Who said getting smarter and staying sharp is hard? The complete opposite is true. Getting smarter is not only easy, it’s addicting. Don’t believe me? Play any of these 15 AARP free games and notice it’s near impossible to walk away from your screen.
We all get bored from time to time, so playing games to kill time is good, because at the same time you can stimulate your brain! Playing addicting games helps keep you alert and engaged. AARP members and others (not necessarily seniors) play games to enhance the pleasure in their daily lives. Staying sharp and enhancing memory are toppings on the cake!
So, what’re the top 15 best AARP free games you must play in 2023?
Let’s find out!
What Are AARP Free Games and Why Should I Care?
But first, you must understand what AARP free games are and why you should even care about playing them.
AARP stands for The American Association of Retired Persons and they focus on issues and problems people who’re aged 50 or older face daily.
At its core, AARP games are games people play to stimulate their minds. But the term is commonly used for any brain game that stimulates the mind and thinking capacity of any person, regardless of age.
So there’s really no age qualification; ANYONE can play these online games and benefit from mind stimulation. Why wait until you’re older? Start playing these AARP games now!
The Benefits Of Playing AARP Games
If you want to get physically stronger, what do you do? You challenge your body by hitting the gym. So what do you do if you want to get mentally stronger and sharper? You challenge your mind by playing AARP games.
It’s simple.
Think of playing AARP games like reps and sets at the gym. The more volume you do, the stronger and sharper your mind becomes. A study done in 2018 found that brain training done on healthy people can vastly increase cognitive abilities. Your brain needs exercise just like your body.
So if you want your friends and family to watch in awe as you perform mental activities that they can only dream of, then here are the best 15 AARP free games to play to stimulate your brain. For some of these games, you can earn AARP reward points. This is awesome for AARP members, so how fun is that?
1. 10 x 10 Game (Similar to Tetris)
Who hasn’t played Tetris? It’s probably the most popular games ever and certainly most addictive. 10 x 10 is a game very similar to Tetris called 10 x 10 (they probably couldn’t call it Tetris due to copyright issues), and the challenge and fun is the same.
The 10 x 10 game is one of the more popular games because it taps into the brain’s love for solving puzzles and keeps the brain active. Players must think quickly and strategically which assists with staying sharp. Whether you’re one of the millions of AARP members or not, you’ll love this fun game!
In case you’ve been living under a rock, here’s how to play.
Your job is to complete lines by moving differently shaped tiles that descend onto a playing field. When you complete a line, it disappears, giving you points and more space to work with. But when the playing field is full of tiles, you lose.
10 x 10 trains your brain to think and make decisions under pressure. In real life, we’re often faced with multiple decisions each day and by playing 10 x 10, we get used to making these high-pressure decisions. It’s truly one of the most stimulating AARP games.
When the game starts, you’re given a blank slate, and you must place the tiles at the bottom on the board:
After you place the first 3, you’ll be given tiles in sets of 3 to place on the board. Placement becomes more challenging as more tiles are on the board. For example, in the image below, there are only a few spots to put the circled tile set:
When you fill an entire line horizontally (row) or vertically (column), the tiles disappear and clear up space. The horizontal row in the following image will disappear:
In the following image, there’s no where to place the green tile set in the bottom middle, unless you clear space with the purple tile set in the bottom right:
When there are no moves left, you’ll receive the following screen, and the game is over. You have run out of room on the board!
This AARP free game will certainly get some neurons moving!
2. Classic Solitaire
The word “Solitaire” can mean any single-player game that needs skill and concentration to layout tiles or cards.
The most common version of Solitaire is played with cards and is almost like a puzzle that needs a different strategy each time because of its different starting points.
The roots of Solitaire go back to the 1700s in Europe and Scandinavia. Books written in Russia and Sweden in the early 1800’s also reference Solitaire.
It was originally only played with a physical deck of cards but when Microsoft released the Windows version of Solitaire in the 1990’s, people started playing it on their computers and popularity skyrocketed. This is how we all first discovered Solitaire.
Solitaire is a great strategy game. Each time you play requires a different strategy since the cards your computer gives you are always changing. This translates well into real-life since most scenarios don’t have a given formula. It requires a little improvising and persistence, but of all the AARP free games, you’ll enjoy this game immensely, and it is worth playing!
3. Sudoku
For the longest time, I thought Sudoku originated from Japan. But Swiss mathematicians founded Sudoku in the early 18th century, which they called “Latin Squares”. It quickly spread to France and the rest of Europe. And it wasn’t until 1984, where it became popular in Japan.
