Create Your Own Matching Pairs or Memory Game
Build a Matching Pairs game pair by pair – and decide which game your students play: Match (drag each card to its pair), Memory (turn the cards over) or both. Choose what goes on each card – text, a picture or a YouTube video – paste a whole list of words at once, or start from a template. Add extra cards without a pair to make it harder, or let the browser read the words aloud for listening practice. Try the game before you publish it, share the link with your class, or print it as a worksheet or as cards to cut out.
1. Pick a template, or choose what goes in each column: text, a picture or a YouTube video.
2. Fill in both cards of every pair – or paste a whole list of words at once. Extra cards without a pair make it harder.
3. Press Try it to play, then give the activity a title and publish it.
2. Fill in both cards of every pair – or paste a whole list of words at once. Extra cards without a pair make it harder.
3. Press Try it to play, then give the activity a title and publish it.
Game
Opens with
Text size
Pictures
Pairs at a time
Left cards
Right cards
Any single card can still be switched on its own.
Accent
The browser's own voice reads the words when students press the speaker.
Tick Sound only on a card to hide its text: students hear the word and look for its match.
This browser cannot read text aloud, but students using other browsers will hear it.
Extra cards
– optional. Cards without a pair are mixed into the right column and make the game harder.
Shown in the gallery and in search results.
Pairs ready
0 of 1
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many pairs can one game have?
Up to 20. Long sets are split into rounds: choose 4, 6, 8 or 10 pairs at a time, or show them all at once. Six to eight pairs per round fit on one screen even with pictures, which matters when students drag cards on a classroom board.
How do I add a lot of words quickly?
Press Paste a list of words and paste one pair per line, for example cat - kitten or go = went; two columns copied from a table work too. For pictures, press Add several pictures and choose the files: each picture becomes a pair, and the word next to it is taken from the file name, so check it before you publish.
Is it free, and do students need an account?
Creating, publishing and playing Matching Pairs games is free, and nobody needs an account. Publish the game to get a link, open it in fullscreen on the board or send it to students; it works in any modern browser on a computer, tablet or phone.
Can the cards read the words aloud?
Yes. Tick Read text cards aloud, and every text card gets a speaker button; choose British or American English. Tick Sound only on a card to hide its text: students hear the word, find its match, and the text appears once the pair is found. The voice is the one built into the browser, so nothing has to be recorded or uploaded.
What are extra cards?
Extra cards have no pair. They are mixed in with the cards on the right, so students cannot find the last match just by elimination. Add up to 10 – for example words that look or sound similar to the right answers. When a round is over, the extra cards are marked no pair. In Memory they lie face down with the others.
Can I add an explanation to a pair?
Yes. Every pair has an optional Note field, for example irregular verb: go – went – gone. When students find the pair, the note pops up at the bottom of the screen; they can open it again by pressing the i on the pair, and all notes are listed at the end of the game. In a pasted list, write the note after //, or put it in a third column.
Are there ready-made Matching Pairs templates?
Yes. Press Start from a template to see them by topic and level, from A1 to B2: opposites, synonyms, jobs, phrasal verbs, idioms, irregular verbs and plurals, comparatives, two listening games where students hear a word and find it, and picture games. A template fills in the cards, notes and extra cards; change any card before you publish.
Where can I get pictures for the cards?
Press Find a picture on any picture card: it searches free pictures from Pixabay for the word on the other card, and you can choose photos, drawings or clip art. To make a whole picture game at once, paste a list of words in Paste a list of words and press Add as picture + word – every word gets a picture automatically, and you only replace the ones you do not like. You can also upload your own pictures or paste them from the clipboard.