MyRin Memory Games Compared: Memory Match, Flip Match, Simon Says

MyRin has three games built around memory: Memory Match (called Kai-awase in the app), Flip Match (Pairs) and Simon Says (Taiko). They all ask you to remember things, so it is natural to think of them as variations on one game. In practice, each one leans on a different part of memory, and knowing which is which helps you choose the right one and play it better.

The short version

• Memory Match tests how much you can take in during a short preview, then hold.
• Flip Match tests how well you can build and update a map of the board while you play.
• Simon Says tests how long a sequence you can hold in the right order.

The first two are about where things are. The third is about when they happened.

Memory Match: memorise, then recall

At the start of each round, every card is shown face up for a few seconds. Then they all flip face down and you find the pairs by tapping two cards at a time. Matching pairs stay face up. You are scored on how few flips you need.

The key moment is the preview. Everything you will know about the board, you learn in those few seconds. That makes Memory Match a test of encoding: how quickly and how well you can store a picture of the layout.

How to play it well:

• Do not try to memorise every card. Your working memory holds only a few items. Instead, look for pairs during the preview and remember the pairs, not the individual cards. "The two stars are top left and bottom right" is one memory, not two.
• Name things. Saying "cat, corner" quietly in your head gives a visual memory a second, verbal hook.
• Clear the sure pairs first. Once the cards are hidden, take the pairs you are confident about before guessing. Each match shrinks the board and makes the rest easier.

Our full Memory Match guide covers the later levels.

Flip Match: build the map as you go

Flip Match removes the preview. Every card starts face down. You turn over two at a time; if they match they stay open, and if not, they flip back after a short pause. You are scored on how few turns you take.

This changes the task completely. There is no big moment of memorising. Instead, every turn adds one or two new pieces of information, and you must keep updating your mental map while also deciding what to flip next. It is closer to how memory works in everyday life: information arrives a piece at a time and you have to keep it organised.

How to play it well:

• Work by area. Flip cards systematically, row by row or quadrant by quadrant, rather than at random. Your memory for a card is tied to where it is, so an orderly sweep is easier to remember.
• Use the first card of each turn to explore. If the first card you flip matches something you have already seen, go and get its partner. If it does not, use your second flip on another unknown card rather than a guess you cannot win.
• Accept a few wasted turns early. Exploration costs turns at the start but saves many more later.

See the Flip Match guide for grid-size tactics.

Simon Says: hold the order

In Simon Says, coloured buttons light up in a sequence. When the sequence stops, you repeat it. Each successful round adds one more step. A single mistake ends the run, and the longer the sequence you complete, the higher your score.

Position matters less here. What matters is order, and the sequence keeps getting longer. That makes Simon Says a direct test of your memory span for sequences, and it is unforgiving: there is no partial credit.

How to play it well:

• Chunk the sequence. Break it into groups of three or four as it plays. "Red-red-blue, green-yellow" is two chunks, not five steps. Our article on chunking explains why this works so well.
• Look for patterns. Repeats, back-and-forths and runs around the circle are easier to remember as shapes.
• Rehearse during the replay. Each round replays the whole sequence. Use that time to repeat the chunks to yourself, not to watch passively.
• Tap steadily. Rushing your response is the most common reason for an error near the end of a long sequence.

More tactics are in our Simon Says guide.

Which one should you play?

• If you have two minutes: Memory Match. A round is quick and gives a clear score.
• If you want a puzzle as well as a memory test: Flip Match. The decisions about what to flip make it the most strategic of the three.
• If you want to see steady progress: Simon Says. Your longest sequence is an easy number to track over weeks.
• If you want a balanced session: one round of each, in that order.

A useful rule is to notice which game you avoid. Most people have one type of memory task they find uncomfortable, and that is usually the one where practice makes the most difference.

What these games can and cannot do

Practising these games will make you better at them, often quickly. It will also train strategies, like chunking, grouping and naming, that you can use elsewhere. What the research does not show is that memory games broadly improve memory or intelligence in everyday life. We cover this in more detail in our article on whether brain training works.

That is a reason to play them for what they are: short, focused exercises that are satisfying in themselves and that teach habits worth having.

Try them in your browser

All three have free browser demos you can play without installing anything: Memory Match, Flip Match and Simon Says. The full app has 600 levels of each across easy, medium and hard.