How we design play that improves quality of life
Purposeful play
For people living with cognitive challenges, the right kind of play changes the day. Tover builds that kind of play. Backed by research.
Serious about play
Every care home has a room where the afternoon goes quiet. People sit still. Staff move between tasks. The day becomes something to get through.
Purposeful play is Tover’s answer to that silence. It is play designed around specific well-being goals, co-created with care professionals, and backed by over a decade of published research. It turns passive isolation into active presence and engagement for people living with dementia, people with learning disabilities, and children with special needs.
That is what separates it from recreational play or entertainment. Recreational play is open-ended. Purposeful play is built to produce a measurable change in someone’s day.
“We see people begin to move who otherwise would have remained inactive. It puts a smile back on people’s faces and encourages interaction.”
— Jannie de Roos, Activities Supervisor
What play reaches when other approaches can't
Play is dismissed in adult care more often than it is tried. But for people living with cognitive challenges, play reaches what structured programmes miss: emotional memory, social instinct, the drive to respond.
Purposeful play builds on what remains. And it works differently for each group:
What the research shows
Tover’s approach to purposeful play is informed by over 10 years of applied research, developed with universities, care organisations, and educators across 15 countries.
- Playing with the Tovertafel improved quality of life among nursing home residents with moderate to severe dementia (Bruil, 2017).
- A 2024 study in Frontiers in Neurology reported reduced apathy and increased social interaction during Tovertafel sessions.
- The Tailored Activity Program showed reductions in behavioural symptoms across 272 participants (Gitlin et al., 2010).
These are starting points. The full body of research, including independent studies, is on our research page.
Frequently Asked Questions about purposeful play
What is purposeful play?
Purposeful play is play that is designed around specific well-being goals, co-created with care professionals, and validated through published research. Tover uses purposeful play to improve quality of life for people living with dementia, people with learning disabilities, and children with special needs. It is not recreational play or entertainment. It is built to produce a measurable change in someone’s day.
What is the difference between play and purposeful play?
Recreational play is open-ended and unstructured. Purposeful play is designed around a specific outcome, such as reducing apathy, stimulating social interaction, or building self-confidence, and its impact is measured through research. Every Tovertafel game by Tover is an example of purposeful play in practice.
What is purposeful play in dementia care?
In dementia care, purposeful play uses intentionally designed games to break through apathy, maintain cognitive and physical abilities, and create social interaction. Research shows that playing with the Tovertafel improved quality of life among nursing home residents with moderate to severe dementia (Bruil, 2017). People with dementia are confronted with what they can no longer do every day. Purposeful play builds on what they can still do.
What does 'serious about play' mean?
‘Serious about play’ is Tover’s tagline. It means Tover treats play as a tool for well-being, not as entertainment or a way to fill time. Through purposeful play, interactive light projection games co-designed with care professionals and backed by over a decade of published research, Tover turns passive isolation into active presence and engagement for people living with cognitive challenges.
Go deeper
Purposeful play is a practice, not just a principle. These articles show what it looks like in care homes, classrooms, and research.
