15 Best Word Game Apps for Seniors

Playing word games is a perfect way to have fun for seniors. Several studies highlight the mental health benefits of these brain teasers and puzzles.

This article covers the 15 Best word game apps for seniors that are free and available for Android and iOS (iPhone and iPad) users.

7 Benefits of Word Games for Seniors

Word games help you socialize, have fun and improve learning. Studies and researches highlight some incredible benefits of word games for seniors including:

1: Improved Memory

A study by the International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry found that word puzzles improve memory, attention, information processing, and the brain’s executive function.

Word games make you recall words, their meanings, and spellings which trains the brain to retain and organize the information.

2: Slow Cognitive Decline

It is common for older adults to suffer from cognitive decline as they age. A study by NEJM Evidence shows that regularly attempting crossword puzzles help slow decline in people with mild cognitive impairment.

The study further suggests that keeping your mind active with word puzzles as you age benefits your brain and mental health.

3: Improve Vocabulary and Spelling

Word games expose the elderly to new words helping them build vocabulary. You can learn the meaning and spelling of newly discovered words and some games encourage you to think and form new words on your own.

Overall, word games like Scrabble, Crosswords, and Words with Friends improve your language skills.

4: Brain Stimulation

Word games stimulate the brain and provide a mental workout in a way that is similar to physical activity for the body. This helps seniors avoid memory loss and possibly delay the onset of dementia. Playing word games also improves short-term memory.

Related Articles: Best brain games for iPad | Free printable brain games

5: Improved Focus and Concertation

The word games demand the attention of seniors. Whether you are searching for a word or trying to make a word from given letters, you are highly focused on the task at the hand.

Playing word games regularly improves your focus. You start solving puzzles faster and notice a difference in other life activities.

6: Avoid Social Isolation

Word games and puzzles help seniors avoid loneliness, social isolation, and depression. It is particularly important for seniors living alone and aging in place. Most of the games in this list can be played with family and friends.

You can share your achievements on Facebook and invite Facebook friends for a game. You can interact with other players through chat.

7: Help You Relax and Unwind

Word games are uplifting and a great way to improve your mood. The stunning backgrounds and soothing music in some games are relaxing and stress relieving. These games help you calm and organize your thoughts.

Studies show that playing word games releases endorphins (the feel-good hormones), which can improve mood, boost self-esteem and reduce pain and discomfort.

There are many other benefits of word games including improved strategic thinking, processing speed, and problem-solving skills.

These best free word game apps for seniors enjoy excellent ratings and feedback from millions of players around the world.

1: Wordscapes

Wordscapes is currently one of the most popular and top-rated word games, played by millions of users every day. It combines the best of word searching, anagrams, and crosswords. The challenge is to connect the letters to find the words, as many as you can.

Challenge your vocabulary to connect letters and find the hidden words
6000+ crossword puzzles
Anagram puzzles start simple but ramp up fast
Relax your brain by unlocking the gorgeous landscapes and destinations

This top-rated word game is a perfect fit for seniors who enjoy crossword, word connect, and word anagram games.

Download Wordscapes for Android | iPhone | iPad

2: Wordle

Wordle is a viral word game of guessing the words, that challenges your mind and spelling skills. It is like taking your brain to the gym.

You have 6 attempts to guess the word.

Classic mode: Play unlimited Wordle. Use hints when you get stuck
Daily puzzle mode: You get 6 guesses to solve the word of the day
Word Fever mode: Test your speed and spelling skills as you have to guess the word before time runs out
Secret Word Mode: You have letters and clues to guess the word in 3 attempts
Wordle Together: This latest addition is to challenge your friends to see if they can guess a word in 6 attempts. Take turns to solve each other’s words.

The best word game to flex your brain muscles. Play at your own pace. Challenge your friends and share the results.

Download Wordle for Android | iPhone | iPad

3: Daily Themed Crossword Puzzles

If you want to play some fun and relaxing crosswords, this app provides thousands of crossword puzzles at your fingertips. One of the easy word games for seniors that sharp your trivia skills and you to learn about new topics.

A wide of topics including movies, sports, history, architecture, games, technology, and more
A new puzzle every day, 365 days a year
A different theme each day of the week
Hints to help you when you feel stuck

This game helps you stay focused and keep your brain active while having fun. Your vocabulary and general knowledge improve as you solve more and more crosswords.

With 2000+ challenging puzzles and daily new additions, you will never run out of puzzles to solve.

Download Daily Themed Crossword Puzzles for Android | iPhone | iPad

4: Words of Wonders

One of the best word game apps for seniors that takes you to Wonders of the World to solve the mystery of hidden words. Test your knowledge and vocabulary while discovering the wonders. Each level gets progressively harder and unique.

Connect the letters without lifting your fingers
Travel around the world to discover the secrets of 7 wonders
Improve vocabulary and spelling skills

This game puts your brain to work and you have all the fun exploring the historical sites. The beautiful pleasant backgrounds make you relax and have fun.

Download WOW for Android | iPhone | iPad

5: Word Trip

Word Trip combines breathtaking backgrounds with the best word you can think of. This word puzzle game is stitched together with the cross-country travel theme. Each word you solve gets you closer to the net destination.

Relaxing music and backgrounds
Puzzles range from 2 to 7 letters. Easy to learn but hard to master.
Play without WiFi
Flex your brain muscles and improve your vocabulary

It is a very light game to have on your phone and does not drain the phone battery. Beautiful backgrounds and soothing music make it one of the best free word games for seniors.

Word Trip is downloaded millions of times and is the winner of The Prestigious Academics’ Choice Mind Spring Award.

