A memory card game for 2 or more players.
Components
Use the red and black 2s, 3s, 4s, 5s, 6s, 7s, and 8s from a standard deck of cards.
This gives you 28 cards in total:
- two red cards of each value
- two black cards of each value
Cards match when they are the same colour and same value.
For example:
- Red 4 matches Red 4
- Black 7 matches Black 7
- Red 5 does not match Black 5
Setup
Place all cards face down on the table.
Wash shuffle the cards by mixing them around face down.
Spread the cards out so that no cards are touching each other.
Choose a first player.
Objective
Collect cards into your tableau and try to finish with the highest score.
Red cards are worth positive points.
Black cards are worth negative points.
Key Terms
Tableau
Your tableau is the collection of cards you have taken and placed in front of you.
Match
Two cards match if they are the same colour and the same value.
Player Turn
On your turn, flip three cards face up, one at a time.
1. Flip the first two cards
Flip two cards face up.
If the first two cards match, remove both of them from the game.
If the first two cards do not match, leave them face up for now. They will be flipped back face down at the end of your turn.
2. Flip the third card
Flip a third card face up.
Take this third card and place it into your tableau.
3. Check your tableau
If the third card matches a card already in your tableau, remove both matching cards from the game.
This means the third card you just took and the matching card already in your tableau are both removed.
4. End your turn
If the first two cards did not match, flip them back face down.
If you removed at least one matching pair this turn, you take another turn.
If you did not remove a matching pair this turn, play passes to the next player.
Instant Win
If a player removes two pairs in the same turn, they immediately win the game.
This can happen if:
- the first two cards they flipped match, and
- the third card they took also matches a card already in their tableau.
End of the Game
At the start of a player’s turn, if there are 2 or fewer face-down cards left on the table, the game ends.
The remaining cards on the table are not taken.
Scoring
Each player scores the cards remaining in their tableau.
Add together the values of all red cards in your tableau.
Then subtract the values of all black cards in your tableau.
For example:
Red 6 + Red 4 + Black 3 = 6 + 4 – 3 = 7 points
The player with the highest score wins.
Ties
If two or more players are tied for the highest score, they share the win.