Funny Memory Games

You can improve your memory by giving your brain a workout with memory games.R??ntgenbild image by Marem from Fotolia.com

Memory is a crucial skill that helps people improve their lives in many ways. The human mind can remember and retrieve an almost limitless amount of information. The only way to increase your memory skills is to continue to use them. This will happen naturally to an extent, but memory games and exercises will improve it even more. One of the most enjoyable ways to involve yourself in memory exercises is to play creative and silly games.

Matching

This is a typical memory game premise, but can be as amusing as you like, because the items you match can be anything. Take a stack of cards with a pair of each item. Shuffle the cards, and set them up in a 4-by-4 square face down. The first player flips two cards. If they match, the player can collect them and go again. If not, the cards get flipped back over and his turn is done. The next player flips any two remaining cards. As more get flipped, the players use their memory to remember where the matches are, and whoever ends with the most matches wins. You can purchase the cards as a board game or card deck, or you can make them using simple clip art or even drawings. Use 3-by-5 index cards and start with 16 cards. You can increase this number in pairs for a more complicated game. If playing with kids, try making cards with funny animals or creatures. The kids can even draw the pictures themselves. To duplicate, make photocopies or computer scans of the pictures and print two of each.

Tongue twisters are phrases where most of the words start with the same letter, or have other word combinations that are difficult to pronounce. With practice, you can train your tongue to memorize the word combinations and spout out some pretty impressive sentences. A challenging memory game is to gather a bunch of tongue twisters and arrange them shortest to longest. Start with the shortest and read it aloud. Then let everyone have a turn trying to remember the sequence, as well as trying to properly pronounce it. Whoever can do the best with the longest twister wins. Another method is to just use one tongue twister, and see who can say it the fastest.

This game works well with a classroom or group of people who have just met, as it helps them remember each others’ names. The more people play, the more difficult it becomes. The first player starts by saying his name and doing a motion of something he likes to do. This can be anything, and can be very entertaining to see what people come up with. The second person must start with the first person’s name and motion, and then state her own. The third person uses both the first and second persons' names and motions, then comes up with his own. This goes all the way around in a circle, until the last person has to remember everything. If you are the facilitator or teacher of the group, it is best if you go first and last.