Seated exercise games for seniors, played with a webcam
Updated 26 October 2026 · 6 min read
Every one of BodyArcade’s 11 camera games can be played from a chair. You sit in front of a laptop, tablet or phone, the camera follows your head, shoulders and arms, and the game answers what they do. Of the 11 games, 8 are free and 10 have a quiet mode. This page shows how to set up a seated round, what each game asks of you and what to take care of.
On this page
Who these games suit
The games are short, there is no controller to hold and every one can be played seated, so they suit older adults who want light movement at home, people who sit for most of the day, and anyone who cannot or would rather not stand and jump. They are games, not a medical programme: read the last section before you start.
Set up a seated round
- Pick a chair. A stable chair without wheels, with room around you for your arms to swing.
- Place the screen. Put a laptop on a table, or lean a tablet on something steady, at about eye level. The camera needs your head, shoulders and arms in view, and your hips too if it can. About 1 metre away works. If you sit too close, the app asks you to sit back a little so your head, shoulders and arms show. A few games ask you to raise both hands once in the set-up check, to make sure your hands stay in the picture, so leave some room above your head.
- Turn on Seated mode. In Settings, switch on Seated mode, and every game with a seated version uses it. You can also leave it off: when the app only sees your head and shoulders it offers to play at the desk, and the set-up check has a button, “Skip, play seated”.
- Mind the light. Put the light in front of you or beside you, not behind you. A window behind you turns you into a silhouette and the camera loses track of your arms.
- Start at Easy. The Easy and Normal difficulties are free. Hard and Expert are part of Pro.
Each game from a chair
This is how the app describes the seated version of every game. A round lasts from 90 seconds to 7 minutes.
| Game | How it plays seated | Round | Free or Pro |
|---|---|---|---|
| Squat Flap | Sit and flap with your arms: raise both, bring them down, hold them level to glide. | about 5 minutes | Free |
| Knee Sprint | Sit and swing your arms while you march your knees. You race on a ranking of your own, with no hurdles. | 3 minutes | Free |
| Star Catch | Seated play: every star stays within reach of a chair. | about 3 minutes | Free |
| Pad Work | Seated boxing: every punch from a chair, with leans but no ducks. | 7 minutes | Pro |
| Reaction Tag | Hands only: the whole game plays from a chair. | about 3 minutes | Pro |
| Firework Jacks | Arm jacks: open and close your arms overhead from a chair. | 4 minutes | Free |
| Twist Turbine | Seated twist: turn from the waist while you sit, with the same pace band. | 3 minutes | Free |
| Summit Climb | Sit tall and climb with your arms only. The wall is a little lower, with no ledges. | 5 minutes | Free |
| Limbo Bend | Seated bend: lean from the waist while you sit, same gates. | 3 minutes | Pro |
| Pose Wall | Upper body walls: the shapes need only your arms, trunk and head. | about 4 minutes | Free |
| Road Run | Lean and duck from a chair. No jumping needed. | 90 seconds | Free |
The gentler games and the livelier ones
In the app, 9 of the 11 games are marked low impact. The two that are not are Firework Jacks and Road Run. Played seated, Firework Jacks becomes arm jacks and Road Run needs only leaning and ducking, but they are still the liveliest games here, so begin with the others if you want it gentle. A quiet mode, with no jumping and no stamping, is in 10 of the 11 games too.
The Easy 60+ plan
The app has a ready-made plan for people 60 and over. It chains Pose Wall, Twist Turbine and Star Catch, all at Easy difficulty, with 30 seconds of rest between the games, about 11 minutes in all. It starts seated unless you have switched Seated mode off, and you can stand up whenever you feel steady.
Workout plans are part of Pro, except one. The free plan is Desk break: Twist Turbine and Star Catch, played seated, about 6 minutes. The games in both plans are free games, so you can also play them one at a time without paying. The plans page lists all 5 plans, and the Pro page has what Pro costs.
Staying safe, and what the app does not do
- Ask first if it applies to you. Check with a doctor if you are pregnant, have a heart or joint condition, or feel pain when you move. Do the same if a doctor or physiotherapist has told you to take care with exercise. Stop if you feel dizzy or a sharp pain.
- It is a game, not a treatment. BodyArcade is not a medical device, a rehabilitation programme or a falls-prevention programme. It does not measure heart rate or give medical advice, and we make no health claims for it.
- Keep things steady. Use a stable chair, keep water within reach and tell someone at home that you are playing.
- Rests are built in. Most games are played in sets with a rest between them, and you can stop at any time.
- The camera can miss a move. When a move does not count, the results screen says why, for example a hand out of view.
Questions people ask
Does every game have a seated version?
Yes, all 11 do. Each game page has a section called “Seated, quiet and low impact” that says how the game plays from a chair.
Do I have to stand up at any point?
No. Every game can be played seated from the first second to the last. The Easy 60+ plan starts seated, and standing is your choice.
Does it work on a tablet or an older laptop?
On any device with a camera and a current browser (Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari). If the app says your device is too slow for camera mode, you can play with the keyboard or by touch. Those rounds are practice and are not kept in your records.
What does it cost?
Of the 11 games, 8 are free, with their seated and quiet versions, the Easy and Normal difficulties and no ads. Pro adds the other 3 games, the harder difficulties and most of the workout plans. See the Pro page.
Is my camera video recorded or uploaded?
No. Your device turns the video into 33 body points on the spot, and the video is never uploaded, recorded or saved. Read the privacy policy.
Can I play with my grandchildren?
Yes. In 8 of the 11 games, two people can share one camera on a big screen such as a laptop, and each gets a score. Online rooms are for players aged 16 and over. The page on playing with friends has the details.
Keep reading
- Fitness games you can play in your browser: all the games, what each asks of you, and which to start with.
- Workout games to play with friends: online rooms, two people on one camera, ghost races and weekly boards.
- Workout games by body area: legs, arms, chest and back, core, cardio and mobility, game by game.
- How webcam fitness games work: how a browser reads your body, and how to set up your room.
- Exercise games for PC: what a laptop or desktop needs, the games you can play at a desk and the ones that need floor space.
- A Kinect alternative for PC: what a webcam can read next to a depth sensor, and the games it runs.
Open a game, turn on Seated mode in Settings and sit back from the screen. The first round takes a couple of minutes.
Play a game