Free Printable Memory Match Games for Kids: 10 Card Games (PDF)

How to play memory match

The how-to-play line on each page has four steps: 1 Cut, 2 Mix, 3 Flip, 4 Find a pair.

1. Print the page at 100% (Actual size) on US Letter or A4. Cardstock makes cards that are easy to flip and last longer.
2. Cut out the 12 cards along the dashed lines.
3. Mix the cards and lay them face down in rows.
4. Take turns. Flip two cards on your turn. If the pictures match, keep the pair. If not, turn them back over.
5. The player with the most pairs wins, or play together until all six pairs are found.

The colorful scene strip at the top of each page is decoration; the game is the 12 cards below it.

The 10 memory match themes

• Farm Friends: sheep, chicken, pig, tractor, horse and cow.
• Ocean Buddies: turtle, crab, starfish, dolphin, fish and octopus.
• Space Explorers: moon, astronaut, Saturn, spaceship, alien and rocket.
• Dinosaur World: T-Rex, Pterodactyl, Stegosaurus, dinosaur egg, Brachiosaurus and Triceratops.
• Butterfly Garden: bee, watering can, caterpillar, butterfly, flowerpot and ladybug.
• Woodland Camp: raccoon, campfire, tent, bear, owl and fox.
• Little Builders: traffic cone, hard hat, dump truck, toolbox, hammer and excavator.
• Safari Adventure: zebra, elephant, monkey, jeep, lion and giraffe.
• Fairytale Castle: knight, dragon, crown, carriage, princess and magic wand.
• Arctic Explorers: penguin, igloo, polar bear, snowmobile, walrus and seal.

What children practice

• Visual memory: remembering where a picture was and matching it to its partner.
• Matching and attention: looking closely to tell similar pictures apart.
• Vocabulary: naming each animal, vehicle or object on the card, which also helps early readers.
• Turn-taking and sportsmanship: waiting for a turn and celebrating a friend’s match.
• Fine motor skills: cutting out the cards with scissors.

Children who want more matching practice can try shadow matching and picture matching.

Ways to change the game

• Make it easier: use only three or four pairs, or leave the cards face up and find the matches first.
• Make it harder: combine two themes into one bigger game.
• Play alone: see how many turns it takes to find all six pairs, then try to beat your score.
• Name and sort: after the game, sort the cards into groups, such as animals and things.

Printing and cutting tips

Print the page, then glue it to thin card or print on cardstock for sturdier cards. Cut on the dashed lines with adult supervision for scissors. Store each set in an envelope, or put the cards in a small bag. A quick pass through a laminator makes cards that survive many games.

Credits and licences

Many of the pictures and icons in this set use Noto Emoji artwork by Google. The Noto emoji fonts are licensed under the SIL Open Font License 1.1, and most of the emoji images are licensed under the Apache License 2.0. The page layouts, text and KidsTracing logo are our own. These printables are free for personal, home and classroom use, and not for sale or resale.