Cognitive Memory Games

Card Games

• A deck of cards is all you need to play, and this game can be played alone or with a few people. Shuffle the deck and place the cards face-down on the table. The first player chooses a card and attempts to find the matching card with the same color and number. If the cards don't match, they are put face-down again. If they match, the player gets another turn. The object of the game is to remember where the cards are placed by each player in order to find the matching cards. The game continues until all the cards are gone. The winner is the player with the most matching cards. Here's another game you can play with a deck of cards: Place four cards face-down, quickly turn them over and then put them face-down again. The players have to repeat out loud the cards that were shown and the order they were in. If they get it wrong they are out.

Games Without Materials

• Something as simple as the calendar can be used for memory games. For example, say the days of the week backward, then say them in alphabetical order. You can also apply this to the months of the year. Another game is to try to quickly name the months of the year that have 30 days followed by the months of the year that have 31 days. Other memory games that can be played anywhere include naming two objects that begin with each letter of your name, and to make it more challenging, name up to five objects without repeating any.

Online Games

• The Internet provides many games to develop a variety of skills, including memory games. One game is "Pattern Memory." The screen quickly shows a pattern set out on a grid, then disappears. You repeat the pattern by checking the boxes on the grid. "Simon" is another game available online, and is played by following the blinking color pattern. The colors on the screen will blink in a certain pattern, and you have to click on the colors to repeat the pattern within a certain amount of time.

Visual Games

• To increase your skills in visual memory, write a list of objects. Start with 10 and increase that number with each round. After writing the objects down, repeat the list in the proper order without looking. Another game can be played with one detailed picture or a picture of a group of things. The players can study the picture for one minute. When the minute is over, the players have to write down everything they can remember from the picture.