The rules of Matching Game are simple and most of them are fixed: the game time, the scoring and how long non-matching cards stay open come with the app and have no counterpart on the settings screen. The only rule you can change is the deck size, and it decides whether the game is easy or hard. This article explains how the game works, how the score is calculated, which values are fixed and which deck size to choose for your event.
- The game lasts 45 seconds. The time cannot be changed from the settings screen.
- Every pair found is worth 100 points. A guest who finds all the pairs before the time runs out earns 10 more points for every remaining second.
- The difficulty is set by Game Screens → Cards → Deck Size. In a new event the deck is 4 × 4: 16 cards, 8 pairs.
- On the scoreboard the higher score sits on top; on equal scores, the one who finished the game in less time is on top.
How a game works
The cards are shuffled anew in every game; no two guests see the same layout. There is no countdown: the time starts running as soon as the game screen opens.
The guest turns over at most two cards at a time. If the images on the two cards are the same, the pair matches, the cards stay open and can no longer be touched. If the images differ, the two cards stay open for about 1 second, then close; no other card opens in the meantime. This short moment is when the guest memorizes where the cards are, and it is where the real difficulty of the game lies.
The game ends in two ways: all the pairs are found or the time runs out. In both cases the Thank You screen comes first, then the Scoreboard.
Scoring
| Situation | Points |
|---|---|
| Every pair found | 100 |
| All pairs found before the time ran out | 10 more points for every remaining second |
| Time ran out, board not finished | Only the points of the pairs found; no bonus |
| Wrong pair | No points are deducted; it only costs time |
Two examples, with a 4 × 4 deck (8 pairs):
- A guest who finishes the board at the 30th second earns 800 for 8 pairs and 150 for the remaining 15 seconds; the score is 950.
- A guest who has found 5 pairs when the time runs out scores 500.
Thanks to the time bonus, of two guests who finish the board, the faster one comes out ahead. For guests whose time runs out, only the number of pairs decides the score; those who found the same number of pairs get the same score.
The scoreboard puts the higher score on top; on equal scores, the one who finished the game in less time is on top. The details of the table: the article Where Do Scores and Participant Data Go?
Fixed values
The values below are written when the event is created and do not appear on the settings screen:
| Value | Fixed value | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Game time | 45 seconds | Every game lasts at most this long |
| Warning threshold | Last 10 seconds | The time bar and the Time box change color |
| Non-matching cards staying open | About 1 second | The time in which the guest memorizes where the cards are |
| Points per pair | 100 | |
| Bonus per remaining second | 10 | Given only if the board is finished |
| Sounds | On | Turning a card, a match, a wrong pair, time's up and finishing the board |
| Thank You and Scoreboard screens | On | Cannot be removed from the flow |
Event Settings → Kiosk → Session Timeout does not run on the game screen; only the game's own 45 seconds end the game.
Deck size and difficulty
Because the time is fixed, the number of cards sets the difficulty: the more pairs there are, the harder it is to finish the board in 45 seconds. The list has 18 ready sizes, from 2 pairs up to 48 pairs.
| Deck | Pairs | Suited for |
|---|---|---|
| 2 × 2, 4 × 2 | 2–4 | Small children; a queue that moves very fast |
| 4 × 4 (default) | 8 | General events; most guests can finish the board |
| 6 × 4 | 12 | Ambitious players; finishing is hard |
| 6 × 6 and above | 18 and above | The board is not finished in 45 seconds; the game turns into a "how many pairs can you find" contest |
In a size, the first number is the columns and the second is the rows. On a landscape screen a wide deck (6 × 4), on a portrait screen a tall deck (4 × 6) shows the cards larger. All the sizes and the card images: the article How to Prepare the Cards and the Deck?
The ready-made subtitle of the Welcome screen says You have one minute. How many pairs can you find?; the game, however, lasts 45 seconds. Correct the text to match the real time in the Game Screens → Call to Action → Subtitle field.
Looking for the time in the settings: the time is 45 seconds and cannot be set. To make the game easier, make the deck smaller.
Choosing a large deck and expecting a high score: the time bonus only comes when the board is finished; on a board that is not finished, the score is 100 times the number of pairs found.
Leaving the ready-made subtitle on the Welcome screen as it is: the text mentions one minute, the game lasts 45 seconds.
Thinking a wrong pair takes points away: no points are deducted, only time is spent.
