Playing Kioku Reduces Loneliness in Older Adults: A Pilot Study.

Playing together increases social connectedness, and it may be a tool to reduce loneliness. Research into the mental health benefits of board games is underdeveloped. The study aims to examine the effects of the Kioku board game on well-being outcomes. The Kioku board game was developed in order to enable small group interactions with a focus on encouraging participants to create stories through mutual attention and interaction. We hypothesized that following a weekly intervention for 12 weeks, players would report a decrease in loneliness and an increase in well-being, compared with nonplayers. During the summer of 2022, participants in groups of 4-5 players, chose a cube word and narrated a story. A sample of 151 older adults (Mean age 75.05 ± 6.46 years) recruited from seven community activity centers in Israel was assigned by block randomization to an intervention ( = 72) or a control group ( = 79), awaiting 4-6 weeks for future participation. Loneliness (UCLA loneliness scale) and well-being (World Health Organization 5-item scale) were evaluated at baseline and at 12 weeks. A two-way repeated measures analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) (Group × Time) controlling for age, country of origin, and marital status revealed significant interaction effects for loneliness [(1, 146) = 178.04, = 0.549, ] and well-being [(1, 146) = 69.14, = 0.321, ]. Loneliness decreased in the intervention group (mean difference: 0.62 points, ), and increased in the control group (mean difference: 0.18 points, = 0.001). Well-being increased in the intervention group (mean difference: 0.79 points, ) and decreased in the control group (mean difference: 0.20 points, ). Our findings support the effectiveness of the Kioku board game intervention for decreasing loneliness and promoting well-being in older adults, who might still be coping with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.