Matching Game: US States and Capitals

Flip two cards at a time and match each state to its capital. Every card says whether it is a State or a Capital, and a pair is always one of each. The game counts a mistake when you miss a match on a card you have already seen.

How to remember the capitals#

Link each state to its capital with a mental image. For Maine and Augusta, you might picture a lion with a huge mane on a hot August day. The stranger the picture, the easier it is to recall. See how to create mnemonic images for more ways to build them.

To remember where each card is, give every position on the board a place in a memory palace, and walk back through the palace when you need to find a partner.

Try a bigger board#

Every game deals a different set of states, so play again to meet new ones. Once you can clear a small board with only a few mistakes, move up a size.

Try another matching game or see all of our free memory games.