How do you play the memory game?
Every card starts face down, and each picture is on two of them. On each move, you flip two cards, which stay face up if they match and flip back over if they don't. Find every pair to win.
The trick to fewer moves is which card you flip first. Unless you already know where a pair is, start each move with a card you haven't flipped yet. Say it's a moon. If you've seen the other moon, go get it. If you haven't, flip another new card, because the other moon can only be a card you haven't seen yet. When Medium feels easy, try Hard.
What's a good score?
On Medium, 16 moves or fewer is a good game, and 12 or fewer is a great one. A move is two cards, match or not. Why not eight moves, one for each pair? Even the best possible play averages about 12, so a great game is about as good as it gets.
| Board | Good game | Great game |
|---|---|---|
| Easy (12 cards) | 10 or fewer | 9 or fewer |
| Medium (16 cards) | 16 or fewer | 12 or fewer |
| Hard (24 cards) | 30 or fewer | 19 or fewer |
How we set the marks: In October 2026, we simulated 50,000 games per board with a player who remembers only the last four cards they saw. Their average is the good mark. For the great mark, we simulated 200,000 games per board with a player who never forgets a card, and those averages match Velleman and Warrington's published formula for the best possible play.
Train your memory with Elevate
This game is about remembering where you saw something, but names, directions, conversations, and shopping lists need other kinds of memory. Elevate has a memory game for each.
- Name Recall teaches you tricks for remembering people's names.
- Sequencing is about directions and the order things happened in.
- Synthesis works on the details of a conversation, like linking dates with names and places.
- Retention is for short lists, like the five things you went to the store to buy.
- Attention helps you become a more attentive listener and exercise your short-term memory.
The games adapt to your progress, keeping you challenged as you build your skills. You can enjoy one three-game workout every day for free. To access memory games and the full Elevate experience, you'll need a subscription. Choose an annual plan to start with a seven-day free trial.
Curious how your memory works? Start with how working memory and short-term memory differ, and then pick a few memory exercises you can fit into your day.