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Handheld computer games, which used to be the domain of young males, are finding new uses among seniors who are trying to combat forgetfulness.

Forgetfulness is a common effect of aging, best combated by stimulation. Nintendo, inventor of Super Mario and Pokemon games, has scored a hit in Japan with “Brain Training for Adults,” which features a number of games and puzzles that Ninetendo says can stimulate the brain.

Kyoto’s Uchida Hospital runs a “memory loss clinic” for patients with dementia. The hospital makes easy-to-operate, hand-held Nintendo consoles available to patients. Doctors at the hospital even recommend elderly people purchase the console to stimulate their brains regularly at home. The doctors also watch people playing the game as an informal method of diagnosis.

“The game won’t cure dementia. But it’s a good form of stimulation,” said Dr. Takeshi Kihara, a neuropsychiatrist at the clinic. “Brain Training” is scheduled to launch in the U.S. April 17 and will feature “Sudoku,” the wildly popular number puzzles.