How to Play Concentration

By Jaques of London · Est. 1795 · Updated 2026-08-17

Concentration is a memory card game in which all cards are laid face-down in a grid and players take turns flipping two at a time, trying to find matching pairs. It needs no reading ability, no complex scoring, and no special equipment beyond a standard deck, which makes it one of the most genuinely accessible games a family can pull out.

Its appeal is straightforward: younger players can beat adults on pure recall, which keeps the table competitive and the atmosphere good-humoured. It works equally well on a kitchen table, a classroom floor, or a rainy-afternoon carpet, and a full game rarely outstays its welcome.

A little history

The origins of Concentration are not clearly documented. Memory-matching games using cards or tiles appear in various cultures, and the game under the name "Concentration" was widely known in English-speaking countries through the twentieth century, including as a popular television game-show format in the United States from the 1950s onward. Beyond that, its precise lineage is unclear, and any specific attribution should be treated with caution.

Setting up

1. Remove the Jokers so you have exactly 52 cards and 26 pairs.
2. Shuffle the deck thoroughly.
3. Lay all 52 cards face-down on the playing surface in a regular grid. An 8x6 rectangle of eight columns and six rows works well, though any orderly arrangement is acceptable.
4. Make sure no cards overlap and every card is fully concealed.
5. Decide who goes first: youngest player, or cut the deck and highest card starts.

How to play

1. On your turn, choose any face-down card and turn it face-up in place so all players can see it.
2. Choose a second face-down card and turn it face-up in the same way.
3. If the two cards match in rank (for example, both are Sevens, or both are Queens, regardless of suit), you have found a pair. Collect both cards, set them aside in your personal scoring pile, and take another turn immediately.
4. If the two cards do not match in rank, all players study their positions. Turn both cards face-down again, leaving them in exactly the same positions. Your turn ends and play passes to the next player clockwise.
5. Players must not move, stack, or reposition any card once it has been placed in the grid.
6. A card that has been turned face-up must remain visible until the full sequence of two flips is complete for that turn. You may not change your first selection after seeing it.
7. Continue clockwise until every card has been paired and removed from the grid.

Winning and scoring

When the last pair is claimed, each player counts the cards in their scoring pile. The player with the most cards wins. Because there are 26 pairs (52 cards), a two-player game produces a clear winner unless both players take exactly 13 pairs, in which case the game is a draw. With more players, ties are broken by agreement before the game starts, typically by replaying a short tiebreaker round with a reduced deck.

The fine points

The most common dispute is whether a player must commit to their first card before choosing the second. The standard ruling is yes: once you have touched and begun turning a card, that is your first selection. Allowing a player to change their mind after seeing the face of the first card gives an unfair informational advantage and undermines the memory element of the game.

A second frequent question is whether matched pairs must share both rank and colour (for example, requiring both red Queens) rather than rank alone. The standard rule is rank only, so any two cards of the same number or face value constitute a match regardless of suit or colour. If your group prefers the stricter colour-matching rule, agree before dealing. Note that colour-matching halves the number of valid pairs and significantly lengthens the game, which is worth flagging to players with younger children at the table.

How to win more often

• Watch every card that is flipped, not just the ones you turn yourself. The key skill is remembering what other players reveal on their failed turns.
• Prioritise memorising the positions of high-value targets first. When you see a card that another player has already shown, note its position immediately rather than trying to remember everything equally.
• Do not always take the easiest known pair on your first go. Sometimes it is worth flipping an unknown card first so you can gain new information at no cost if it happens to match something you already know.
• Keep your composure when you flip a card you recognise: experienced players watch opponents' reactions to learn which positions hold known cards.
• With younger children in the game, consider reducing the deck to 32 or 40 cards (remove entire rank groups) to shorten play and keep attention from wandering.

Variations

Suit Matching

Pairs must match in both rank and suit colour: the two red suits (Hearts and Diamonds) match each other by colour, and the two black suits (Clubs and Spades) match each other by colour, so a Queen of Hearts matches only the Queen of Diamonds, and so on. This variant creates a more demanding memory challenge and produces a longer game. It works best with older children and adults.

Triple Concentration

Use two standard decks shuffled together and require players to find three-of-a-kind matches instead of pairs. On each turn a player flips two cards; if they match, they must immediately flip a third to complete the triple. Only a three-card match earns a score. Unmatched cards are returned face-down. This version suits confident adult players and runs considerably longer than the standard game.

Reduced Deck for Young Children

Select a smaller subset of the deck, for example 20 or 24 cards (ten or twelve pairs), to create a grid that young children can manage without becoming overwhelmed. Choose visually distinctive ranks such as Aces, Kings, Queens, Jacks, Tens, and Nines so the faces are easy to distinguish quickly. This format is well suited to children aged four to six playing their first games.

Speed Concentration

Remove the turn structure entirely: all players flip cards simultaneously, racing to call out matching pairs they spot across the grid. The first player to call a valid pair correctly claims both cards; an incorrect call forfeits the player's next turn. This version is chaotic, loud, and best suited to a group of adults or older children who already know the standard game well.

Concentration: frequently asked questions