Fun and games

Amazing Chase

The group tried out three hand-held wooden Amazing Chase mazes – called Spiral, Infinity and Track – tilting the board to guide a small ball around a track.

People found the packaging easy enough to open and Meg said the mazes were beautifully made.

Some of the group, including Elsie and Celiza, found the more basic designs too simple. 

However, they may be more suitable for people whose dementia is more advanced.

Members enjoyed the Track maze best, the most difficult of the three.

'There's more to it – it's a bit more taxing,' said Marion. 

It was suggested that a hole could be added at the end of the maze for the ball to drop into once the challenge had been completed.

Snakes and ladders

The ladies also played an adapted version of classic board game snakes and ladders, with a clear design and numbered cards instead of dice.

Meg, Cynthia, Jackie and Linda all had a good laugh while playing. 

Meg made a mistake with her counter and, when corrected, landed on a snake to send her back down the board. 'I liked my version better!' she joked.

'It brings back memories from my childhood,' said Cynthia.

Although some of the players had trouble remembering which counter was theirs, they generally found the game straightforward to navigate.

They said the board wasn't overcrowded with images, while the cards were less likely to get lost than dice.

'It brings back memories from my childhood, said Cynthia.

Linda added, 'Anything that makes you feel alert is good.'
 

Word search

Also on offer were word search books, each of which contained 30 word puzzles on different subjects.

Myrna enjoys words and so found this sort of activity more to her liking than some of the others.

Eileen also embraced the challenge of the puzzles. 'It's better when you have to think a bit,' she said.

An impressed Jackie joked, 'I like these – can I take them home with me?'

'It makes us use our brains a bit,' added Linda, 'and they need to be used!'

Colouring books

Group members tried a range of colouring books themed on the four seasons.

'It's good – it helps you to relax,' said the other Marion, who had paired up with Janet. 'I like that we can work together.'

'This is appropriate for our age group as it isn't too child-like,' said Ellie.

Delia liked the idea of colouring an autumn picture during the autumn months.

She said, 'I opened it and thought, "It's beautiful when you walk at this time of year."'

Ellie said of the colouring book for spring, 'This is appropriate for our age group as it isn't too child-like. Some look simple but aren't, so it tricks you into having a go!'

There was also a Doodle Quest book, which encourages a person to create patterns or sequences on the page.

'I like that I can draw something like a flower and then colour it,' said Omi.

Image Snap

Image Snap is a set of 36 snap cards that can be grouped together into 'families' for use in three different games.

Having found the most basic of the games too simplistic, Meg preferred the more challenging version.

Five of the group were clearly enjoying themselves during a game where they had to memorise the position of facedown cards in order to collect pairs.

'Two transport cards – excellent!' said Meg as one of the other players made a pair.

'It's easy to play and is good for testing my memory,' she concluded.

Next steps

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