Games for Elderly People

The best playing card games for older adults are often familiar games that have been played for generations, ensuring everybody in the family can join in, with clarity around the card playing terms and without any phrases they may not have heard before. Playing fun, stimulating games can be a positive way to ensure older people remain mentally active. Online games work incredibly well, especially for those with less dexterity, for whom holding a hand or dealing cards may be tricky.

The Hearts card game online is a perfect example. It is a classic card game that almost everybody knows how to play, using a simple, high-visibility gameplay setup that doesn't involve any card shuffling and that can be as complex or competitive as the players wish.

Great Card Games for Any Older Person

If you are well into retirement, you know that your age doesn't always indicate cognitive dexterity! Experienced card players can often use clever strategies and experienced gameplay tactics to emerge as the winner against younger counterparts.

However, it’s also much more relaxing to play a game we know and love, which we can either play independently on a quiet afternoon or with loved ones and friends at a social gathering. Online versions of classic card games invite anybody to play, including adults and who may find it difficult to handle physical cards or have trouble seeing the smaller print or colors on a standard deck.

Here’s a snapshot of some of our very favorite games:

Hearts: Steering Clear of Tricks

This classic game keeps every player on their toes. The overarching aim is to avoid specific cards and those with high points penalties. The winner is the player with the lowest points when any other player hits a score of one hundred.

Working to accumulate valuable cards, choosing how to respond to the lead card set down by your opponent, and trying to get rid of high-point cards make the game of Hearts all about evasion strategies and collecting as few tricks as possible.

Spades: A Card Game Based on Teamwork

Unlike many popular card games, Spades makes players work in partnership with another player and prompts us to find good ways to communicate without giving the game away, with tactical thinking often beneficial for older people. Setting 'contracts' to win a minimum number of tricks and betting on or against your chances commands quick thinking–with a little luck and intuition for equal measure.

Pinochle: The Art of Trick-Taking

Pinochle is another option for players who like to team up with another person, either a friend or family member, or via an online game. This card game requires forty-eight cards, with two sets of each card from nines through Aces.

The goal is to get to one hundred points as quickly as possible, regardless of how many deals it takes to reach a winning score, with points achieved through tricks and melds that can become competitive and fast-paced.

Solitaire: A Perfect Single-Player Card Game

Another timeless card game, Solitaire is great because players can play completely independently, deciding which column to place each consecutive card on to build a deck in sequence, with alternating colors. While Solitaire is a very simple game that is easy for anybody to play, it can also be relaxing.

There are many scenarios in which any decision you make about card placement isn't necessarily win-or-lose, as another card you're waiting for will likely come along shortly.

Bridge: Winning Tricks With Logic

Bridge has been a popular card game for generations. Although it can take time to learn how to anticipate the moves of the other players and work together with a teammate, many older adults have ample experience challenging any opponent.

Players can either play individually or in pairs, and mastering the cards and playing a game to the best of your ability can be incredibly satisfying, as can winning!

Rummy: Straightforward and Versatile

The simplicity of a game of Rummy makes it great for any player. Each opponent works to match cards together and create sets without needing any specific tactics or game plans, perfect for a low-competition game that remains brilliant fun.

Each opponent can either rely on their skill or see if they win by chance, but they can improve their prospects by noting their opponents' positions and choosing to use power cards to take control of the game.

Ready to try some free online card games? Visit Hearts.co today!