The word games that go over best with older adults are the ones with almost no rules to learn. Word searches and crosswords are the classics on paper. For a group, games played out loud or on a whiteboard often work better, because nobody has to squint at small print.
Below are seven that need only a pencil and paper or a marker and a board, with how to play each and how to adjust it.
The quick answer
| Game | Best for | What you need |
|---|---|---|
| Word search | One person, quiet time | A large-print printout and a pencil, or a tablet |
| Crossword read aloud | A group of any size | One crossword and someone to read the clues |
| Guess the word (hangman) | A small group | A whiteboard or a large pad |
| Word ladder | Pairs or a group | A whiteboard |
| Categories | A group, no equipment | Nothing, or paper for keeping score |
| Word scramble | One person or teams | A sheet of scrambled words |
| Words from one word | Teams | One long word on the board and paper for each team |
Want something ready to print? Make a large-print word search from one of 20 themes or your own list of words, with an answer key on its own page.
Make a large-print word search1. Word search
A word search asks nothing of the player except looking. There are no clues and no spelling, so it is a good place to start with someone new to puzzles.
Our word search maker has three levels. Easy puts words only across and down on a 10 × 10 grid, Medium adds diagonals, and Hard allows any direction, including backwards. Letters can be Standard, Large or Extra large. For weak eyesight, start with Easy and Extra large (more in our easy word search guide).
To make it harder, move up a level, or type in a personal list, such as family names or the streets of a hometown, so the player has to remember the words as well as find them.
2. A crossword read aloud
Read the clues out loud and a crossword becomes a group game. One person holds the puzzle, reads a clue and the number of letters, and the room calls out answers. Nobody needs to see the grid, so eyesight stops being a problem.
Start with Easy puzzles. In the crossword maker, Easy crosswords use small grids with about eight words and plain clues, and there are 60 ready-made puzzles in 10 themes. If the group knows a topic well, type your own answers and clues and the maker fits them into a grid. See our easy crossword guide for more.
If the group is struggling, give the first letter along with the clue. If they are racing through, read only the clue and leave out the number of letters.
3. Guess the word
This is the old hangman game. One person thinks of a word and draws a dash on the board for each letter. Players take turns calling out letters. A right letter is written in every place it appears. A wrong letter goes in a list at the side, and the leader adds one line to a drawing. The players win if they fill in the word before the drawing is finished.
Many groups would rather not draw a gallows, and there is no need to. Draw a snowman or a flower losing its petals instead. The game works exactly the same.
Write with a thick dark marker and make each letter as tall as you can, with a clear gap between the dashes. For a harder round, use a short phrase, a song title or a place name instead of a single word.
4. Word ladder
Write a start word at the top of the board and a finish word at the bottom, both with the same number of letters. The group has to get from one to the other by changing one letter at a time, and every step must be a real word. For example, COLD becomes WARM in four steps:
COLD → CORD → CARD → WARD → WARM
Everyone can watch each step go up on the board. Three- and four-letter words are plenty. Try CAT to DOG (CAT, COT, DOT, DOG) as a first one.
Once the group has the hang of it, try five-letter words, or ask who can find the shortest ladder.
5. Categories
Categories needs no equipment at all. Choose a category, such as flowers or first names. Then either go around the group with each person naming one, or pick a letter and see how many the group can name that start with it.
A gentle version is the alphabet game: go through the alphabet together, naming one item in the category for each letter, A to Z. Skip the hard letters like Q and X without any fuss.
A harder version gives each person a pencil and a short time limit, and score a point only for answers nobody else wrote down.
6. Word scramble
Write a list of words with the letters mixed up and ask players to put them back in order. NEDRAG is GARDEN, and WOLFER is FLOWER. Picking every word from one theme helps a lot, because once a player knows the topic is gardening, the answers are much easier to see.
Print the list in a big, plain font with a blank line under each scramble for the answer.
Giving the first letter of each answer makes it easier. Longer words, or a list that mixes themes, make it harder.
7. How many words from one word
Write one long word in big letters on the board, such as GARDENING. Teams then list every word they can make from its letters, using each letter only as many times as it appears. From GARDENING you can make GRADE, RANGE, DINER, GRAIN and READING, among many others.
In teams, one person can spot words while another writes. When time is up, read the lists aloud and cross off any word another team also found.
For beginners, count words of any length. For confident players, count only words of four letters or more.
Running word games for a group
- Say everything out loud as well as writing it on the board. People who cannot see well, or cannot hear well, can still follow along.
- A thick marker on a whiteboard or flip chart is easier to read than a thin pen on a pad. Check the board from the back row before you start.
- Pairs take the pressure off anyone who is slower to answer, and they keep the talk going.
- Drop the timer if it causes stress. Most of these games work just as well at an easy pace.
- Pick themes people care about. Gardening, travel or the 1950s and ’60s often get people telling stories between turns.
A quick note on wording: these are games for fun and company. We make no claims about memory or health. If you have questions about that, ask a doctor.
Playing on a tablet instead
To use a screen, play word search online or play crosswords online, with a Full screen button for bigger letters. Our guide to free brain games for seniors, printable and online covers both, and our games for seniors guide has card, dice and domino games picked by group size.
Frequently asked questions
What are good word games for seniors with poor eyesight?
Games played out loud work best: a crossword with the clues read to the group, categories, or guess the word with big letters on a whiteboard. On paper, an Easy word search with Extra large letters is the easiest to read.
Which word games work for a large group?
A crossword read aloud and categories both work for a room of any size, because only the leader needs to see the puzzle. Word ladders and guess the word also work if the whiteboard is big enough for the back row to read.
Do I need to buy anything?
No. Most of these games need only a board and a marker, or paper and a pencil. The word searches and crosswords on this site are free to make, print and play, with no sign-up.