Brain games for seniors: free online games and printable puzzles

What counts as a brain game

Any game that makes you think counts. It helps to mix games that use different skills rather than playing the same one every day:

• Words: word searches, crosswords, word scrambles and word guessing games.
• Numbers and logic: sudoku, nonograms (picture logic puzzles), and pyramid solitaire, where you pair cards that add up to 13.
• Memory: memory match (pairs), and card games where you keep track of what has been played.
• Looking and spatial thinking: jigsaw puzzles, spot the difference, tangrams and mahjong solitaire.
• Planning ahead: FreeCell and Klondike solitaire, where a good move now opens up the next three.

The National Institute on Aging suggests reading, playing games, taking a class or learning a new skill as ways to keep your mind active, and notes that these activities have not been proven to prevent Alzheimer’s disease, but they can be fun.

What the research says, and what it doesn’t

Plenty of apps promise to “sharpen your memory”. The evidence is more modest:

• Alzheimer’s Society says some evidence shows brain training may help older people manage daily tasks better, but most studies of computer brain-training games were small or short. It advises caution with commercial packages that claim to prevent or delay decline, and notes that one leading provider was fined for making false claims.
• The National Institute on Aging describes the ACTIVE trial, in which healthy adults aged 65 and over had 10 sessions of memory, reasoning or speed training. The sessions improved the skill each group practised, with benefits lasting about two years. The institute adds that there is not enough evidence that commercial brain-training apps have the same effect.
• A 2022 review of seven commercial brain-training programmes in older adults found insufficient evidence that they improve memory, general thinking or everyday functioning, while accepting they may suit enjoyment and entertainment.
• A University of Exeter and King’s College London study of more than 19,000 people aged 50 and over found that those who did word and number puzzles more often scored better on thinking tests. Alzheimer’s Society, which helped fund it, pointed out that it shows a link, not that puzzling improves thinking, and did not look at dementia risk.

So choose games because you like them. The same Alzheimer’s Society comment encourages anyone who enjoys puzzling to carry on, and says not to worry if you don’t: regular exercise, a balanced diet, not smoking and not drinking heavily matter too.

Free online brain games with large print and no download

All of these play in a web browser on a tablet, computer or phone. Each has a “Larger print” button that is remembered next time, unlimited Undo, sound off unless you turn it on, and a “Today’s game” that is the same for everyone that day.

• Klondike solitaire with large cards. Turn 1 is the relaxed version, and every deal can be won.
• FreeCell: every card is face up from the start, so it is pure, unhurried planning.
• Mahjong solitaire: match pairs of picture tiles, each with its name printed on it. Start with the 36-tile board.
• Sudoku online: easy to hard 9 × 9 grids with big number buttons, Notes, Check and Hint. Every puzzle has one answer and needs no guessing.
• Word search online: choose “Large print” for a 9 × 9 grid with words across and down only.
• Memory match: from 6 to 24 pairs, with an option to show the word under each picture.
• Nonograms: shade squares from number clues to reveal a picture, starting at 5 × 5.
• Jigsaw puzzles and spot the difference for anyone who prefers pictures to words or numbers.

For a short daily habit, our daily puzzles give a new word scramble, mini crossword, word search and sudoku each day, to play online or print.

Printable brain games with answers

Paper suits people who don’t use a screen, and groups, since everyone has their own copy. Each page prints on A4 or US Letter, and the puzzles come with an answer key you can keep back.

• Large print sudoku starts with gentle 6 × 6 grids, then easy and medium 9 × 9.
• Large print word searches have themes chosen for grown-ups, such as tea time, a railway journey and ballroom dancing.
• Crosswords and word scrambles for anyone who likes clues.
• Printable memory games: cut out the cards and play pairs at a table.

Our seniors and care homes page gathers the large-print puzzles and bold, simple colouring pages in one place.

How to choose the right level

Start easier than you think you need. Finishing the first game builds confidence, and a game that is too hard on day one is rarely tried again. Some sensible first steps:

• Sudoku: a 6 × 6 grid before a 9 × 9 one.
• Mahjong solitaire: the small 36-tile board.
• Klondike solitaire: turn 1, which deals one card at a time from the stock.
• Memory match: 6 pairs, with words shown.
• Jigsaw puzzles: 9 or 16 pieces with the faint picture switched on.

Move up a level once a game feels easy, and back down without fuss if it starts to feel like a chore. Hints and Undo are there to be used.

Making screens easier on the eyes and hands

A few settings make a big difference. On a computer, you can make the whole page bigger by holding Ctrl (or ⌘ on a Mac) and pressing +, as Google’s Chrome help explains; Ctrl and − makes it smaller again. On an iPad or Android tablet, Age UK’s guide shows how to make text and icons larger in the device’s Accessibility settings.

A tablet turned sideways and propped on a stand gives the biggest cards and tiles. Anyone with a shaky hand can tap a card or tile and then tap where it should go, rather than dragging, and most of our games also work with the keyboard alone.

Brain games for people living with dementia

The NHS says that people with dementia can keep doing activities they enjoy, even if they take longer, and lists online games and puzzles on tablets among the ways to stay engaged with others. It also notes that a shared activity can make both the person and their carer happier.

Choose short, familiar games that end in success. Our memory match has a “Large and calm” style with six big cards, each with a picture and its word, no clock on show, and a missed pair that stays face up until the next tap. A 4- or 9-piece jigsaw, or spot the difference with “Large pictures”, also works well. Sit alongside, take turns and talk about the pictures rather than testing what the person remembers. Stop while it is still enjoyable. These games are pastimes, not a treatment or a memory test.

Playing together: groups, friends and grandchildren

Brain games don’t have to be solitary. In a care home or club, put “Today’s game” on a television or projector and let the group call out moves while one person taps. Large-print word searches on paper make a good group activity: give everyone the same theme and compare finds afterwards.

With a grandchild, try dots and boxes on one tablet, a jigsaw where you take turns placing pieces, or a printed memory game on the kitchen table. Our guide to colouring with someone living with dementia has more ideas for calm shared activities.