MEMORY MATCH EXTENSION GAMES




There are so many ways

to play with your

Science ABCs Memory Match Game!

Here are a few:

Science ABCs Memory Match – Traditional Game Instructions

Shuffle and place all cards face down on the playing surface…grid format or crazy design – you choose!

The first player selects two cards and turns them over.

If the cards do not match, the cards are returned face-down to their original position and the next player takes a turn.

If the cards match, the player reads the cards out loud, keeps the cards, and takes another turn.

The game ends when all of the matches are made. The player with the most matches wins.

Science ABCs Memory Match Game Variations

10-card Picture Match

The object of the game is to be the first to match all cards in your hand.

Shuffle and place all cards face down on the playing surface in random format. Each player selects ten cards for their hand.

Any matches are placed face-up next to the player.

The players take turns to select a card from the pile. If the chosen card matches a card in the player’s hand, they have a match and take another turn. If no match is made, the card is placed face down back in the pile.

The winner is the first person to match all of the cards in their hand.


Go Science

Like Go Fish. The object of the game is to be the first player to match all cards from their hand.

Similar to 10-card match, but if no match is found, the player keeps the card and continues to draw additional cards until a match is made.


What’s Missing?

The object of the game is to identify which card was removed.

Place a number of cards face up on (the more cards, the more challenging the game, so for younger children start with just 3-4 cards).

Tell your child to have a close look at the cards. Name the cards together and talk about the image; the more you discuss the cards, the more likely your child is to remember them.

Cover the cards with a cloth. Ask your child to close their eyes, and then remove one card from under the cloth.

Remove the cloth. Ask the child to open their eyes and tell you which card is missing.

Option for older children: Use more cards and allow them to look at the cards for a short amount of time (e.g., one minute). Then cover up the cards and ask the child to write a list or draw as many of the cards as they can.


Go Exploring!

The object of the game is to remember as many cards that were found when exploring as possible.

Place 26 distinct cards face down. The first player starts the game by saying, “I went exploring and found a ____,” flipping over a card, and naming an object on the card. The first player turns over the card, setting it in front of them.

The second player continues, “I went exploring and found a (names the first player’s card) and a ___ (adding a new card to the list).”

Players continue taking turns to remember the cards found in order as the list gets longer and longer. The winner is the last person who can correctly name all of the cards in sequence.


Sequence Recall

The object of the game is to remember all cards in order.

Five (or more) random cards are placed in a series on the surface. One player is given time to memorize the sequence. Their partner takes the cards, shuffles them and places only four of the cards back on the surface. The first player must place the remaining cards in order, and identify which card is missing and where it was located.


Modified Catch Phrase

The object is to guess the word that is being described.

Children sit in a circle with a timer set for a random amount of time (3-8 minutes works well).

Shuffle the 26 word/ definition cards and place the cards in a random pile on the surface.

The first person draws a card and tries to get the other children to guess the word by giving verbal clues. The person with the card cannot say the word or any part of the word.

When someone guesses the word, the stack is passed to the next person who takes a turn with another word.

The person holding the stack of cards when the timer goes off loses


Spell a Word

Use the 26 letter cards to spell words.


Science Charades

The object is to guess the word that is being displayed.

Shuffle the 26 word/ definition cards and place the cards in a random pile on the surface. Divide everyone into two teams.

Each team member picks one or two cards. The first team chooses one player to act out the word on their card, while the teammates have 3 minutes to guess the correct answer.

If the team guesses the correct word within the time limit, that team scores a point. A player from the opposing team then takes their turn and this continues until all of the cards are used up. The team with the most points wins.