Emoji’s are so popular now with both kids and adults. We wanted to adapt this theme so that teachers were able to include it in their lessons. Our Jumbo Emoji Memory Game pack incorporates both team building and competition elements. It is also an active game with fitness elements and can be used in both after school programs and PE classes.

With rules for 5 different games, this game has entertaining options for 2 players or teams, ages 4 to adult! It includes 48 large cards with an emoji graphic on the front. There are a total of 23 different emojis. There are 2 cards showing each emoji except for the “poop” emoji for which there are 4 cards. The back of all the cards are the same and show an assortment of emojis and the game name. Some of the games have rules variations that call for the use of a pair of Fitness dice which comes with the pack!

NOTE: Feel free to call the “poop” emoji a “chocolate soft serve ice cream” if you prefer!

Classic Memory Game

For 2 or more players.

Set up

Spread the cards face down out on the floor in a rectangular grid. For example, have 8 columns with 6 rows of cards. Leave enough room between the cards or rows that players can walk to a card and flip it over without having to step on the other cards.

How to Play

The youngest player will go first and flips over any two cards and leaves them in their place on the grid. If the cards have identical graphics and match one another, those cards are removed from the grid and placed in front of that player. If the player makes a match, they get another turn immediately and continue until the two most recent cards they have turned are not a match. If the two cards flipped over are not a match, those two cards are returned to the face down position and the player that flips the cards must walk or jog around the grid of cards.

All players try to remember what was on those cards and where they were located to help them make matches in the future. The player to the left of the previously player goes next and that player flips over any two cards including any of the cards that the previous player flipped. The same rules apply, if they are a match, they keep the match and continue trying to find matches. If it is not a match, the cards are flipped over and returned to their original location on the grid, then the players walk or jog around the grid of cards and it becomes the next player’s turn. Play continues until all 24 matches have been made. The player with the most matches at the end of the game wins.

Variation: Instead of walking or jogging around the grid of cards, players that don’t get a match must roll a pair of fitness dice and do the indicated activity.

“Oh Poop” Version:

The same rules of the Basic Game are used with two exceptions. If the first card a player flips over is a “poop” card, they’ve “stepped in it”, they don’t get to flip over a second card, they flip the Poop back to face down, do the required activity (walk or jog around the grid of cards, roll a pair of fitness dice or any other activity decided upon before the start of the game) and it becomes the next players turn!

In this version, the game will end when the only cards left in play on the grid are the 4 poop cards. The poop cards cannot be used to make a match since you can only turn over one of them before you lose your turn. There will only be a total of 22 matches in this version.

Team Memory Game

For 2 teams of 3 or more players per team.

Beginner Version:

Set Up

Spread the cards face down out on the floor in a rectangular grid. For example, have 8 columns with 6 rows of cards. Leave enough room between the cards or rows that players can walk to a card and flip it over without having to step on the other cards. Teams should be located along opposite sides of the rectangular grid of cards.

How to Play

The rules are about the same as the classic game. Teams will go one at a time and two of the players from that team will walk to a card and flip the card such that the rest of the team can see what is on the card, but not the other team. If they get a match, then they keep the match and pick up and view two more cards, until the pair of cards that have picked up do not match. At that point, the whole team must do an activity (walk or jog around the grid of cards or roll a pair of Fitness dice). Teams are allowed to talk in this version and can communicate with one another to determine which cards they want to view on their turn. The team with the most pairs at the end of the game wins.

Quiet Version:

The players that are walking to and holding up the cards on the grid must be rotated on each turn. Same as the beginner version, except no talking, hand signals, grunts, head nods or other means of communicating are allowed. Teams caught attempting to communicate will lose their turn, if they have viewed 2 cards while communicating they must show those cards to the opposing team and return them to the grid even if they are a match. Players from the same team moving to view two cards can go one at a time, thus after one player on the team views a card the second player may see what is on that card and attempt to find the matching card. Teams alternate turns and the team with the most matches wins the game.

Speed Version:

Use the same rules as the beginner game, including requiring a team activity each (walk, jog or roll fitness dice) when they do not get a match with one major exception. In this game, both teams will attempt to make matches simultaneously and as fast as possible! To prevent collisions while players try to run to flip over cards, we suggest only allowing players to speed walk to a card on the grid. In the situation where two teams go for the same card, the team that touches the card first is allowed to view the card. The other team can either flip another card or wait to see if the first team made a match with that card. The team with the most matches at the end of the game wins.

If you have any other ideas on how to use this game in your PE class, I would love to hear from you in the comments below!

Submitted by: Brian Feeney, Product Manager at S&S Worldwide