When I want to avert my eyes from my cell phone screen or have had enough of the game apps on it, I truly enjoy checking out free online games. And whether I’m looking for a relaxing one, one to give my brain a boost, or a strategy-style, I want them to be affordable to play, aka, free. Here are the best online games for women when you’re ready for some fun downtime.
As each day passes, I refuse to let my brain get stagnant, you know, the use it or lose it mentality. I love to play games on my cell phone and on my Macbook and use the time I’m playing to keep my brain in check. So, at least once a day, if I’m able, I try to protect my brain health by stimulating it with an online game or two. Here are my favorites, as well as the most popular online games for women over 50.
Mahjong
I have an aunt that actually has a weekly Mahjong game with her senior friends in person. For me, I’d rather play Mahjong Solitaire online by myself when I’m able, and many times it turns into both my husband and 21-year-old daughter sitting beside me playing my game as well.
Super popular in Asian countries and cultures, the game began in the 1800s in China. Representing peace and friendship, it’s based on skill, strategy, and luck. Using 136 or 144 rectangular-shaped tiles, you match tiles with similar patterns or images until you’ve matched all of them or can’t match anymore. You can only match tiles that have free or empty sides.
Strategy comes into play as the tiles are stacked in ways where you cannot see the tiles below. So, you need to make matches that benefit both the tiles stuck between other tiles or ones you can’t see.
Solitaire
Give me a deck of cards when I’m home, and the first thing I’ll do with them is play Solitaire. But, when I’m on the go, waiting at the doctor’s office, or unable to use a full deck of cards, inline solitaire is a fine replacement.
If you’ve never played solitaire, the concept is pretty simple: there are seven rows of cards, and you have to move them from high to low and opposite colors. With the aces as the start of collecting the cards in four piles, the object is to get all of the cards from low to high in the four piles and in their respective suits.
There’s a definite learning curve to playing the game, but once you’ve got it down, it’s a ton of fun and can be played fairly quickly.
Word Search Games
Remember doing word searches in your classes at school? Depending on your grade level and knowledge of your primary language, you could find the words up, down, across, diagonally, and even backward.
Online word search games work the same way, happily. Find ones that suit your skill and comfort level, or go up a level or two to work your brain.
Mind & Brain Games
Brain games are used to improve thinking skills by training your mind to think logically and solve problems by pattern recognition. If I had to share my favorites, I adore playing Tetris and Simon (remember that game from the 1980s? I always wanted one!) when I want to test my recall and pattern skills.
Crossword Puzzles
I haven’t gotten the newspaper for many years, but when I did, I loved doing the last page crossword puzzle. These days, online crossword puzzles can be found for all skill levels and sizes. Super easy to use; all you have to do is click on the clue, and the correlating area in the crossword will get highlighted. Then, type in letter by letter until it’s filled in.
This is one of those games that I always start playing by myself, but my family eventually peeps over my head and “helps.”
Jigsaw Puzzles
Depending on the size of the online jigsaw puzzle you pick, you can finish them anywhere from a couple of minutes to days, so they’re just like the real thing with less mess and no worries about your pets jumping on the table and throwing your hard work on the floor.
Trivia
I have to be in the right mood for online trivia games, but when I am, I really enjoy them. You can find trivia challenges in practically any category (personally, I love the throwback music ones), and they can be anywhere from 10 to 100’s of questions long.
Treasure Hunt Games
If you have an eye for looking for hidden treasure, this type of game will be up your street. With generally the same format, you’re given items to look for and a specific amount of time to find them. But here’s the rub: the items are piled in with loads of other things, so it’s like a Where’s Waldo situation.
But once you get used to the game, it really is fun to see how fast you can find them.
Chess
I was never a fan of playing chess, but if you’ve played in the past, online chess would be a great way to pass the time. Happily, if you need to brush up on the rules, the online versions have tutorials to follow until you get back up to speed.
Checkers
I’ll choose checkers over chess any day, thank you. A traditional game, it’s fun to play when you’re on the road and can be played by having the computer as your opponent or playing with another online player.
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