How to Play The Memory Game

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

The Memory Game is a card-matching parlour game played with a grid of face-down cards. On each turn a player turns over two cards, trying to find a matching pair. If the cards match, the player keeps them and takes another turn. If they do not match, both cards are turned face-down again and the next player tries. The game continues until every card has been claimed.

Its appeal is straightforward: the rules take under a minute to explain, yet the game genuinely rewards sharp concentration and a good recall of where previously seen cards were placed. It works equally well on a kitchen table, at a family gathering, or as a quiet indoor game for a wet afternoon. Players of widely different ages can compete on reasonably equal terms, which is a large part of why it has remained a staple of family game nights for generations.

A little history

The Memory Game belongs to a broad family of matching and concentration games whose exact origins are unclear. Pairing games appear across many cultures and have been played in various forms for centuries, often using hand-made tiles or picture cards. The structured grid format most familiar today became widely popular during the twentieth century as inexpensive printed card sets made the game accessible to mass audiences. It is traditionally played without any proprietary equipment, using a standard picture-card deck or a set of homemade paired cards, and has been known by several names including Concentration and Pairs in different parts of the world.

Setting up

1. Agree on how many pairs to use. Beginners and younger players do well with 12-16 pairs; experienced players typically use 20-26 pairs or more.
2. Shuffle all cards thoroughly.
3. Lay every card face-down on the table in a regular grid. Rows and columns should be neat so that each card's position can be described easily (for example, row 2, column 4).
4. Decide the turn order. A simple draw of a card from a spare deck, or youngest-player-first, works well.
5. Ensure all players can see the entire grid without any card being obscured. Adjust seating or grid shape if needed.

How to play

1. The player whose turn it is chooses any face-down card and turns it face-up, visible to all players.
2. The same player then chooses a second face-down card and turns it face-up.
3. If the two cards match (they form an identical pair), the player takes both cards, places them in their own scoring pile, and immediately takes another turn.
4. The player continues taking pairs and additional turns for as long as each attempt produces a match.
5. If the two cards do not match, both cards are turned face-down again in exactly the same positions where they were found. The player's turn ends.
6. Play passes clockwise to the next player, who follows the same procedure.
7. Players must turn cards fully face-up so that all players can see them before announcing whether the pair matches. No card may be concealed or turned back early.
8. A player may not touch or move any card other than the two they are currently turning on their turn.
9. Continue until all cards have been matched and removed from the grid. The game then ends and scores are counted.

Winning and scoring

The player who has collected the most pairs at the end of the game wins. Each pair counts as one point. If two or more players are tied on the same number of pairs, those players share the win; no tiebreaker is required unless the players themselves agree one in advance. For a longer contest, play a set number of rounds and total the pairs collected across all rounds; the player with the highest cumulative total wins the match.

The fine points

The most common dispute concerns whether a player must commit to their second card before receiving any reaction from other players. The standard ruling is yes: the player must name or touch the second card before it is turned over, and may not change their choice after seeing other players' expressions. Similarly, a card is considered chosen once it is touched; the player cannot switch to a different card. If a player accidentally glimpses the face of a card while handling it during setup or after a failed turn, that card should be reshuffled into the grid before play continues.

A second common question is whether the grid positions must be strictly maintained. The answer is yes. When a non-matching pair is returned face-down, each card must go back to the exact square it came from, not to any convenient nearby space. Shifting cards around defeats the core mechanic of the game. If the grid becomes disrupted, all players should agree on the correct positions before play resumes. Any player who deliberately misplaces a returned card should forfeit their next turn as a standard penalty, though players may agree a different sanction before the game begins.

How to win more often

• Prioritise memory over guessing. Spend the early turns watching every card that other players reveal, not just focusing on your own picks. The information is free and accumulates quickly.
• Use a mental grid system. Assign rough coordinates to the table (left-right and near-far) and attach each seen card to a position. Vague recollections of 'somewhere in the middle' are rarely good enough.
• When you have no known match available, choose your first card from a section of the grid you have not yet seen. You gain new information even from a failed turn, so make that information count.
• Watch your opponents' reactions. A slight hesitation before turning a second card often signals uncertainty; confident movement usually means they have remembered a match. This read improves with practice.
• In the endgame, prioritise completing pairs you already know over fishing for new ones. A certain pair now is worth more than a speculative turn that hands information to a rival.

Variations

Team Memory

Players split into two teams of equal size. Teammates take alternate turns within the team, but team members may not communicate verbally or signal non-verbally during a turn. Pairs collected count toward the team's shared total. This variation suits larger gatherings and shifts the challenge toward silent coordination and trusting a partner's memory.

Speed Memory

A sand timer or phone timer of 60 seconds is used. On their turn, a player may flip as many pairs as they can within the time limit, keeping all matched pairs found before the timer runs out. Unmatched cards are returned face-down when time expires and the turn passes on. This variant rewards quick thinking and suits players who find the standard pace too leisurely.

One-Flip Rule

Each player may only turn a single card on their first turn of the game, after which normal two-card turns apply. This slows the opening phase and forces more careful initial observation before any matches are possible. It is particularly useful with larger grids of 40 or more cards where the early pace can otherwise feel chaotic.

Blind Memory

Once the grid is laid out, players are given 30 seconds to study all cards face-up, then all cards are turned face-down simultaneously before play begins. This inversion of the usual learning curve is significantly harder and is best suited to players who find the standard game too easy. The 30-second window can be adjusted by agreement to suit the group.

The Memory Game: frequently asked questions