Free memory games

What makes a memory game

A memory game shows you something for a moment and then asks for it back. In the oldest form you turn two cards over, and if they do not match they go face down again, so it is up to you to remember where everything was. Other memory games work with sound: a tune, a beat or an animal call plays once, and you repeat it.

People play memory games for a calm, focused few minutes, to practise concentration or to play with a child. The games on this page cover both kinds. Two are card-matching games, three are music games that ask you to listen and play back, and one is a Halloween pairs game that appears in its season. They share short rounds, clear feedback when you get it right and boards or tunes that grow as you improve.

Memory games to start with

Pair Up is the classic card game on a card table. You turn two cards at a time and find the twins, with four hand-drawn decks of animals, fruit, space and shapes and boards from 4 × 3 up to 6 × 6. It has Classic and Timed modes, a daily board and a round for two players on one device. Streak multipliers and an efficiency bonus mean a careful player scores better than a fast one.

Memory Zoo is made for children aged four to ten. Besides animal pairs it has sound pairs, a round where you remember who hid behind the bushes, animal homes, Simon sequences and odd one out, at three age levels with no reading needed. There is no timer and no losing.

The music games train your ear. In Xylo Quest a songbird sings a tune on eight rainbow bars, you play it back and it grows by one note each round, across thirty levels from Whistle Forest to Lullaby Moon. Drum Kit has a cartoon band play a one-bar beat while the pads light up, and you play it back on kick, snare, hi-hat and tom. Melody Maker has thirty Echo puzzles where you hear a loop and rebuild it note for note. In the Halloween season, Costume Match adds 24 boards of costume pairs and a friendly ghost that swaps hidden cards.

How to play and get better

With a mouse you click a card to turn it over. Pair Up and Costume Match also work with the arrow keys and Enter or Space, and on a touch screen you simply tap. In Xylo Quest the keys 1 to 8 or the home row from A to K play the eight bars and Space plays the phrase again. Drum Kit uses D, F, J and K or 1 to 4 for its four pads, and Melody Maker places notes with a click or the arrow keys and Space. Every game here works on phones and tablets too.

For the card games, turn over cards in a steady order, such as row by row, so the positions are easier to recall. Say the picture to yourself when you see it. In the music games, listen to the whole phrase before you start, and use the replay key: in Melody Maker, faint ghost notes appear after two listens.

Frequently asked questions