Pairs, the memory game with playing cards

Few games are easier to explain than Pairs, the classic memory game played with a pack of cards. Every card starts face down, you turn over two at a time, and you try to find every matching pair. In Games by Zaweba it sits on the Cards shelf, is for one player and needs nothing but the mouse.

It is probably the easiest game in the collection to explain. That makes it a lovely one for children, for anyone new to computers, or for a few calm minutes when you want something that exercises the memory rather than the strategy.

How a game goes

All the cards are laid out face down. Click one to turn it over, then click a second. If the two are the same rank and the same colour, they are a pair and they stay face up. The seven of hearts and the seven of diamonds are a pair, for example, because both are sevens and both are red. If the two cards do not match, they turn back over.

The game continues until every pair has been found and the table is clear. The aim is to do it in as few turns, and as little time, as you can.

What makes a match

The rule about colour is the one to remember. A pair must share both rank and colour. So a red seven matches the other red seven, but not a black seven. Each rank therefore has two pairs in the pack, one red and one black. Keeping that in mind stops you wasting turns on near misses.

Getting faster and more accurate

Every card you turn over is information, even when it does not make a pair. The skill in Pairs is holding on to that information. When a card turns back over, make a note in your head of where it was. Later, when you turn up its partner, you will know exactly where to go.

A few habits help. Work across the table in a pattern, such as row by row, at the start of a game, so you build a map rather than a jumble. Say the cards to yourself as they turn over, quietly or out loud, because naming them helps them stick. And when you turn up a card whose partner you have already seen, go straight to it. Matching a known pair first is never a wasted turn.

Do not turn a card you know, just to check. That costs a turn and gains nothing. Trust your memory, and you will find it gets better the more you play.

For children and families

Pairs is a natural game to share. A child can play while an adult helps them remember, or two people can take turns at the mouse and see who finds more pairs. The cards are drawn clearly and the rules need no reading. The title card explains the game, and F1 brings the rules back at any time.

Because Games by Zaweba has no adverts, no accounts and no network, it is a calm place for a child to play. Esc pauses if someone needs a break.

Watching yourself improve

Your plays and best score are recorded on the game's tile in the library. Since the aim is fewer turns and less time, your best score tells you how sharp your memory was on your best day. It is a satisfying number to chip away at over a few weeks. Pairs makes a gentle warm up before the harder patience games on the same shelf, or a quiet way to finish a session.