BRAIN GAMES

for your brain

Exercise your brain and have some fun with these puzzles designed to stimulate different cognitive functions.

Backwords (easy)

All the answers in this game are semordnilaps—words that spell a different word forward and backward, such as faced and decaf. (Give yourself a gold star if you noticed something special about the word semordnilap!)

1. Forward it’s a state of armed conflict; backward it’s uncooked. _______________________________________ 2. Forward they’re spinning toys; backward it’s a small stain on a shirt or tie. ___________________________________ 3. Forward they are tasty seeds such as almonds; backward it means to astonish or shock. _______________________ 4. Forward it’s the movement of the ocean; backward it means to correct written material. ___________________ 5. Forward it’s an auger or chisel; backward it means to steal things during a riot or war. __________________________ 6. Forward it means intelligent; backward it’s another word for trolleys. ______________________________________ 7. Forward it’s a civil wrongdoing; backward it’s a mediumslow gait for a horse._______________________________

Toponyms (harder)

Toponym is just a fancy word for a place name. In this game we have a group of words that were derived from place names. For example, did you know that the French phrase serge de Nîmes, which means “a sturdy fabric” from Nîmes” (a city in France) is where the word “denim” came from? 1. Ground beef named after a city in Germany.__________ 6. A very small, oily fish named after a Mediterranean island 2. A small yellow bird named after a string of islands off the near Italy. _______________________________________ northwest coast of Africa. _________________________ 7. A small leafy green vegetable named after a city in 3. A race of 26.2 miles named after a town in Greeece. Belgium.________________________________________ _______________________________________________ 8. A rich sauce named after the Netherlands. ___________ 4. A stiff paper for file folders or envelopes named after the 9. Men’s formal wear named after a village in upstate capital city of the Philippines. ______________________ New York. _______________________________________ 5. Worldwide sporting event named after the tallest 10. A brimless hat named after a city in Morocco. mountain in Greece. ______________________________ ______________________________________________

Double Trouble (hardest)

Compound words are made up of two smaller words, such as hayloft or watchtower. In this game we give the second half of some compound words. You must identify the one word that precedes each of them to make a compound word. For example, given the words weed, coast, and sick, the one word that makes each a compound word is “sea” (seaweed, seacoast, and seasick). If you’re really stuck, there are hints for these in the Answers on page 62. 1. Stairs, town, fall, size. __________________________________________________________________________________ 2. Drum, muff, phone, ache. ______________________________________________________________________________ 3. Headed, weight, house. ________________________________________________________________________________ 4. Hole, handle, power, slaughter. __________________________________________________________________________ 5. Back, bridge, strings. __________________________________________________________________________________ 6. Coat, cast, board, dose. ________________________________________________________________________________ 7. Ship, wood, ware, headed. ______________________________________________________________________________ 8. Door, fuse, hale, mate, stall _____________________________________________________________________________ 9. Brush, liner, port, craft._________________________________________________________________________________

Reprinted with permission from Nancy Linde, author of the best-selling book 399 Puzzles, Games, and Trivia Challenges Specially Designed to Keep Your Brain Young,417 More Games, Puzzles, and Trivia Challenges Specially Designed to Keep Your Brain Young, and 299 On-the-Go Games and Puzzles to Keep Your Brain Young. She is also the creator of the website Never2Old4Games.com, which is used by many senior-serving organizations in the U.S. and Canada. ANSWERS ON PAGE 62

Everybody Knows That Friends Everybody Knows That Friends Make the Best Neighbors. Make the Best Neighbors.

We recognize the true foundation of a home starts with the community of We recognize the true foundation of a home starts with the community of people residing there—living, learning and growing together. We believe people residing there—living, learning and growing together. We believe community connections are integral to health and well-being throughout our community connections are integral to health and well-being throughout our lives, especially as we age. At Village Concepts, we are lives, especially as we age. At Village Concepts, we are Creating a Village That Feels Like Family. Creating a Village That Feels Like Family.

Call Today: Call Today: 1-888-548-6609 1-888-548-6609 14 Locations in Western Washington 14 Locations in Western Washington

VILLVILLAGE CONCAGE CONCEP EPTS TS

INDEPENDENT LIVING • ASSISTED LIVING • MEMORY CARE INDEPENDENT LIVING • ASSISTED LIVING • MEMORY CARE