Apple’s iPad is an ideal gadget for seniors for entertainment and games. The large screen size and tons of free iPad games for seniors make it an ideal device for the elderly.
A recent study suggests that video games and puzzles improve mental health among older adults and reduce isolation and depression in patients of ages 60 to 85 years.
Scientists expect to see video games as a normal part of healthcare for mental illness, depression and anxiety. Video games improve cognitive functions among seniors and keep their minds active and sharp.
The 5 key features that make the iPad an ideal gaming device for seniors are
- Portability and Convenience: iPad is lightweight and easy to carry in your handbag even during travel.
- Variety of Games: From word games to sudoku and from crossword puzzles to card and board games, older adults can enjoy a variety of games on their iPad. There are thousands of free iPad games for seniors in all categories.
- The Large Screen Size: If you are playing a Trivia game or word games, you want to see the letters and words clearly. iPad has a large screen size and all the games in this list are senior-friendly with easy-to-use interfaces and clear instructions.
All of these games have large buttons and controls to accommodate seniors with large fingers. - iPad Accessibility Settings: You can make the iPad accessible for visually impaired or hearing-impaired seniors. The accessibility settings enable users to turn the iPad into an easy-to-use device for low vision and low hearing individuals.
- Ideal for Gaming: Excellent graphics, a large variety of games for seniors, great battery life, reasonable pricing as compared to other gaming devices and senior friends interface make the iPad the ideal gaming device for seniors.
Playing games and solving puzzles is one of the best iPad activities for the elderly.
15 Best Free iPad Games for Seniors
These games and puzzles are most popular among seniors and have excellent feedback and ratings which make them the top iPad games for seniors in App Store.
1. Words With Friends 2
Words With Friends 2 is one of the most popular games for seniors on iPad. The latest version of this game is better and smarter than ever. Expand your memory and train your brain while challenging your friends and family members to play.
The key features of Words With Friends 2 include:
- Unscramble letters, expand your vocabulary and train your brain. Fill crossword-like puzzles or unscramble and search for the highest-scoring words.
- Challenge your friends and family or use Smart Match to find an opponent.
- Achieve daily and weekly goals to earn rewards. Earn points and stars and use them in trading
This classic word game is fun to play and ideal for seniors who love solving puzzles and challenging their minds.
Related Article: 15 Best word games for seniors
2. Jigsaw Puzzles
This is one of the world’s most downloaded jigsaw puzzles game. You have 13000+ HD pictures to put puzzles together. A highly addictive yet fun game to calm down and relax. Jigsaw Puzzles help seniors exercise their short-term memory and concertation while providing hours of fun without any point system or gimmicks.
- Tons of HD pictures are divided into different categories such as Colors, Flowers, Landmarks, Nature, Animals, Puzzles etc
- Daily free puzzles and daily updated galleries so you never run out of puzzles.
- Seasonal events and Mystery puzzles
- Helpful hints to match the next piece of the puzzle
Up to 400 puzzle pieces ability where the more pieces, the harder the puzzle becomes. Custom background changes the appearance of the game as you like. One of the best free iPad games for seniors that they can play daily to keep their mind active and have fun.
Read More: 5 Best Jigsaw Puzzles for iPad
3. The New York Times Crossword
This game has official word games from The New York Times and offers puzzles for every level. It has 4 best free iPad games for seniors including The Crossword, Wordle, Spelling Bee and The Mini.
- The Crossword: This game app has the same daily puzzles that are printed daily in The New York Times. These crosswords increase in difficulty from Mondays to Saturdays.
- Wordle: You can play the original Wordle created by Josh Wardle. Challenge yourself to guess a 5-letter word in 6 attempts or less.
- Spelling Bee: Spelling Bee is a fun game if you like scrambling. See how many words you can come up with 7 letters. New puzzles are updated everyday and you can track your stats.
- The Mini Crossword: The Mini Crossword is for short-time fun. Solve the puzzle in seconds as these puzzles do not increase in difficulty throughout the week and have easy clues.
This official game from NYT has many other features including a Leaderboard (supports up to 25 players for friendly competitions) and Puzzle Archives with thousands of Crossword Puzzles. One of the must-have iPad games for elderly who love to solve The New York Times crossword puzzles on daily basis.
4. Words of Wonders
This game tests your vocabulary as you visit the wonders of the world and find hidden words. Start with the world’s first wonder, and each wonder gets progressively harder with unique words.
After passing each level, you receive information about the wonder of the world and learn along the way. You can explore 29 countries with up to 100 levels. Make sure to turn on the music in settings to get different sounds while playing. You get a funny sound when you complete the right word.
5. Tetris
The next of the free iPad games for seniors is the classic Tetris, the world’s favorite block puzzle game. You can either play a quick round to beat your own score or play in one of the following modes.
- Tetris Royale: 100 Players Tetris Royal mode is to compete against 99 players in last-one-standing matches.
- Tetris Single Player: The iconic Tetris gameplay where you can either pick the Traditional mode for endless rounds or the Quick mode for a quick fun round of Tetris.
