Playing Your Cards Right at Oasis Life: Can Games Really Boost Brainpower?
At Oasis Life, we’ve long believed that the small, daily rituals of community life matter more than they seem, and playing card games regularly has powerful brain boosting benefits when done right.
A Canasta table filling up on a Thursday afternoon. A Sudoku puzzle tackled over a mug of rooibos. A Rummikub circle that stretches long past its intended finish time.
These aren’t just ways to pass the day. They are subtle but powerful acts of mental investment.
And the research increasingly agrees.
More Than Just Fun
South African neuropsychologist Dr. Mark Solms of the University of Cape Town has spoken about the importance of everyday mental activity in older adults — particularly when that activity is playful and social. Engaging in familiar, enjoyable challenges helps reinforce neural pathways and supports emotional resilience, something that becomes increasingly valuable with age.
In other words: delight matters.
Clinical psychologist Dr. Debra Alexander of Stellenbosch University similarly notes that strategy-based games requiring memory, reasoning and pattern recognition can be therapeutic in their own right — especially when embedded in local culture and routine rather than isolated in digital brain-training apps.
It turns out that consistent, meaningful stimulation — not flashy gadgets — is what sustains cognitive vitality.
Where Research Meets Real Life: Canasta at Burgundy Estate
At Oasis Life Burgundy Estate, the Clubhouse is the social heartbeat of the estate — where Tai Chi unfolds in the studio, lunches stretch into afternoon conversations, and card tables fill with quiet concentration and bursts of laughter.
What began as a quiet afternoon ritual has grown into one of the estate’s most popular fixtures: Canasta.
Formal games take place every Thursday afternoon, while Mondays are reserved for relaxed “pitch and play” sessions — an open, welcoming space where newcomers can learn and returning players can refresh their skills without pressure. Lessons are offered. No one is excluded.
Today, between 25 and 35 regular players gather each Thursday at Oasis Life Burgundy Estate and it’s a thriving group.
And recently, something remarkable happened. After hosting two successful in-house Canasta drives, the Burgundy players wondered: could this beloved game build bridges across estates?
Clara Anna Fontein — also known for its own enthusiastic Canasta circle — was the obvious choice. Conversations began between Marian Draper at Burgundy Estate and Annemarie Brenzel at Clara Anna Fontein. There was friendly back-and-forth. A shared set of playing rules was agreed upon. A date was set.
On the day, 40 players took their seats. Partners were drawn at random, levelling the field and adding surprise. Scores were meticulously recorded by official scorekeeper Matt Brenzel. Prizes — generously donated by residents and local businesses — were laid out. Estate management ensured catering, additional prizes and transport for Clara Anna players.
After two rounds of play, individual scores were tallied. Burgundy claimed the floating trophy. Clara Anna walked away with many of the prizes. But the real success wasn’t measured in points.
It was measured in laughter, camaraderie and the quiet electricity that fills a room when people are fully absorbed in something they love.
It was Canasta at its best — competitive, social, mentally engaging, and deeply connective.
The Cognitive Case for Cards
Canasta may look like a social pastime. In reality, it’s a serious workout for the brain.
Research consistently shows that mentally stimulating games involving strategy, memory and pattern recognition — combined with active social engagement — support cognitive health as we age.
Canasta exercises:
Memory and concentration: Tracking played cards, remembering melds, anticipating opponents’ moves.
Strategic thinking: Planning ahead, assessing risk, adapting tactics — strengthening executive function.
Collaboration and communication: Playing in pairs builds coordination and emotional engagement.
Neuroplasticity: Learning or relearning the game activates the brain’s ability to form new connections.
As geriatric psychiatrist Prof. Dan J. Stein (UCT and SAMRC) has noted, social engagement plays a critical role in mental health and may delay cognitive decline by strengthening emotional connection alongside cognitive stimulation.
In short: the brain thrives on use — especially when use involves other people.
Games as Social Medicine
There is something uniquely powerful about shared challenge.
A peer-reviewed systematic review of leisure-focused occupational therapy interventions found that structured recreational activities involving social and cognitive tasks were associated with measurable improvements in attention, memory and overall wellbeing.
This matters deeply in a South African context, where our older population is growing and researchers at institutions such as Wits University are developing cognitive screening tools better suited to local populations.
The message is clear: brain health isn’t built in clinics alone. It’s built in communities.
It’s built around tables.
Beyond the Cards
At Oasis Life, games are part of a wider rhythm of engagement.
A quiz night followed by supper. A Rummikub circle that turns into coffee. Bridge games that lead to walking groups.
Mental stimulation doesn’t happen in isolation — it happens in relationship. That’s the real secret. We’re not simply keeping minds busy.
We’re keeping people connected. And connection, as much as cognition, is protective.
A Community Life Well Played
If you walk into the Clubhouse at Burgundy Estate on a Thursday afternoon, you won’t see “brain training.”
You’ll see friends. You’ll hear laughter. You’ll feel that particular hum of shared focus and friendly rivalry. And you’ll witness something quietly profound:
A community choosing to stay sharp. A group choosing engagement over disengagement. Residents who understand that purposeful play is not frivolous — it is foundational.
Canasta isn’t just good fun. It’s good for your brain. It’s good for belonging. And it’s one more example of life well played at Oasis Life.
Citations:
- Solms, M. UCT Department of Psychology. Expert commentary on cognitive activity in older adults. (Wikipedia)
- Alexander, D. Stellenbosch University, Dept. Psychiatry. On strategy games and mental agility in older age.
- Stein, D. J., UCT and SAMRC. Social engagement and cognitive ageing in South Africa. (Wikipedia, Wits University, Medical Brief)
- Systematic review on leisure-focused occupational therapy for older adults and MCI. (PMC)
