Concentration (Memory)

Full rules

1. Overview
2. What is a pair?
3. Setup
4. Playing a turn
5. Winning the game
6. Tips for beginners
7. Variants

Overview

Concentration – also called Memory or Pelmanism – is the classic memory game, played here with an ordinary deck. All cards lie face down on the table. On your turn you turn up two of them: if they are a pair, you keep them. Whoever has collected the most pairs at the end wins. Even small children can play – and they often beat the grown-ups.

• Players: 1 or more – best with 2–6.
• You need: one standard 52-card deck, no jokers, and a big table (or the floor).

What is a pair?

Two cards form a pair if they have the same rank and the same colour:

• 7♥ and 7♦ are a pair (both red).
• 7♠ and 7♣ are a pair (both black).
• 7♥ and 7♠ are not a pair.

So the deck contains exactly 26 pairs.

Setup

1. Shuffle the cards well.
2. Lay out all 52 cards face down so that none of them overlap – for example in 4 rows of 13, or in any pattern you like.
3. Choose who goes first. Then you take turns clockwise (to the left).

Playing a turn

1. Turn two cards of your choice face up, one after the other, so that everyone can see them.
2. Pair? Take both cards and put them in front of you. You get another turn straight away.
3. No pair? Let everyone look at the cards for a moment, then turn them face down again in the same place. Now it's the next player's turn.

Example: Anna turns up the Q♦ – and then the Q♥. A pair! She keeps both and turns up two more cards: the 3♣ and the 9♥. No pair, so she turns them back over. Ben remembers where the 9♥ is…

Winning the game

The game ends when all cards have been taken. Everyone counts their pairs: the player with the most pairs wins. If players are tied, they share the win.

Tips for beginners

• Watch closely when the others turn up cards – their mistakes help you.
• Turn up a card you haven't seen yet first. If it matches one you remember, take its partner; if not, you now know two more cards.
• Say the cards quietly to yourself: "red King, top left".
• A neat grid makes positions easier to remember than a jumble.

Variants

Optional – agree before you start.

• Any colour (easier): any two cards of the same rank are a pair (7♥ and 7♠, too). This is how pagat.com describes the game; it is good for small children because every card has three possible partners.
• Two decks (longer): shuffle two decks together and lay them out in 8 rows of 13.
• Zebra: a pair must be the same rank in different colours (7♥ with 7♠ or 7♣).
• Spaghetti: don't lay the cards out in rows but scatter them across the table – much harder to remember.
• Solo: play alone and try to clear the table in as few turns as possible.