The ‘Tiles’ are turning at The Lawn, our Alton-based residential care home as residents enjoy their weekly Dominoes Club. “At The Lawn, we have a wide and varied range of meaningful activities for the residents to participate in,” said Steve Swift, the Registered Manager at the care home. “As some of the residents thoroughly enjoy Dominoes, we decided to create the weekly Dominoes Club – affectionately named The Double Six Society – for them.”
The Double Six Society meets a couple of times a week for an afternoon of as many ‘Hands’ of Dominoes as they fancy. “So far, there are four of us who never miss a Dominoes afternoon,” said resident, Brian Small, who made The Lawn his home four months ago. “We all agree, it’s the enjoyment of playing, rather than winning, so we don’t keep a running score, just a note of the weekly Winner.”
“I used to be the best Dominoes player at the care home, until Brian joined us,” added a grinning Kenneth Dunk, who moved to The Lawn four and a half years ago. “We don’t have any set ‘House Rules’, but we always start each ‘Hand’ with the highest double Domino tile turned over. Whoever has the highest number goes first and then, we’re off.”
“Playing Dominoes and being part of The Double Six Society is not only a great interaction for the residents, but also an excellent game for them to play as it has so many benefits,” added Adesoji ‘Soji’ Odukomaiya, the Activities Coordinator at the care home.
“Dominoes is an activity which combines straightforward rules with strategic elements which makes it both engaging and fun,” added Steve. “Playing can also enhance mental, social and physical wellbeing, lower blood pressure and boost immune systems, which are all positive benefits to the residents.”
“The game helps to keep the residents’ minds active, supports memory function, improves concentration and cognitive skills,” continued Soji. “Having to think ahead, plan potential Tile lays also challenges players, and matching and counting the numbered Tiles helps to maintain basic mathematical skills as well.”
Playing Dominoes provides a really good ‘Brain-to-Body’ workout as Player’s handle, shuffle and place the Tiles down which helps to maintain hand to eye coordination and fine motor skills, which is particularly important for older people with Arthritis.
“As Dominoes is a traditional and well-established game which originated in China around the 12th or 13th Century, it’s not only a nostalgic topic to spark and start a conversation, but also a wonderful reminiscing subject which can trigger pleasant, positive memories for the residents of games they have played in the past,” added Soji.
“My Grandfather taught me to play Dominoes when I was a child,” said Brian. “I played the game throughout my childhood, growing up, with my own family and now with The Double Six Society. I can still remember my first set of Dominoes and playing with my family when I was growing up. They were such happy times.”
In comparison to Brian, Kenneth is relatively new to Dominoes. “I suppose I’ve really being playing for the last five of six years,” said Kenneth. “My Brother taught me the game, and I’ve been hooked ever since.”
“It’s a really social game too,” added Steve. “The Double Six Society members have become incredibly good and close friends.”
“We all really like getting together, having a chat and playing Dominoes,” said Brian. “None of us have secret strategies, we just play and put it all down to luck.”
“Playing Dominoes and being part of The Double Six Society helps to keep our brains sharp, whilst enjoying a great time together,” added Kenneth. “We all agree that playing Dominoes gives our brains a good workout too, which can’t be bad,” concluded Brian.
Find out more about The Lawn care home by calling 01420 84162 or emailing [email protected].