoes with us. It's a good choice because it's not strictly necessary to follow play move-by-move, or do any tallying -- he could let his mind wander a bit until play passed back to him, then draw, evaluate his hand, and make a play.
posted by trunk muffins at 6:58 PM on December 4, 2013 [1 favorite]

Any chance they would play the Wii. We got one for my grnadmother's nursing home, and it was a great hit. There are several games that involve thought and movement, but are basic. It doesn't take much more than moment-to-moment concentration and a flick of the wrist to play Wii bowling.
posted by Flood at 6:59 PM on December 4, 2013

Skip-Bo was one of the last games my grandpa could still play in his later years. His strategy wasn't always the best, and we'd have to good naturedly accuse him of cheating if he misplayed towards the end, but the only basic skill required is counting to 12 and it's still a fun game for all.
posted by terilou at 7:21 PM on December 4, 2013

What about Dominos? Or some jigsaw puzzles that they can do together. I found puzzles great for accommodating varying levels of function, and there a huge range of them easily available in adult and simple adult themes. On good days someone can actively help do them, and on bad days they provide a topic for a more one sided interaction.
posted by Northbysomewhatcrazy at 7:35 PM on December 4, 2013

Crazy Eights card game. He would only have to match the suits or use the 8 to change the discard. We would spice it up by making the 2's into wild cards. Who ever was on the receiving end would have to pickup two cards and skip a turn. Uno is also a good choice because of the color matching. They are both fun games.
posted by cairnoflore at 7:52 PM on December 4, 2013

Response by poster: Thanks for all the great answers. Mancala looks like a great start, but there's several others I want to look at as well.
posted by layceepee at 7:58 PM on December 4, 2013

Tic tac toe?
posted by mono blanco at 8:21 PM on December 4, 2013

Farkle?
posted by brilliantine at 8:30 PM on December 4, 2013

Alzheimer's clouds recent memories but can sometimes unearth very old ones. Any game that he played a lot as a kid might be more memorable than a game he's played for years, but both would probably beat out a simple game he'd have to learn the rules of now. That might depend on what stage he's at, though.

What did kids play when he was younger - Go-fish? Rummy? Black-Jack? (ask your aunts/uncles, if applicable)
posted by aimedwander at 9:41 PM on December 4, 2013

Card games might be tough as they require keeping track of what has and hasn't been played up to that point. Abstract games might be more appropriate as your plays can be more tactical so he can be view the board and make a play that is appropriate for that turn without having a long term strategy. I'd suggest Qwirkle which is good for 2 players and is simple.

Qwirkle is similar to scrabble but with colors and shapes instead of letters.

Blokus Trigun is for 3 players and is more complicated, but not overly so. (Blokus plays 2 or 4 but the 2 player essentially means each player playing as 2 people which is too much mental overload. Trigun is the 3 player version). It is about playing as many of your Tetris like shapes onto the board as possible.

Also the card game No Thanks! doesn't rely on memorization, plays quickly, and is fun. It is suited to 4 or 5 players but can play 3. It is about collecting cards in sequence and you play by paying a chip on the card to not take it or by taking the card. The object is to have the least points. (Chips are good, cards are bad).

Coloretto is a set collecting card game for 2-5 and is very simple.

Lastly Jaipur is a set collecting card game but it is more difficult than no thanks and coloretto. It is only for 2 players.
posted by ridogi at 9:55 PM on December 4, 2013

When Mom was still up for games Connect Four and Jenga were very popular.
posted by agatha_magatha at 10:33 PM on December 4, 2013

A different approach from the games already mentioned but my grandmother really enjoyed playing table tennis during the later stages of her Alzheimer's - she could play without having to move around by just planting her feet and rallying with someone, having something straightforward to focus on (the moving ball) seemed to help her be more present.
posted by Another Fine Product From The Nonsense Factory at 11:05 PM on December 4, 2013

Booby Trap.
Friends & family luv this game, from the very young to very very old.
A vintage (wood) game from eBay is better than newer plastic versions.
posted by artdrectr at 12:45 AM on December 5, 2013 [1 favorite]

Left Right Center is a dice game that is very easy to play and doesn't require any memory of previous play.
posted by CathyG at 7:45 AM on December 5, 2013

As his focus diminishes, he might enjoy games like Go Fish and, if his fine motor skills are intact, Operation and Jenga. (Games played as kids are, in my experience, really fun to revisit as adults.)
posted by DarlingBri at 11:06 AM on December 5, 2013

It's been a while since I've played, but if memory serves a suitably-edited deck of Uno might be an idea.
posted by Lexica at 4:39 PM on December 7, 2013