How to Play Memory Match (Pairs)
The classic pairs game explained, with gentle strategies for remembering where the cards are hiding.
The game your grandchildren already know
Memory match — or pairs, or pelmanism if you learned it long ago — could not be simpler. All the cards lie face down. Turn over two: if they match, they stay face up; if not, they turn back over, and you try to remember what you saw. The game ends when every pair is found.
There is no timer on our version and no opponent unless you want one. The only score is your number of turns, and the only goal is a pleasant few minutes.
Gentle strategies
- Say what you see: quietly naming each card as it flips — 'teapot… robin' — makes it far easier to remember
- Anchor to position: 'the rose is in the corner' sticks better than 'the rose is somewhere'
- When a new card doesn't match, don't sigh — you've just learned where two cards live
- Work in one area of the board at a time rather than jumping about
Playing together
Two players take turns, and a matched pair earns another go. It's one of the few games where a seven-year-old and a great-grandmother meet as absolute equals — and where the great-grandmother frequently wins.