Tetris is an offline game so you can enjoy it anytime anywhere. You have the option to join a team to squad up and chat with friends. One of the must-have iPad games for seniors who love Tetris and played it on handheld devices or mobiles in the past.
6. Trivia Star
Trivia Star has exciting Trivia quizzes for seniors. Beat the clock to answer multiple-choice questions. Use the coins to get a hint and win the level. The key features include:
- 60+ Categories including general knowledge, celebrities, animals, sports, music, TV shows and science. Over 1000 level of quiz games
- Daily bonus coins for free hints
- Supports offline and online modes
The game starts off easy and gets harder as you play. Trivia Star is an ideal game for older adults who want to keep their minds active and sharp while having fun.
7. Brain Test
Brain Test has tricky brain teasers and riddles to test your mind. This game is Number 1 in the Trivia categories of iPad games. The riddles test your IQ and bring you a brain-pushing experience. You will surely love this addictive game. It has
- Unexpected game answers and mind-blowing brain teasers
- Great workout for the brain, a simple and highly addictive game
- There is one question per level and 423 levels for endless fun
You can play Brain Test offline and it is ideal for seniors to keep their brains sharp. I have also shared all the best iPad brain games for seniors that you can check out.
8. Sudoku
Sudoku is downloaded by millions of people from App Store who love to play it daily to keep their minds active, relax and have fun. From easier to expert levels, challenge your mind for a real workout. There are some features to help you during the game (hints, auto-check, highlighted duplicates) and it is up to you to use them.
Some of the highlights of Sudoku include:
- Hints to guide you if you are stuck
- Daily challenges to win unique trophies
- Seasonal events and unique medals to win
- Color themes, track your progress and stats
The classic Sudoku is one of the most popular and best free iPad games for seniors.
9. Scrabble Go
The word game that older adults know and love. You can play this authentic crossword game with Facebook friends and family members. Fun and easy-to-use emojis and phrases to express yourself in the game. Collect custom tiles for a personalized experience.
Try any of the game modes from the following:
- Word Drop
- Tumbler
- Rush
- Languages
You can play in practice mode against the computer and also track your stats.
10. Tic Tac Toe Glow
If you are a fan of Tic Tac Toe, you will love this version with glowing effects and cool animation. The game has one-player or two-player modes. You can adjust the difficulty of one player mode from Easy to Medium to Hard.
You can play with family and friends in two players mode. The additional glow collection has Air hockey glow, Billiard glow, Ludo glow and more.
11. 8 Ball Pool
8 Ball Pool is an online game to challenge your friends and others. It has the option to play multiplayer or player vs player games. You can sign up using your Facebook or free Miniclip account. You have customized cues and can challenge friends for a PvP match.
This is the best game for seniors who love to play pool.
12. Golf Clash
This is one of the best free iPad games for seniors who love golf. The game has won the “Best Mobile Game” award from BAFTA and the “Game of the Year” award from the Mobile Game Awards. You can play on beautiful courses against other players and compete in tournaments.
You can challenge your Facebook friends or play player vs player games. Other features include:
- 1v1 real-time gameplay
- Dozens of golf courses to choose from, and a new course is added every month
- Global golf tournaments every two weeks
- Try the Golden Shot to win prizes
- Chat and emojis to interact with the opponent
Thousands of live players are online at any given time. A must-have game for golf-loving seniors.
13. Pictoword
Pictoword tests your brain by providing you series of pictures and you have to find the hidden word by combining the pictures. For example, you will have a picture of an “Ear” and “Ring” and the answer is Earring. The game offers
- Varying levels of difficulties from easy mode to hard mode
- Tons of categories (including landmarks, movies and objects) to guess words from
- Play solo or with friends
Over 300 guessing games and regular updates so it never gets boring. There is no time limit so you can take your time to guess the words or take help from others.
14. Wordscapes
Wordscapes is currently the Number 1 iPad game in the “Word” category and is downloaded by millions of users. It is an easy modern word puzzle with some great word search, anagrams and crosswords. Connect the letters and find as many hidden words as you can and unlock beautiful landscape backgrounds.
You will love and get addicted to this game quickly.
- Relax your brain with stunning destinations
- Test your vocabulary power by connecting letters and finding the hidden words
- 6000+ crossword puzzles: From easy to hard
- Have fun in each level at your own pace with unlimited tries
This is one of the best free iPad games for seniors who love word games. Check this top-rated game out and have unlimited fun on daily basis.
15. 2248
2248 is a minimalistic and elegant game where you have to join the same number blocks so they merge into higher numbers. This game makes you think out of the box and improve your memory and concentration levels.
The idea is to get the highest number possible by sliding the numbers in any of eight directions (up, down, left, right or diagonally) and merging them. The game has smooth and simple controls and no time limit which makes it ideal for seniors.
Enjoy this list of the top 15 games for seniors on iPad. You may want to also check out the best iPad apps that i shared earlier.