Boggle BrainBusters: Find the Birds
How many words can you find without getting boggled down?
Exercise your mind by searching for words hidden in the Boggle cube. The more letters the better – plus bonus words to up the ante. Find as many words as you can by linking letters up, down, side-to-side, and diagonally, writing words on a blank sheet of paper. You may only use each letter box once within a single word. Play with a friend and compare word finds, crossing out common words. Up this week, Boggle BrainBusters word challenge. Don’t get ‘boggled down’!
Tip: Play on your tablet or computer
To play the game on your tablet or computer, download the puzzle image above, then use any basic photo editing software (such as Preview, available on Apple products) to mark up the puzzle, as in the example below:
Bonus answers to Boggle brain-building puzzle below
This week’s “boggled down” Boggle answers:
OWL
EMU
HAWK
WREN
SWAN
CROW
HERON
EAGLE
PELICAN
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Looking for more free online games for seniors?
Our own Boomer cartoon caption contest, regularly updated
Every month, the Boomer caption contest provides a new cartoon for readers to write their own clever caption. We also capture the top 10 caption submissions so readers can vote for their favorite. And we announce the winner from the cartoon before that!
The Boomer cartoon caption contest page is updated monthly with new cartoons, so bookmark it for your change to create, vote, or just laugh!
The Benefits for Seniors of Playing Games
We usually think of playtime as being for young children and fondly recall games of our youth: hide and seek, ghost in the graveyard, marbles, jacks, hopscotch, Candyland, Trouble. At some point, kids outgrow these non-productive activities and move on to the more serious aspects of life. Right? Not so fast! It turns out that play is beneficial for people of all ages: from games of tag on the playground to bingo in a nursing home, games offer mental stimulation, social engagement, stress relief, and fun.
Science behind the benefits
A recent French study found that “stimulating leisure activities (board games) are considered as possible protective factors against dementia and cognitive decline in elderly people, particularly due to enhancement of cognitive reserve.”
Many seniors enjoy board games such as chess, backgammon, and Trivial Pursuit. Card games like rummy, pinochle, cribbage, bridge, and canasta can help improve memory and enhance brain function with a stimulating mix of numbers, letters, and colors.
Playing games with others provides social benefits, whether for cards, board games, or word games like Scrabble and Scattergories. Those who meet regularly experience fewer feelings of loneliness and isolation, not to mention the boost in brain power and confidence they get.
For those who have maintained their health and mobility, physical games and sports provide other benefits of play for seniors: can improve motor and visual skills and provide cardiovascular benefits. Shuffleboard, darts, miniature golf, corn hole, pickle ball, croquet, and bocce fall into this category.
And find a new favorite game among these funny games for game night!
