Cheer up. Maybe Grandma will let you play with hers.

The video game that’s been the rage of younger generations for the past year is becoming a sensation at senior-living communities.

At Prestonwood Court in Plano, Texas, residents turn their common room into a virtual bowling alley every day and burn up the lanes with strikes and spares.

"My age doesn’t mean a thing to me, because I know I can still bowl," said 89-year-old Crissie Kennedy, one of the Wii kingpins at the assisted-living community.

Like other residents, Kennedy belonged to a bowling league in her earlier years, so the video game has helped her recapture a part of her youth.

Wii players stand, or sometimes sit, in front of a big-screen TV and manipulate a wireless controller that translates their arm motions onto the screen.

The console comes with a sports package that includes baseball, boxing, golf and tennis. But bowling is by far the most popular with seniors.

"Bowling was always big with the GI Generation," said Lauren Shaham, a spokeswoman for the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging.

Now, with Wii and a little imagination, even players with arthritis are able to relive their glory days, she said.

Nintendo didn’t set out to appeal to older adults when it created Wii, but company officials are pleased the game has caught on at retirement communities.

"It just proves our point that anyone at any age can be a gamer," said Amber McCollom, a public relations manager for Nintendo.

For someone who’s never played a video game, Wii is easy to learn and master, she said, since its controller looks much like a TV remote.

Rhonda Duncan, Prestonwood Court’s director of life enrichment, said she first heard of Wii from her son, who was home from college.

"He brought his game over here and started playing in front of the residents," she said. "Before he knew it, many wanted to try their hand, too."

The community soon bought its own Wii and added it to the activity calendar.

"It hasn’t replaced bingo yet as the most favorite thing to do around here, but it’s definitely an up-and-comer," Duncan said. The game has also become "a grandkid magnet," giving residents’ grandchildren another reason to visit, she said.

"I’ve seen grandkids check our activity calendar so they can be here when we’re playing Wii," Duncan said.

Nintendo’s year-old video game first appeared in senior-living communities more by accident than design, Shaham said.

Because grandparents are among the biggest buyers of toys, one community decided to hold a toy fair to help its residents shop, she said.

"But once they saw Wii, the residents wanted it as much for themselves as their grandkids," she said. "Some played all night."

Word of the game’s attraction among seniors spread, and Nintendo set up exhibits at AARP conferences and senior-living industry conventions.

Erickson Retirement Communities was one of the first senior-living companies to discover Wii and installed games at all of its communities.

This fall, four Erickson communities, including Highland Springs in Dallas, competed against each other in a national Wii bowling tournament.

Team member Bob Kaplan, 71, brought the crowd to its feet by throwing nine strikes in a row and scoring almost a perfect game.

"The game is more physically demanding than you’d think," Kaplan said. "To play well, you really do go through some gyrations."

Those gyrations have drawn the attention of physical therapists at senior-living communities and turned them into fans of Wii.

Brenda Terry, vice president of rehabilitative services at Grace Presbyterian Village in Dallas, said she uses the game to motivate patients.

"When our residents hear they’re going to play Wii, they’re more willing to get up from their chairs and start their therapy," she said.

Terry said the Nintendo game helps patients work on their balance, eye-hand coordination, response time and stretching.

Cheryl Oakes, the assisted living director at Parkway Place in Houston, said the only problem she’s had with Wii is that it’s made her less popular at home.

Though her retirement community snared the hot-selling game six months ago, she hasn’t been able to find one for her children.

"I’ve told them that they may have to wait until they’re old enough for senior living," she said. "That hasn’t gone over very well."