Wuxi old man wins prize for his game for the elderly

Song Jiayi demonstrates his "stick game", a game he invented for elderly people that won an award at the National Creative Design Competition for Elderly-oriented Games in Beijing on Oct 28. [Photo/news.jnwb.net]

Sponsored by Tsinghua University, the competition aims to call attention to the elderly and enrich their lives.

In some foreign countries, games specifically designed for senior citizens have proved to be of great physical and mental benefit. For elderly people, playing these games regularly can not only help them see their relatives and friends more often, but can also act as a form of rehabilitation training.

Games designed for the competition were required to be creative and easy to understand. There were no restrictions on the games' style or age limit.

The award ceremony was held on the Double Ninth Festival, a traditional Chinese festival that is also known as a festival for the elderly.

Song Jiayi, a 68-year-old man from Wuxi, was awarded the special prize along with eight other game designers.

Song heard about the competition by chance and spent 12 days designing 13 mini-games before the deadline.

He won the prize for his "stick game", a new variation on a classic game often used to help increase the coordination and dexterity of patients with cerebral palsy or who suffer from other conditions that have affected their arms and fingers.

Song's new version of the game is divided into three mini-games, which each become progressively more difficult.

The first mini-game is a finger-guessing game, with the winner adding items such as sticks and blocks to a tower. Players continue guessing and adding items to the tower until it collapses.

Song asked his friends to test the game in a nursing home. The home was full of laughter, whether the blocks fell down or not.

The competition was an opportunity to raise people's attention for the elderly and to show that elderly people can enjoy a colorful old age.