Tabletop and screen games linked to memory gains in older adults
In a randomized trial of 60 adults aged 60 or older, both game groups scored higher than controls after 15 sessions.
Registered IRCT20250825066982N1
Limit: Testing ended immediately after 15 sessions, with no follow-up of lasting memory gains
Edited by Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News
Sixty community-dwelling adults aged 60 or older in Aran and Bidgol, Iran, took part in a randomized controlled trial comparing tabletop games, screen games and a control group. Each group had 20 participants. Both game groups continued their usual program and added 40-minute game sessions twice weekly for 15 sessions. Controls received the usual program alone.
The researchers assessed memory and related thinking skills before and immediately after the intervention using the Wechsler Memory Scale, Third Edition. Both game groups’ total scores rose and were higher than controls’ scores at the final assessment. The screen-game group scored higher than the tabletop-game group. The authors cautioned that this did not establish overall superiority of either format.
Why it matters
Age-related memory decline can threaten independence and quality of life. The trial addressed whether games might offer a non-drug way to support cognitive health in community settings.
Caveats
Immediate post-intervention testing did not establish whether score gains lasted or translated into better daily functioning. The trial was retrospectively registered and involved community-dwelling older adults; the abstract does not report adverse events.
The paper
Qom University of Medical Science and Health Services
BMC Geriatrics, Oct 30, 2026, Open access, CC BY-NC-ND
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