Family Fun Friday: Family Memory Game

Considering the fact that most of us live pretty far from where our children's aunts, uncles, grandparents, and cousins live, keeping family memories alive can be a challenge. Here is one idea for helping your children to connect the faces and relationships of your distant relatives. This also works well for keeping the memory of dead relatives alive. As an added bonus, you can also use this game idea for teaching your children about the saints.

Making the Memory Cards

Step 1: Collect the most recent photos of each relative in your memory game. Ideally, you will want a minimum of 16 individuals to make the game challenging. It’s important to have an even number of individuals

Step 2: For each relative, print out 2 photographs on adhesive backed photograph sticky paper. Each photograph should be the same size.

Step 3: Print out one label for each photograph. These labels can be simple, such as “Grandma Gerbetz” or “Nana” or “Aunt Betty”

Step 4: Cut out cardboard cards for each photograph.

Step 5: Put the photograph on one side of the card and the label on the backside. Ideally, the cards should be the same color on both sides but if you are going to use cardboard with white on the back and another color on the front, be consistent with which side you put the photographs on and which side you put the labels on.

Preparing to Play the Game

Step 1. Divide the cards so that one of each of the photographs is in one group and the other set is in another group.

Step 2. Shuffle each group of cards thoroughly.

Step 3. Lay the top card from group 1 photo side up and the top card from group 2 label side up beside it.

Step 4. Repeat step 3 until all cards are on the table.

Playing the Game

Round 1

Step 1. Player 1 chooses 1 photograph card and 1 label card on the board.

Step 2. Player 1 turns the label card upside down to reveal the photograph.

Step 3. If the photographs match, player 1 keeps the cards and they are removed from the board. If not, player 1 must return the cards to their starting positions (photograph side up or label side up) and play is given over to player 2.

Step 4. Player 2 goes through steps 1-3 and either passes play back to player 1 if there are only 2 players, or play passes to player 3.

Step 5. Repeat until all cards are removed from the board.

Step 6. Player with the most cards in hand wins the game.

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