How to play the memory game
All cards start face down, and every picture appears on exactly two cards. Flip any two cards. If they show the same picture, they stay face up. If not, they turn back over after a moment, and you try to remember where each one was. Find every pair to finish the game.
Pick a grid: 4×3 has 6 pairs and suits young kids, 4×4 has 8 pairs, and 6×5 has 15 pairs for a real challenge. The timer starts with your first flip. The score bar shows your moves, time, pairs found and your best score for that grid. On a keyboard, move between cards with the arrow keys and press Enter to flip.
Tips to use fewer moves
Flip a new card first
At the start of each move, turn over a card you have not seen yet. If it matches a card you remember, go straight to that one. If it does not, use your second flip on another unknown card, so every move teaches you something new.
Work in rows
Flipping cards in order, row by row, makes positions easier to recall than jumping around. You only have to remember "second row, third card" instead of a random spot.
Name what you see
Saying a quick label in your head, such as "red circle, top left", gives your memory two hooks instead of one. The shapes on these cards are easy to name on purpose. Some players build little stories, like the moon sitting next to the cloud.
Do not waste a known card
A common mistake is flipping a card you already know is unmatched when you could flip an unknown one. Only flip known cards when you are completing a pair.
What is a good score?
A perfect game uses one move per pair, so 6 moves on 4×3, 8 on 4×4 and 15 on 6×5. Nobody gets that without luck, because you cannot know where the first cards are. With careful play, finishing in about twice the number of pairs is a good result, and anything close to that on 6×5 means you are paying close attention.
Variants
This game is also known as concentration, pairs, or match-up, and it is often played with a regular deck of cards, where two cards of the same rank and color make a pair. Teachers use matching cards with words and pictures, or with math problems and their answers. For a harder version, try remembering not just where cards are but finishing within a set number of moves. The 2-player mode turns it into a contest where every mistake shows your opponent a card.
Looking for another brain teaser? Try Hangman or a number puzzle like Kakuro.
Questions
What counts as a move?
Each time you turn over two cards, that is one move, whether they match or not. A perfect game needs exactly as many moves as there are pairs, which only happens with a lot of luck.
Where is my best score saved?
Your best result for each grid size is stored in this browser on this device. Fewer moves wins; if two games tie on moves, the faster time counts as better.
Is it color-blind friendly?
Yes. Every card has its own shape as well as its own color, so you can match pairs by shape alone.
How does the 2-player mode work?
Players take turns flipping two cards. Find a pair and you keep it and go again; miss and it is the other player’s turn. Whoever collects more pairs wins.