Memory Match

How to play

1. Pick a Grid: 3 × 4 (6 pairs), 4 × 4 (8 pairs), 4 × 5 (10 pairs) or 6 × 6 (18 pairs).
2. Choose the Cards: Emoji (fruit, plants and weather symbols) or Shapes (18 simple geometric shapes, each with its own colour).
3. Choose the number of Players: 1 player, or 2 players (take turns) on the same device.
4. Turn over a card by clicking or tapping it, then turn over a second one. If both show the same symbol, they stay face up. If not, they flip back after a moment, so try to remember where they were.
5. Keep going until every pair has been found. New game (or the N key) deals a fresh, shuffled set of cards.

Each pair of cards you turn over counts as one move. You don’t have to wait for a missed pair to flip back: turning over the next card hides them straight away.

Scores and records

In a solo game, the panel shows your Moves, the Time since your first card, and two records for the chosen grid: Fewest moves and Best time. Both are saved in this browser, separately for each grid size, so a 6 × 6 game is only compared with other 6 × 6 games. The timer pauses while the tab is in the background.

In a 2-player game, each player’s pairs are counted separately and the active player is highlighted. A player who finds a pair plays again; after a miss, the turn passes to the other player. When the last pair is found, the player with more pairs wins, or the game is a tie.

What is a good score? Someone with a perfect memory still has to discover each card once, so even flawless play takes more moves than there are pairs. A result of about 1.5 to 2 moves per pair is very good; beginners often need 3 or more.

Tips to remember more cards

• Scan systematically. Turn over unknown cards in a fixed order, row by row, rather than jumping around. It is easier to remember positions along a path.
• Name what you see. Saying “apple, top left” in your head uses verbal memory as well as visual memory.
• Use known cards first. When you turn over a card whose partner you have already seen, go straight for the partner.
• Don’t waste the second flip. If your first card is new, use the second flip on another unknown card to learn more, unless you already know a match.
• Chunk the board. On large grids, focus on one area at a time before moving on.

Accessibility and controls

The cards are buttons. With a keyboard, press Tab to reach the grid, move with the arrow keys (Home and End jump to the ends of a row) and turn a card with Enter or Space. Screen readers announce each card’s number and, once it is face up, its symbol by name. The Shapes set never relies on colour alone: every shape has a distinct outline. Card animations are turned off when your system asks for reduced motion.