Working memory is one of the strongest predictors of academic success that we have. It is also one of the most trainable. Memory games are not just fun: they are one of the most efficient ways to build the cognitive foundation that underpins reading, maths, and attention. Here is the science, and what to do with it.
What is working memory?
Working memory is the cognitive system that holds information in mind while you use it. It is different from long-term memory (which stores information for later retrieval). Working memory is the mental workspace where thinking happens in real time.
Consider what a child uses working memory for:
- Holding the beginning of a sentence in mind while reading the end
- Remembering a number they are carrying in addition
- Following a three-step instruction without losing the first step
- Keeping track of the rules of a game while playing it
Every academic task requires working memory. Children with stronger working memory perform better at reading, maths, and science, even when controlling for IQ. This is not correlation: it is a causal relationship that has been demonstrated in dozens of studies.
Research by Professor Tracy Alloway found that working memory in year 1 predicted academic attainment at age 11 more accurately than IQ scores. It is one of the most potent cognitive predictors we know of, and it is highly trainable during childhood.
How card-matching games train working memory
Classic card-matching games are among the most effective working memory exercises available to children. Here is why:
When a child flips a card and sees an animal, then flips a second card looking for the match, they have to:
- Store the position and identity of the first card
- Search the available options
- Retrieve the stored information to make a comparison
- Decide whether to flip a different card (requiring them to store that new position)
This process, across many rounds, systematically exercises the encoding, storage, retrieval, and updating functions of working memory. The larger the card grid, the more working memory capacity is required.
Animal Match is designed on exactly this principle. The adorable animal cards keep children engaged, and the core mechanic is a genuine working memory workout. Young children can start with fewer cards and build up as their capacity increases.
The difference between short-term and long-term benefits
Memory games have two types of benefits:
Short-term: Children improve at the specific game through practice. They remember card positions more efficiently and develop strategies (such as working through the grid systematically rather than randomly).
Long-term (transfer): The working memory capacity built through consistent game play transfers to academic tasks. Children who play memory games regularly show improvements in reading comprehension, maths, and attention tasks that are unrelated to the game itself.
The transfer benefit is what makes memory games genuinely valuable rather than just fun. A child who plays Animal Match three times a week for a month is not just getting better at Animal Match. They are building the cognitive infrastructure that makes classroom learning easier.
Ages and stages
Working memory develops throughout childhood and into adolescence, which means the benefit of training is available across a wide age range:
Ages 3-5: Start with just four to six cards face-up. The goal is matching practice and animal naming, not full working memory challenge. Sit beside your child and narrate.
Ages 5-7: Introduce the face-down mechanic with a small grid. Eight to twelve cards is appropriate. This is where working memory training begins in earnest.
Ages 7-10: Full game with all cards face-down. Set the challenge of completing the game in fewer flips than last time. At this age, children can set their own difficulty targets.
Ages 10-12: Working memory is still developing. Older children can introduce self-imposed time pressure or compete against their own previous score.
Concentration and attention
Memory games also build concentration in a way that passive activities cannot. To play a matching game successfully, a child must pay attention continuously: not just when it is their turn, but during the entire game, observing each card flip and updating their internal map.
This sustained, active attention is directly transferable to classroom contexts. A child who can maintain focus for the duration of a matching game is practising the same attentional control that listening to a teacher or reading a passage requires.
Practical tips for memory game sessions
A few things that make memory game sessions more effective:
- Play together for the first session and model strategy: “I’m going to try to remember where the lion was”
- After a few sessions, let children play independently while you stay nearby
- Celebrate improvement in specific terms: “You found four matches in a row, that’s much better than last week”
- Do not correct or prompt during play: let the child struggle and succeed on their own terms
- Keep sessions short: 10-15 minutes three times a week beats one long session
Pattern games and memory
Spatial memory, remembering where things are and how patterns look, is a component of working memory that is particularly relevant to mathematics. Games that involve shape matching and colour pattern recognition build this spatial working memory alongside visual attention.
Shape and Color Bingo builds spatial memory alongside shape and colour knowledge. Children must remember which spaces they have already covered and where shapes appeared previously in the sequence.
Memory and reading
One of the most powerful connections in early literacy research is between working memory and reading comprehension. Children with stronger working memory can hold more of a sentence or paragraph in mind while processing it, which allows them to construct richer meaning from text.
This means that investing in memory games at age 5 or 6 has downstream benefits for reading that are not immediately obvious. The connection is indirect but real and well-documented.
Games worth trying for memory building
All free, no login, safe for all ages:
- Animal Match: The gold standard memory game for children. Adjustable difficulty through the number of cards in play. Builds working memory capacity through consistent play.
- Shape and Color Bingo: Spatial memory and visual attention. A lighter option that is good for younger children or as a warm-up activity.
- Math Quiz Adventure: Mathematical working memory: holding a problem in mind while calculating. Complements card-matching games.
- Word Search: Visual attention and pattern memory in a reading context. Good for older children who have outgrown simpler matching games.
Start with Animal Match tonight. Even one session reveals something about how your child’s memory works. That alone is valuable.