Sudoku trains your logical brain since it’s a puzzle that requires strategy and a basic understanding of numbers. This can help you in real-life situations like quickly counting change or budgeting.
4. Daily Crossword Puzzle
Who doesn’t love a good ol’ crossword puzzle? Crossword puzzles aren’t exclusively used by the elderly. We can use them to stimulate our brains by looking for words that are hidden in plain sight. There are other games and apps that help with this too that use words as the basis of play.
The crossword puzzle was created by Arthur Wynne in December 1913. At the time, the world was in a dark place. World war 1 just started, people thought the world was about to end, and desperately needed some entertainment.
Soldiers and workers throughout World War 1 and 2 did crossword puzzles regularly. This kept their mind sharp and entertained. Fast forward 100+ years and the crossword puzzle is still a staple of entertainment and knowledge.
Crossword puzzles will teach you to look for things that are hiding in plain sight. So often in our daily lives, we look at things, but we don’t see them. Our brain just filters that information into our subconscious mind without us being aware.
Crossword puzzles will make you more aware of your surroundings by training your brain to look for the “not-so-visible”. AARP has several different types of crossword puzzles in its repertoire of AARP free games, each with varying levels of difficulty. Read on to uncover others!
5. Daily American Crossword Puzzle
This puzzle is similar to the daily crossword puzzle, only the clues deal with American trivia. If you are a trivia fan, you will love this crossword! You can select puzzles from previous days, but it’s best to do one a day to keep the brain mites away!
With this classic game, you can also ask for a Reveal to solve the puzzle, reveal the word or reveal a letter:
This helps you manage the clues you get so you can test yourself. You should try this AARP free game if you are a trivia enthusiast!
6. Daily Quick Crossword
This crossword puzzle is designed to take 5 minutes and the difficulty level is lower than the other crossword puzzles. Use this puzzle to get warmed up for the others. There’s no better way to spend 5 minutes than to complete this AARP free game challenge!
7. Online Chess
Chess is multi-faceted in its ability to stimulate your brain and challenge you to think strategically. It’s one of the best AARP free games to play! In this game, you will compete against the computer. If you’re new to chess, use this game as an opportunity to learn in a non-threatening environment!
Chess is played by millions of people around the world, and for good reason.
It was born from the Indian game Chaturanga sometime during the 7th century and quickly spread to Persia, Europe, and the rest of the world. Fast forward to the present day and it’s one of the most popular board games ever.
Now you might be thinking, “I don’t have a board or any pieces”. Well, I have some good news for you. There are hundreds of apps that allow you to play against someone else online. Simply go to Play Store or Google Play, download a chess app, and play against someone that’s on the other side of the world.
Chess improves memory, concentration, and logical thinking. And there are basic principles to follow like:
- Protect your King
- Don’t get cornered
- Don’t expose yourself
- And don’t give away pieces without getting something in return.
By far the biggest lesson I learned from chess is sacrifice. Sometimes you’ll need to give up a weaker piece to eat your opponent’s queen. Give up the battle to win the war as they say. And this helps us make critical decisions and sacrifices in life to achieve something greater than what’s being sacrificed. These are tools and lessons we can use in our daily lives.
8. Asteroids
This is a different type of game in the AARP free games lineup. This one happens in space and has an Atari look and feel. Atari has been designing games for decades. Your job is to maneuver the spaceship to destroy flying saucers and asteroids.
To maneuver the spaceship, you can use the keyboard arrows. There are also onscreen arrows which can be utilized. You can also use your mouse or touchpad if using a laptop.
9. Backgammon
Who doesn’t like a good game of backgammon? Backgammon is a great way to increase your cognitive skills by using critical thinking. Studies show that a good game of backgammon helps combat stress and strengthen the immune system. Wow! It’s better than a vitamin shake.
Cognitive skills are increased by the critical thinking needed to play the game and studies have shown that playing backgammon also increases the players‘ ability to combat stress and potentially strengthen the immune system.
If staying sharp is an objective then this is definitely one of the AARP free games you’ll want to play!
10. Scramble Words
This is one of my favorites from the list of AARP free games! The basic strategy is to form as many words from a set of letters provided within the timeframe given. While there’s pressure to form words, hints are provided which makes the game for fun! AARP members love this tantalizing twist on word play!
For example, in the image below, you are given the letters R-P-M-E-I and one hint. There’s a 5-letter word beginning with the letter “P”. You have 3 minutes and 10 seconds on the clock.
The best strategy is to form as many words as you can with the letters given. Click on a letter to put it in the space above. Use the undo (green button to the right) to remove a letter. When you’ve formed a word, click the Enter button, and it will appear in the puzzle.
