Games for Dementia Patients: What Helps and What to Avoid

Games and activities can genuinely improve mood and engagement for someone with dementia — but matching the right activity to the right stage matters more than most families realize.

What Helps

• Simple, familiar games — classic card games, dominoes, or a puzzle with large, simple pieces work well in earlier and middle stages, since familiarity reduces frustration.
• Sorting and matching activities — sorting objects by color or type, or simple matching games, engage cognitive function without requiring complex reasoning.
• Music-based activities — singing along to familiar songs or simple rhythm activities often work even in later stages, when other activities have become difficult.
• Sensory activities — a textured object to hold, a familiar scent, a simple tactile task like folding towels — these engage without requiring cognitive effort.
• Reminiscence-based activities — looking through old photos, talking about a favorite memory — these draw on long-term memory, which often stays more intact than short-term memory.

What to Avoid

• Games requiring complex rules or multi-step strategy — these tend to cause frustration rather than enjoyment once dementia has progressed past the earliest stages.
• Anything that feels like a memory test — quiz-style games that highlight what someone can't remember tend to cause anxiety and shame rather than positive engagement.
• Overstimulating environments — a noisy room or too many activity options at once can overwhelm rather than engage.
• Assuming one activity fits every stage — what worked six months ago may now be too complex; regularly reassess and simplify as needed.

Matching Activities to Stage

Earlier-stage individuals can often handle more complex games and longer engagement. Middle-stage often benefits from simpler, more repetitive activities. Later-stage engagement often shifts toward sensory and music-based activities rather than traditional games entirely.

How Interim Approaches This

Our Care Professionals build activities into daily routine based on what actually works for your specific loved one, adjusting as needs change rather than sticking to a fixed activity list.

Our 7th Week Guarantee

No long contracts. If you don't feel the difference after six weeks of care at 20 or more hours a week, your seventh week is free.

Get Started

Call us at (801) 401-3515 and tell us about your loved one. We'll talk through what kind of engagement could help.

Learn more about our dementia care services, or read about distraction techniques for dementia caregivers and communicating with someone who has dementia.