There are many fun games online! I'm a big fan of WORDLE (nytimes.com), QUORDLE (merriam-webster.com) and OCTORDLE (britannica.com), love a good crossword too. When my phone reports daily usage is up, I wonder if time spent on word games is healthy.
Research suggests three ways to measure whether playing online games is a positive activity for older adults. First, the game must be fun. If it's not enjoyable, it's not worth the effort. Second, it needs to encourage language, cognitive or social skills. This is what we need to delay cognitive decline. Third, total time spent playing games is less than two hours a day. There's nothing to be gained from too much time sitting in a chair.
Social games are better than solo ones. Our cousins play WORDLE everyday among three generations in their family. The dad picks out the starting word and texts it out. Then everyone texts back when they solve WORDLE with their stats. Thus, a solo game becomes social. Other games like WORDS WITH FRIENDS (wordswithfriends.com) is great because there's online interaction with others.
In person games are even better for cognitive health. My husband and I bought three new games this year. We've had a lot of fun playing them. These include YAHTZEE, BANANAGRAMS, and BOGGLE. Recently our friends taught us FIVE CROWNS which we enjoyed so much, we've taught it to our grandchildren.
What's your favorite game?
--Robyn