Snowflakes


 
 


 
 

Snowflakes is a memory game where you track down two identical snowflakes.

Snowflakes are made from paper or cardpaper. What shape? There is a snowflake image on one side, from among 12 different snowflake images. I would store them in a white envelope, ideally with "Snowflakes" written in a classy script.

Group A consists of 12 of these snowflake pieces, each with a different snowflake image. Group B consists of twins of the pieces in Group A. Turn over the pieces in both groups. Mix up the pieces in Group B. Choose one of the pieces and put it in Group A. Put away the remainder of Group B and mix up the pieces in Group A.

Group A is 13 snowflakes, face down. Place the pieces in Group A in the following arrangement.
 
 
 
 


 
 
 
 

The board is this snowflake arrangement of the pieces, which is maintained throughout the game, although there will be a couple of missing snowflakes.

You hold a snowflake, snowflake A, from the previous turn. During your turn you pick up one of the snowflakes from the board, snowflake B, and compare it to snowflake A. If they look identical you win the game. If not, you put snowflake A back on the board in any empty position and snowflake B becomes the new snowflake A.
 
 
 
 

The snowflake theme fits beautifully. There are small, delicate white pieces with snowflake images. They gently move around like a blizzard, and it is quiet. There is the snowflake arrangement. Mysterious identical snowflakes are said to exist. And yet ..

Getting snowflake images is harder than you think. You would think you could beg, borrow, steal or create snowflake images, but no. They come in different styles, and there are not enough of a given style, or they're just wrong.

You could switch themes to butterflies. You could make or obtain some attractive, colourful butterfly pictures and have them flit around the board.
If you do that you've lost that nicely-fitting snowflake theme. Now you're doing butterfly sex.