How Well Can You Remember? Try This Memory Game To Find Out

Hello, everyone! Agnee and Peter are back with another fun session of playing and learning. We hope you had fun playing the games we have been showing you so far. 

In this episode, we will try a different approach. Instead of our usual ways, where we tell you the rules and encourage you to play, we are going to play together at the end of our episode, after we explain the rules and benefits!

Are you excited? Let’s go. 

Things you need

• 10 (or more) things at random. It would be better if they were not related

               (or)

• A set of even numbers of cards (16 or 20) with sets of two identical pictures. For example, if we have 20 cards, we need 10 sets of two identical pictures. 

Rules of the game

First of all, there are two versions of the game. And we will explain the rules of both the versions separately.

Version 1

• You can play this as a friendly contest with other children of your age and have an adult conduct this game. Another way is one player setting the game for others. 
• In both the attempts, all you need to do is gather 10 or 15 items from the house. They could be anything – a ball, a spoon, a book, a toy. All you need to ensure is that they are really different. 

Exercise your brain

• The player must have one look at the items. They can spend a moment – ideally a minute or two – to remember the items. You can use a fun rhyme to remember better. For example, if there’s a ball, a spoon and a book- you can probably sing – Have a ball in the spoon and read the book! 
• The player who gets all the answers right in the shortest time wins!

Version 2

• This is a more famous version. For this, you need cards with identical image pairs. They need to be inverted so that the images are not seen.
• You must open the TWO cards, in any random order. After opening the cards, you need to invert them. Then you can open two each at a time.
• Remember the position of images and open the matching two cards. Try and find as many matching pairs as possible. The sooner you find them, the more points you get. 
• The judge or the scorer must start the stopwatch to understand how fast the players find the right pairs.

A sample game

There are other versions of the game, where you can pair up images with a connection.

For instance, one way this game can be played is by joining a flower with a bee, or a tree with a monkey! 

What do you learn?

Memory games are fun, intensive and require a lot of concentration and quick thinking. And when you play these memory games, you develop a lot of such traits.

Let us explain how:

• When you train your brain to play so many types of memory games, several brain functions such as attention, concentration and focus improve. 
• And when memory games involve finding the differences between two really similar images, you really develop your attention to detail. Sometimes, you also develop your critical thinking skills when you remember the sequence of items using a rhyme or a trick in your head. 

Children will learn a lot using this game

• Memory games can improve visual recognition. When you play memory games based on spotting differences, or linking similar images, you develop your visual skills quite fast. 
• It enhances your short term memory. Experts say that a good short-term memory can improve a person’s long-term memory as well. You’ll also remember things for longer periods of time. And guess what, this benefits learning. Being able to move things from your short-term memory into your long-term one will improve your learning ability too. 

And now we play!

Now that you have understood the different ways you can play the memory game, let’s play a game. Here are some very simple rules 

• Go on a walk with your parents. 
• Spot the first 10 different things that you see and ask your parents to note them down. 
• Once you finish your walk and go back home, try to remember the items. Brownie points if you remember the order!
• Share your experiences with us in the comments.

We hope you have fun playing this game. Until we meet again, happy learning!