Emotions Matching Game: Feelings Memory with Share Questions

Flip cards to find matching feelings faces. Every pair you find opens a short share question.

FamiliesKidsName feelingsPlay therapyGames
8–15 minutesIn person and on video
Free interactive tool
Designed by Michael Thompson, MSc

Link copied – paste it to your client

No sign-upNothing you type is storedIn a Play together room, moves pass through our server only while the room is open.
Use with care

Share questions like 'When did you feel lonely?' can bring up hard memories – always allow a pass and follow the child's lead.

Try another tool

Draw & Guess Feelings

One person secretly draws a feeling or coping skill on a timer, the others guess, then everyone shares when they've felt it.FamiliesGroupsFeelingsPlay therapyFree · In session

Emotion Charades

Act out a secret feeling card in 60 seconds while the other player guesses. 1:1 or two teams, in the room or on video, with a winner and a debrief at the end.FamiliesGroupsFeelingsPlay therapyFree · In session

Feelings Card Game

A card-shedding game where every color is a feeling family. Match by color or number, and action cards ask you to share a feeling or name a coping skill. Kids and teen decks.GroupsKidsFeelingsPlay therapyFree · In session

How to play

  1. Take turns flipping two cards.
  2. If the faces match, you found a pair: answer the share question (or pass), then go again.
  3. If not, the cards flip back. Remember where they were!
  4. When all pairs are found, see who found the most, or play together without scores.

About the technique

The feelings memory game adapts card matching to feelings faces: children turn over two cards at a time looking for pairs, and each match becomes a prompt to name the feeling and share a time they felt it. It comes from play therapy and school counseling, where structured games give children a predictable frame for talking about emotions they might avoid in plain conversation (Schaefer & Reid, 2001).

Identifying and naming feelings is an early, well-established step in child treatment. In trauma-focused CBT, affective expression and modulation is one of the core components, teaching children to recognize, label and express a range of feelings before trauma narrative work begins (Cohen et al., 2017). Naming a feeling may also help regulate it: in an imaging study with adults, labeling the emotion on a face reduced amygdala response compared with other ways of viewing it (Lieberman et al., 2007). Play therapy overall has meta-analytic support (Bratton et al., 2005), but the memory-game format has not been studied, so it is practice-based.

It suits preschool and early school-age children and their families, as a warm-up or rapport builder in early sessions and a review game later. For the youngest players, use fewer pairs and basic feelings, and keep turns short. Caregivers can play at home to practice feelings talk. Let children pass on a share question, and treat any disclosure that arises with the usual clinical follow-up, including mandated reporting.

Mentalyc users telling their stories on video
Real stories from Mentalyc users
Hear it from clinicians who use it
Start free trial

14-day free trialNo credit cardWorks with every EHR

For therapists: how to run it

Goal

Recognize feelings faces and talk about real moments behind each feeling.

In session

  1. On video, press Play together and send the link: you and the child take turns flipping on your own devices. In person, share one tablet.
  2. Pick 6, 8 or 10 pairs and, in Settings, face + face or face + word.
  3. When a pair is found, the finder answers the share question; you can answer too.
  4. Choose Together, no scores for children who find losing hard.

As homework

  1. Play with a parent or sibling on one device, taking turns.
  2. Answer the question on each pair you find, or pass.
  3. Tap Copy for my therapist, then paste it into your therapist's secure messaging (client portal) or bring it to your next session. Nothing you type is saved, so copy before closing.

With a group

  1. Press Play together and share the link; turns go round in the order people joined.
  2. In small groups of 3–6, use Together, no scores and let anyone add to each share question.
Mandated reporting

Exercises like this can lead to disclosures of abuse, neglect or risk. Know your reporting duties before you start, and pause if one comes up.

Good to know

A classic concentration game with drawn feelings faces (no emoji). Matching faces trains recognizing expressions; the share question after each pair links the feeling to the child's own life. Use Face + word pairs for children who are learning to read feeling words. Choose 6 pairs for younger children.

