Memory Tray

Time

Games

4 3 2 1 Early Stage

Benefits

What you need

A tray
A mix of up to 10 small items, such as a comb, bar of soap, tin opener, ball of wool, a paintbrush, wooden spoon, cup, flower, small decorative ornament or key

Intro

This memory game is a bit like spot the difference. Simply get a tray full of things and have fun talking about all of them, then sneakily take one away and get the group to guess what’s missing.

This activity is great with just one person – or in a small group. And you can tailor it to everyone’s ability by using more or less things.

The Activity

Lay the items on a tray
Place the tray on a table in front of the person or group
Pick each item up in turn, and talk about it and its purpose – this will help jog people’s memory
Let the person or group look at the tray for a few minutes, asking them to memorise what’s there
Now take the tray away and remove one item
Put the tray back and ask them to guess what’s missing
Once they’ve guessed, take the tray away again, put the item back and take away another
You could also remove 2 items at once, if you like
Keep going for as long as the person or group are enjoying the challenge