Memory Match: Techniques to Improve Your Recall

Playnook Games Blog · 3 min read

Memory match feels like pure luck at first, but strong players consistently beat their own record by using a system instead of randomly flipping cards.

1. Scan in a fixed order

Instead of flipping cards randomly, mentally scan the grid in the same order every time (left to right, row by row). This turns a chaotic grid into a predictable sequence, which is far easier for your memory to hold onto.

2. Anchor cards to their position, not their image

Rather than trying to remember "there was a star somewhere," anchor each card to a specific grid coordinate ("star, row 2, third from left"). Position-based memory is generally stronger and more reliable than trying to recall an image floating in space.

3. Prioritize matching known pairs immediately

The moment you've seen both cards of a pair, match them on your very next turn even if it isn't the most "efficient" looking move. Every extra turn you wait risks the board shifting in your memory or getting crowded out by newer information.

4. Use your first few flips as scouting, not gambling

Early in the round, treat unmatched flips as information-gathering rather than a bet on getting lucky. The goal of an early flip isn't to find a match — it's to learn what's under that card so you can use it three turns later.

Tackling Expert difficulty

Playnook Games' Memory Match Expert mode jumps to 24 cards (12 pairs) with an expanded emoji pool, which makes fixed-order scanning even more important — with that many cards, random flipping essentially guarantees a worse score than a systematic sweep.