Screening Mild Cognitive Impairment in Older Adults via Meaningful Play

With our rapid aging society, more and more people are suffering from dementia. This increase puts a great strain on the healthcare sector, as well in cost as manpower. This calls for research of reliable and regular assessments that can screen for Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), the precursor to dementia. We see that this call is answered with more and more cognitive screening games being developed. However, most of these games are based on existing tests, often lacking in adherence and enticing gameplay. This paper discusses the possibilities of meaningful play, and more specifically, Klondike Solitaire, as a cognitive screening test. We report on the results of an analysis of player actions in Solitaire with 3 health professionals that are experts in the domain of MCI. Results suggest that Klondike Solitaire can be used for such an assessment, and that this would be a valuable additional tool for longitudinal assessment.