Memory Match

About the Memory Match exercise

Which drawer holds the spoons, where the glasses were put down, which cupboard the tea is in: remembering where things are is part of almost every day. A matching pairs game practices the same thing in a small, friendly space, one card at a time, and it is one of the most familiar memory games for seniors and adults alike.

Memory Match is a free online memory matching game in large print. Every card starts face down. Turn over two: if they show the same picture they stay up, and if not they turn back over, so the job is remembering where each picture was. The pictures are clear line drawings of everyday things with their names underneath, and nothing on screen counts down.

How to play the matching pairs game

The matching pairs game is also known as Concentration or Pelmanism. The rules fit in a sentence: find every pair by turning over two cards at a time.

1. Tap a face-down card to turn it over.
2. Tap a second card. If the two pictures match, both stay face up.
3. If they don't match, look at both, then let them turn back over.
4. Keep going, using what was seen on earlier turns, until every pair is found.

What Memory Match practices

Remembering where things are

Each card that turns back over leaves a picture and a place to hold on to. Finding a pair from memory means recalling both what was seen and where it was.

Attention to each card

Every card is shown only while it is face up. Looking closely at both cards on every turn, including the ones that don't match, is what makes the later turns easier.

Holding several places at once

As the board fills with cards already seen, several picture and place pairs have to be kept in mind while choosing the next card, which is working memory.

Naming

Names under the pictures give a word to go with each card. The picture and name mode turns half the cards into words, so a picture is matched with its name instead of its twin.

How the tool works and what it records

Three free presets: 4 pairs with a five-second look at every card first, 6 pairs, and 8 pairs. Pictures come from 119 everyday line drawings in eight groups: kitchen, animals, tools, vehicles, clothing, nature, home, and music. Pro unlocks the dials: 3 to 12 pairs, a picture and its name instead of two pictures, pictures from one group only (look-alikes, which is harder), a look first of up to 10 seconds, and how long unmatched cards stay up, from 1 to 5 seconds. Always free: cards that turn back by themselves or stay up until the next tap, names under the pictures, and large print.

The round counts turns taken (two cards per turn), pairs found, and time. It also counts a missed seen match: a turn where the first card's partner had already been turned over earlier, so its place could have been remembered. The fewest turns possible is one per pair. Signed-in users get 5 free rounds per tool per day; Pro removes the cap, adds a PDF of cut-out cards (12 to a Letter page), and saves rounds to a session log.

Screen or paper?

The screen deals a fresh board every round, turns cards back on its own, and counts turns and missed seen matches without anyone keeping score. Paper cards suit a table activity with a group or a visitor, people who find handling real cards easier than tapping a screen, and sessions without a device.

The printable version is the Picture Matching Cards on rehabworksheets.com, and there is a free games and puzzles for dementia to try first, with no email required.

Using it well

• Start small and add pairs slowly. Begin with 4 or 6 pairs. Add a pair or two only when rounds finish comfortably with few missed seen matches, and drop back when a round starts to feel like hard work.
• Use the look first for a gentler start. The 4 pairs preset shows every card for five seconds before they turn over. It gives a head start on where things are and suits a first try or a tired day.
• Let unmatched cards stay up. Cards that stay up until the next tap give as long as needed to look at both pictures. This suits anyone who takes a little longer to take in what they see.
• Say the names out loud. Naming each picture as it turns over, such as cat, then apple, adds a spoken cue to the picture and its place. Keep the names under the pictures on for support with finding the word.
• Compare like with like. Turns and time depend on the number of pairs, the look first, and the picture groups. Keep the settings the same from session to session when looking at change.

Common questions