In the image below, I clicked the letters to create the word “Prime”. I then clicked Enter.
After clicking Enter, the word appeared in the puzzle, and the score updated to reflect the points for the word “Prime”. Because I solved “Prime”, I was rewarded with another clue — a 3-letter word with “I” as the second letter:
I guarantee this will become one of your favorite AARP games and will challenge your brain in ways you didn’t think possible!
11. Jewel Shuffle
In this game, the strategy is to align jewels of the same color in any direction. Matches must be at least 3 in a row or column. Once you’ve matched a string of jewels, they will disappear, and you will earn points.
In the image below, by moving the circled diamond to the right, you will create a vertical line of 4 diamonds. The more you line up of the same type, the more points you earn! How fun is that?
Click the magnifying glass on the left hand side to reveal a special jewel. The jewel will sparkle when you click the magnifying glass. The specia jewel is worth more points. The special jewel in the image below is the red one circled. By moving up the red jewel below the yellow one, you earn more points by aligning the 3 red jewels including the special jewel:
Here’s another example of aligning 4 jewels together:
When you align 4 jewels together, you create a “power gem”. The original gems will be replaced with a Power Gem of the same type. The Power Gem will glow and spin. If you align the Power Gem to create 3 in a row, the Power Gem will burst and eliminate surrounding jewels. You’ll earn more points for this!
Play the game and see how addicting it can be. It is one of the most addictive of the AARP games.
12. 5-Roll
This is a Yahtzee style game where you roll the dice and then pick the ones you want to keep. You try to form poker hands – 3 of a kind, two of a kind, full house, etc. Click a die to lock it on the board.
In the following image, I rolled 3 ones on the first roll and locked them on the board. With the remaining two dice, I rolled two fives creating a full house:
If you like Yahtzee and Poker, you’ll love this AARP game!
13. Daily Word Search
This is a “word search” style game where you try to find words within a group of letters. Each game has a theme which is explained in the beginning. The theme for the game below is “cops and robbers”, and all words relate to that.
The objective is to find the words on the left in the puzzle on the right:
I used to pay games like this all the time. The player becomes obsessed with finding the words in the puzzle, which makes it the most “obsessive” of the AARP games!
14. Jigsaw
Everyone loves a good jigsaw puzzle. This jigsaw is put together online. How fun is that? Just like a real jigsaw puzzle, put the pieces together to form the image. You can zoom in using the magnifying glass at the top. Click the “eye” icon to see the image in the final puzzle. Click the icon again to remove the image and return to the board.
You can move the pieces around on the table and when you find a matching piece, move the pieces close together, and they will snap together. This is really fun!
My strategy is to put the border together first, as it’s easy to determine the border pieces. Once the border’s done, I work on the middle.
When you start the puzzle, you are presented with 3 options – Easy, Normal, and Expert. Start off with Easy and work your way up. I usually select “Expert” to make it more engaging and challenging! Hah!
Believe it or not, this truly has a jigsaw puzzle feel, and is just as fun as the board version. I could play this all day long, but fortunately, there are other AARP games to play, so allocate your time wisely!
In the puzzle below, I managed to assemble part of the border on the left hand side:
15. Word Wipe
If you like word games and finding words within a collection of letters, you will absolutely love this game! The objective is to find words by linking the letters. You can link the letters in any direction to form words.
Oh, but there’s a catch! You must race against the clock, making this one of the most intense of the AARP games.
To be successful, you must clear as much of the board as possible. The bigger the word you create, the higher the score value!
In the image below, I linked the letters “W-I-T-H” to form the word WITH. Once I released the mouse to create the word, it disappeared, and my score updated.
Notice there’s a drag bomb on the left hand side above the “Goal” area. Use the bomb when there are only a few letters remaining on the screen, and it’s not possible to form new words. Drag the bomb to a letter and release it. This will cause the remaining letters to burst or blow up, and you will earn double points for clearing the board. To maximize your point score and win, you should wait until you get to the end to use the bomb.
Conclusion
Improving yourself and training your brain doesn’t have to be boring. On the contrary, it’s addicting. Start playing any of these 15 AARP free games and you’ll improve your cognitive abilities while developing an exciting hobby. Forget Facebook! Save your energy and improve your lifestyle while having fun.
There are many online games and variations that can help stimulate your brain and generate neuron activity! Agame has many games that are challenging and addictive. There are also online games with chat rooms so you can participate with others! If you’re into card games like poker, there are game apps for that too. Finally, there are plenty of games to play with your friends, so check that out! If you are dedicated, you will find your niche.
