No.249
Concentration: Matching Pairs
Japanese name: 神経衰弱
Materials
- 12–52 playing cards with matching ranks, or 3–12 pairs of matching picture cards
How to play
- Begin with 12–20 cards containing two of each chosen rank. Arrange them face down in a grid, agree a turn order and sit where everyone can see them.
- On your turn, turn two cards face up, one after the other. Wait until everyone has seen their ranks and keep each card in its original position.
- If they match, take both. To reduce waiting time, this book passes play to the next person even after a successful match.
- If they do not match, leave them visible for a few seconds, then turn them face down in their original places and pass the turn. Watch positions and ranks on other players' turns too.
- Finish when all cards are gone and count the pairs collected. In cooperative play, find all pairs together and try to finish in fewer turns than last time.
Ways to adapt
Preschool children: three picture pairs. Younger primary school children: 6–10 number pairs. Older primary school children: 52 cards.