How to play Memory Match
Memory Match is the classic pairs game, also known as Concentration or Pelmanism. All the cards start face down. Turn over two at a time: if the pictures match, they stay face up; if not, they turn back, and you try to remember where they were. Find every pair to finish.
Step by step
Look at the cards
The cards are laid out face down in a grid. Every picture appears on exactly two cards.
Turn over a card
Tap or click any card to turn it face up and see its picture.
Turn over a second card
Now choose another card. If the two pictures are the same, you have found a pair: both cards stay face up with a green check mark.
Remember the ones that didn't match
If the pictures are different, both cards turn back after a moment (or straight away when you tap the next card). Try to remember what was where.
Keep going until every pair is found
Each two cards you turn count as one turn. There is no clock, so take as long as you like. The game ends when every pair is face up.
Ask for a hint if you need one
The Hint button shows where one pair is for a moment. If you have just turned one card, it shows that card’s partner. Your result shows how many hints you used.
The full rules
What you need
Nothing at all on GamesBento: the cards are on screen, and you tap or click to turn them. To play at the table, any deck of playing cards will do. Shuffle it and lay the cards face down in rows, and a pair is two cards of the same rank and colour.
The aim
Find every matching pair of pictures in as few turns as you can. There is no clock and no way to lose, so every game can be finished.
How to play
All the cards start face down. Turn over any card to see its picture, then turn over a second card.
- A match: if both cards show the same picture, they stay face up with a green check mark. You have found a pair.
- Not a match: if the pictures are different, the second card shows a dashed border and both cards turn back after a moment. If you don’t want to wait, just tap the next card and the pair turns back straight away.
Each two cards you turn count as one turn. When every pair is face up, the game is finished and you will see how many turns you took.
You can also play with a keyboard: the arrow keys move between cards, and Enter or Space turns the card you are on.
Sizes
- Easy: 12 cards, 6 pairs. A good place to start.
- Normal: 16 cards, 8 pairs. The daily layout is always this size.
- Hard: 24 cards, 12 pairs. More to remember, and very satisfying to finish.
The cards are drawn as large as your screen allows, so the pictures are easy to see on a phone, a tablet or a computer.
Hints and Peek at the start
If you are stuck, press Hint. One pair is shown for a moment with a blue ring around it. If you have just turned over one card, the hint shows where its partner is. Hints are counted and shown in your result.
For a gentler game, practice mode has a setting called Peek at the start. When it is on, every card is shown face up for three seconds before they turn over. It is off unless you choose it.
Daily layout and practice
Every day there is a new daily layout, the same for everyone on the same date, so you can compare turns with friends and family. Finish it to add a day to your daily streak, and, if you like, to the weekly leaderboard.
For more play, choose New game, then Practice, and pick a size. Each practice game is a fresh shuffle.
Tips for the matching pairs game
- Turn a new card first. At the start of a turn, turn over a card you haven’t seen yet. If its partner is one you have already seen, you can go straight to it.
- Don’t waste a known card. If your first card doesn’t match anything you remember, use the second card to look at another new one, so you learn something either way.
- Work row by row. Many people find it easier to explore the grid in order, from one corner, rather than jumping around.
- Say the pictures out loud. “Apple, top left; boat, middle” can make a layout easier to keep in your head.
- Look at the corners and edges. Cards in corners and along the edges are often easier to remember than those in the middle.
- Take your time. There is no clock, so pause whenever you like. Your game is saved as you go.
A calm game for any age
Memory games for adults don’t need to be rushed or complicated, and this one is neither. Many people enjoy a round of this concentration card game as a calm way to unwind and a pleasant mental workout, and it is just as good played together, with a grandchild or a friend taking turns to point at the cards. As a memory game online, it is free, with no sign-up and no download, and once the page has loaded it keeps working even without an internet connection.
Common questions
Is there a time limit?
No. There is no clock anywhere in the game. Turns are counted, so you can see how you did, but you can take as long as you like over each one.
Can I play if I find it hard to tell colours apart?
Yes. Every picture is a different bold shape as well as a different colour, such as an apple, a sun, a key or a boat, so you never need to rely on colour. Found pairs have a check mark as well as a green border, and screen readers read out the name of each picture.
What is the daily layout?
Every day there is a new Normal layout of 16 cards, the same for everyone on the same date. Finish it in any number of turns and it counts towards your daily streak, and, if you like, the weekly leaderboard.
What does Peek at the start do?
It is a gentler way to play. In practice games you can choose to see every card face up for three seconds before they turn over. Tap any card to start straight away. It is off unless you turn it on.
Does using a hint stop my game counting?
No. A layout finished with hints still counts as finished, including for the leaderboard. The result simply shows how many hints you used.
What is the best possible score?
One turn for each pair: 6 turns on Easy, 8 on Normal and 12 on Hard. That takes a lot of luck, so most games take quite a few more.
Where it comes from
Matching games are very old. In Japan, a game of matching the painted halves of clam shells, kai-awase, is often said to go back many centuries. The card game played face down on a table is known by several names. In Britain it has long been called Pelmanism, a name usually linked to the Pelman Institute, a memory-training school that was well known in the early twentieth century. In North America it is often called Concentration, a name that became widely familiar from a television quiz show of the mid-twentieth century. It is also simply called Pairs or Match. The rules have stayed much the same throughout: turn two, keep a match, remember a miss.
