Concentration
Back in the 1970s and 1980s I started thinking about computer games, a simple games for kids to play on their computer. Yes, kids in those days did have computer. A fairly common card game was "Concentration".
"Concentration, also known as Memory, Shinkei-suijaku (Japanese meaning "nervous breakdown"), Matching Pairs, Match Match, Match Up, Pelmanism,[1] Pexeso or simply Pairs, is a card game in which all of the cards are laid face down on a surface and two cards are flipped face up over each turn. The object of the game is to turn over pairs of matching cards.
Concentration is a single player game. It can be played by multilple players but only one player a time time. The player with the shortest time to match all cards would be the winner.
It is a particularly good game for young children, though adults may find it challenging and stimulating as well. The scheme was often used in TV quiz shows (in fact, several game shows have used its name in their titles) and can be employed as an educational game."wikipedia
There are six games to be played. Some are somewhat easy and others can be very difficult. It is recommended that you start out playing "Clubs And Diamonds". And game is one that shows photographs of the Thomson going back to the 1890s. The Golf games are very hard to match a pair of photographs
It was simple enough to set up the "board" with rows and columns of cards that were face down.
Now to "make" a card flip to see its face and then turn it back over again in some short time, e.g. 1 second. Then the basics of the game were coded.
Concentration would start with 16 pairs of playing cards, probably two colors. Then how to place the pairs on the board? The obvious way would be randomly each time the game was played.
The game would begin when a player selected, click with their mouse, any card on the board to turn over. This photograph will remain showing on the screen until either (1) you match it with another photograph or (2) click it again to turn it back over. The player would then click, one at a time any other card to turn it over to see if its photograph matched the first card which remains fact up on the screen. This card will turn back over in 1 second and it is up to the player to remember what photograph was at what location.
If the card selected was a match the player would click that photograph once more to make the "match". The two matched photograps would show a yellow card with "Matched" on it and could not be selected again.
Here is an example of the start of a game where the initial card was "flipped", showing the ten of clubs. Then another card was flipped showing the five of clubs. And this five of clubs, in one second, flipped back over to the card back. The play has to try and remember the location of the various cards they have flipped.
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The player would continue to flip cards until they found the ten of clubs. But, chances are they might uncover the other five of clubs. In this game, the 2nd five of clubs was found at the top right corner.
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If this happens, before the 2nd ten of clubs is uncovered, the player should click on the ten of clubs which will turn it back over.
Then, knowing where the 2nd five of clubs was located they would click one of those location, which makes that five of clubs the card to be found. Clicking the 2nd location of the five of clubs would be a match once the 2nd five of clubs is clicked while it was visible.
In order to match the 2nd five of clubs you have to quickly click the second five of clubs before it turns over in 1 second. You may miss it the first time but your mouse it right there so a matching pair was found.
Now the hard part. How can you remember where cards are displayed for only 1 second?
Its not as hard as you think. The key is "don't randomly search"! Search in an area, e.g. within two cards of the first card you turn over. Then expand your search around this area's edges.
And let your mind absorb where and what card face is turned over. Don't try to memorize the card face of where it is. Rather, let your mind "suggest" an area where a matching face has been shown. If your mind says it could be an a certaina area then closely search that area until you find it.
Click on this link to see an actual "play". Watch video