• Memory games are used to improve and strengthen memorization skills.game image by Mitarart from Fotolia.com
  
  There are several memory games that use different types of your memory; the working memory processes information in a span of 15 seconds, short-term memory retains information up to about 60 seconds and long-term memory stores information indefinitely. Playing memory games is educational and beneficial to all the players involved by strengthening memory functions.
  
  

Working Memory

• Games that strengthen the working memory process information quickly, usually in less than 20 seconds, such as quick recall, identification or associations between items. For example, the game Bird Song is a type of memory game that requires the player to listen to a bird's song and identify the species of bird just without any visual aid. This type of memory game depends on the working memory to process new information and connect it with old information in just a few seconds.
  
  

Short-Term Memory

• Short-term memory games require the player to access information presented just prior to the game quickly and accurately. For example, Elephant Memory is a game that presents the player with a list of items to memorize in less than 60 seconds; the object of the game is to recall the list as accurately and quickly as possible without looking at the list. In this type of memory game, the player receives 60 seconds to learn new information and expected recall what was just learned; thus, Elephant Memory is a type of memory game that strengthens the players' short-term memory.
  
  

Long-Term Memory

• Long-term memory games depend on recalling information the player has known for quite some time, even years before the game is played. The game Guided World Tour is a type of game that asks the player to recall information about historic monuments, museums and their associated places in the world. For example, a game such as this could ask the player to describe a world monument and be able to also describe where it is located in the world. Games that access the long-term memory are not based on quick recall, but rather knowledge the player is already familiar with.
  
  

Left Brain, Right Brain

• Left-brain, right-brain memory games access a specific side of the brain as the main brain play area. An example of this type of memory game is Words Where are You; this memory game consists of memorizing six, eight or ten words and their location on a grid. The main brain play area in this game is the left lobe, which deals with verbal memory, as opposed to the right lobe that deals with visual memory.