Download Word Trip for Android | iPhone | iPad

6: Word Crush

The word searching and connecting game where you connect, swipe, and collect words from stacks of letter blocks. Thousands of interesting topics including jokes, riddles, and brain teasers.

One of the easy word games for seniors with tons of funny jokes and puns along the way.

Swipe and connect the letters to form the words in anagrams
Challenge family and friends. Guessing words together is added fun
Every level has a unique theme and a stack of letter blocks

The levels are not too hard but challenging at times. Challenge your brain and have fun, even without WIFI.

Download Word Crush for Android | iPhone | iPad

7: Word Stacks

Word Stack is another word app game where you swipe to reveal hidden words and bring word stacks crashing down. It starts easy but gets challenging fast.

This top-rated addicting game has captured the hearts of millions of players worldwide.

3000+ levels with more added frequently
Each puzzle has a clue to help you find related words
Hints: Use Spyglass, Light Bulb, or Shuffle when you get stuck
Custom themes and backgrounds

This incredibly addicting game improves your IQ and trains your brain while you have loads of fun.

Download Word Stacks for Android | iPhone | iPad

8: NYT Games

The New York Times official app is one of the best word game apps for seniors. It brings word games, number, and logic puzzles from The New York Times editions in one place. One thing I love about NYT Games is that there are no ads to disrupt the fun.

It has all the brain games that older adults love, including:

The Crossword: Daily puzzle that is printed in The New York Times. It increases in difficulty from Monday to Saturday.
Wordle: Play the original Wordle created by Josh Wardle. Guess the 5 letter words in up to 6 tries.
Spelling Bee: Word scrambling game to see how many words can you make from 7 letters. Daily new puzzles.
Sudoku: The number game where you fill each 3×3 box with numbers 1-9. Numbers in sets, columns, or rows cannot be repeated. Easy, medium, and hard modes and daily new puzzles.
The Mini Crossword: The crossword puzzle that you can solve in seconds.

With more than 10,000 crosswords and daily updates, you will have unlimited fun at your own pace. NYT Games has a clean interface without ads which makes it a must-try game app for seniors.

Download NYT Games for Android | iPhone | iPad

9: Word Brain

Word Brain combines the best parts of crossword and word scramble games. Transform the random letters into words by connecting the tiles.

Thousands of challenging levels. It starts easy and gets harder with each level
Daily word search puzzles
Use hints by tapping on the lightbulb for help

With over 40 million downloads, Word Brain is one of the most popular word games for seniors. Perfect for word enthusiasts to pass time and have fun.

Download Word Brain for Android | iPhone | iPad

10: Words with Friends 2

Word with Friends is one of the most popular word games and it just got better. Search for the highest-scoring word while you show your spelling bee skills and expand your vocabulary.

Challenge your friends to play or use the Smart Match feature to find a perfect opponent
Quick Play mode for competitive mini-games
Play against the themed WordMaster character
Daily, weekend and weekly goals to earn keys and unlock rewards

Train your brain with a plethora of classic word board games and puzzles. Play solo challenges or multiplayer mode with family and friends.

Download Words with Friends 2 for Android | iPhone | iPad

11: The Impossible Letter Game

One of the easy word games for seniors. You will love finding the mismatched letters. The game starts as challenging but immediately starts to make your brain understand it.

You will see one main letter a lot of times with one odd(mismatched) letter hidden in them. It will definitely improve your vision and concentration. There are hundreds of levels to enjoy and challenge your brain.

Download The Impossible Letter Game for iPhone | iPad

12: Crossword Explorer

This game offers crossword puzzles of different sizes. Thousands of crossword puzzles cover everything from Movies to Sports and Science to History. Crosswords are the best ways to keep your brain active and your mind sharp.

New crossword puzzles every day
Hints to help you if you get stuck
Learn about famous personalities and loads of new words

Challenge your knowledge and entertain yourself with Crossword Explorer.

Download Crossword Explorer for Android | iPhone | iPad

13: Word Connect

The next of the best word game apps for seniors is the popular Word Connect. Swipe the letter blocks to build words and collect coins. Uncover the hidden words and build as many words as possible.

18000+ levels to play
11 cool themes to choose from
Vintage style and wooden block graphics will bring back memories
Play without WiFi. No time limit, play at your own pace

Word Connect is designed to train your brain while having unlimited fun. Different modes and hidden bonuses keep the game interesting.

Download Word Connect for Android | iPhone | iPad

14: Scrabble Go

This is the new and updated version of the world’s favorite word game. Move beyond traditional Scrabble with 4 fast-paced competitive game modes; Duels, Word Drop, Tumbler, and Rush.

Authentic crossword game with an official board, tiles, and Scrabble word dictionaries
Play with Facebook friends
Practice Mode is designed to match your skill level
Collect the custom playable tiles. A variety of visually stunning tiles

Play the top word game that provides the official Scrabble experience. You will love the new game modes.

Download Scrabble Go for Android | iPhone | iPad

15: Pictoword

Pictoword is featured as the Most Popular Word Game in 30 countries and has won Academics’ Choice Smart Media Award. This popular game is ideal for some brain workouts and having fun for seniors.

You get a series of pictures that combine to form a word. For example, you are shown an EAR and a RING and the correct word is EARRING. Pictures of SAND and a WITCH will make a SANDWICH.

Varying levels of difficulty. Seniors can start from Easy Mode.
Guess words from pictures of Landmarks, Objects, and more
300+ guessing games to test your knowledge
Play solo or with friends, without any time limit

Pictoword works offline and you can challenge Facebook friends online. Put your movie and TV trivia skills to the test with picture puzzles.