Hi Texas -
Scrabble Junior, Yahtzee Junior, Sorry game, not-too-many pc jigsaw puzzles (there are 13pc - 100pc puzzles at Amazon), kids games? Depending how far along, Candyland and Chutes & Ladders, perhaps?
Check Amazon - looks like they have a special section for such games, also. I just punched in "games for adults with dementia" and got some interesting hits - at Amazon. Even found a 12 pc birdhouse kit you can paint if she likes to paint at all.
My favorite card game ever isGo Fish! But that can get unwieldy as to size of hand you're holding. There is also War, which, if played in a child-like (not childish) manner, could be all kinds of entertaining. My mom and I played make-believe often, with me leading all the way. It's difficult unless all participants are willing to come at things with that child-like innocence and joy. Mom had that in spades, as had my father, and evidently they passed it on to me.
I don't know how you played games as a child, but my sis and I would make our own rules on the fly. Mom had nothing against this as a very-senior-lady either. So long as I appeared to be having fun, so would she.
A few things work for my dad.
- PopIt (fidget toy) is amazing. Not complicated at all - affordable and keeps them busy - even at the doctors office while waiting. We have about 5 different colors for dad - when he gets bored with one, we give him another.
- Lite Brite. I sit with dad and watch him put the little pegs in the entire board, line by line, straight across (having him do a specific design is too confusing & frustrates him). It takes about 45 minutes to complete - and boy is he proud of himself when he does! He will stare at it and marvel and how nice the lights look.
- Coloring book with larger crayons. Initially he always says no - but I'll start a picture and ask for his help. Put the crayon in his hand - and off he goes. He will color the entire page with full concentration.
- On Amazon they have a lot of wooden shapes puzzle (ages 1-3 are good).
- Rubik's cube - surprisingly - he can still complete 1 side of a cube. But it's a nice fidget toy too, even if they don't complete it - it's something to keep them busy.
Hope these ideas help!!
I tried to experiment with video-based brain games for a person before she started to show signs of dementia, but she was somewhat bored so did not keep up.
But the following article shows that it may help, but I think a lot depends on the stage you are at and shows many options. I assume that as you progress, it becomes harder to even initiate or even enjoy a game. Maybe something like a Nintendo Switch Sports game will be better, as the Healthline article states, perhaps if you do it together to get it started.
The brain game I used was Nintendo Brain Age. I had been trying it myself daily, and it's does help with focusing and improving the game score, but I'm not sure if it helps in day-to-day cognitive ability. Eventually, it gets repetitive and there's little challenge other than just getting a better score. So I have started to play card or board games, which I enjoy more.
Wow! You received a lot of good suggestions.
Just a word of caution: as our loved ones progress, they are less and less able to remember the rules of a game, let alone learn a new one. Sometimes we caregivers put a lot of pressure on ourselves to keep our loved ones engaged (4 hours of games per day) when it may be the case that your loved one needs LESS stimulation. There’s no way a PWD can learn a Rubik’s cube (assuming they never played before dementia).
Ask yourself why none of the games you have tried have hit the mark. It’s likely that she didn’t like them because she just doesn’t have the bandwidth to play them.
Shuffle a deck of cards and have her arrange them from King down to ace. She will end up with 4 of each in separate piles. My DH is stage almost 7 and still enjoys this.
PWD lose interest in most normal activities as well as the skills and cognitive reserve to keep up with them. It could be her days of playing games are winding down. Most PWD spend a LOT of down time as they progress, it's just the way it is. You might find subbing easier activities for the games to be helpful. My mom loved fidgets of all kinds (many types available at Target, Amazon etc. marketed towards kids) and Etsy sells fidget blankets made for PWD. Sorting was a good pass time for my mom (a big tin of buttons or beads, sort into colors etc.) Also folding towels and washcloths. I'd dump them when she wasn't looking and she would start over. She also loved doll clothes and dressed a doll and stuffed animals. I made copies of old photos for her to thumb through, she also liked paging through books with pictures even though she could no longer follow them. Her care home had a big bin of PVC pipes of various diameters and the round fittings, people enjoyed fitting those together.
A word of caution about some of the wooden shape puzzles... I purchased a couple for MILwAD forgetting that when she got agitated she would throw things especially at FIL. We had to bench the wooden shape puzzles as a result.