Worksheets that pair with this tool

Emotion Faces Worksheet

Emotion Faces Worksheet

Over forty labeled faces to circle, and a How I Feel check-in that ranks the feeling and plans what helps.Adults and teensChildrenAnxietyDepressionEmotionsCBTPsychoeducational+42 worksheets 4 pages in totalBasic Emotions Reference Worksheet

Basic Emotions Reference Worksheet

Two pages defining six core emotions with examples and the physical sensations that go with each.Adults and teensAnxietyDepressionEmotionsCBTPsychoeducational+3Free PDF 2 pages

Sources & credibility

Method
Feelings memory match (feelings identification game)
Developed by
Play-therapy and school-counseling practice
Approach
Play therapy / social-emotional learning
Evidence
Practice-based (limited trials)Recognizing and naming feelings is a well-supported early step in child CBT; using a memory game for it is practice-based.

References

  1. Cohen J. A., Mannarino A. P. & Deblinger E. (2017). Treating Trauma and Traumatic Grief in Children and Adolescents (2nd ed.). Guilford Press. (PRACTICE component: affective expression and modulation.)
  2. Schaefer C. E. & Reid S. E. (eds.) (1986; 2nd ed. 2001). Game Play: Therapeutic Use of Childhood Games. Wiley.
  3. Lieberman, M. D., Eisenberger, N. I., Crockett, M. J., Tom, S. M., Pfeifer, J. H., & Way, B. M. (2007). Putting feelings into words: Affect labeling disrupts amygdala activity in response to affective stimuli. Psychological Science, 18(5), 421–428. Source
  4. Bratton, S. C., Ray, D., Rhine, T., & Jones, L. (2005). The efficacy of play therapy with children: A meta-analytic review of treatment outcomes. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 36(4), 376–390. Source

How it was made

Built by the Mentalyc team from the original method and the published sources listed here. Nothing you enter is stored.

Questions people ask

How does an emotions matching game help kids?

Matching feelings faces helps children recognize emotions in facial expressions and learn feelings words. Adding a share question for each pair links the feeling to their own life.

How do you play feelings memory?

Lay the cards face down, flip two at a time and keep any matching pair. In this version, each pair opens a question like 'When did you feel proud?'.

Can you play a feelings matching game online?

Yes. This game runs in the browser, so you can share your screen in a telehealth session or send the child a link to play.

What feelings activities work for preschoolers?

Short, concrete games work best: matching feelings faces, naming the feeling in a picture book or copying a face in a mirror. Stick to a few basic feelings and link each to a simple coping idea.

Keep exploring

Problem or idea? Tell us (opens in a new tab)

Your game designer
Michael Thompson

Michael Thompson, MSc

Michael's background combines doctoral training in clinical psychology with research on motivation, learning, and emotional regulation.

More about Michael Thompson, MSc →

4.8 on G2 · 30k+ clinicians

You run the game. Mentalyc writes the note.

After the session, the note, treatment plan and progress update from what you worked on.

Start free trial

14-day free trialNo credit cardWorks with every EHRHIPAA

Table Of Contents
  1. About the technique
  2. For therapists: how to run it
  3. Worksheets that pair with this tool
  4. Sources & credibility
  5. Questions people ask
How Mentalyc works
Every session updates clinical notes, plan, progress and alliance
Notes, treatment plans, progress, alliance feedback and worksheet matches draw on the same client history, so each informs the others.
Start free trial

14-day free trialNo credit cardWorks with every EHRHIPAA

Watercolour illustration of a therapist and client talking in a therapy session
one session
AI Note TakingAI Treatment PlansAI Progress TrackingAlliance Genie™Worksheet Matcher
one golden thread across sessions
feedback, like a supervisor would
matched to each session

Why other mental health professionals love Mentalyc

Rated 5 out of 5
“It immediately changed my quality of life, personally and professionally.”
Kara-Myung Jin Purves Kara-Myung Jin Purves Owner/Independently Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist (LMFT)
Rated 5 out of 5
“Do yourself a favor, make your life easier. I found Mentalyc to be one of the best tools that I’ve ever used.”
Stanley LeMelle  Stanley LeMelle  Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist
Rated 5 out of 5
“If I were recommending this software to a colleague, I would tell them that it is the best thing that they could do for their practice.”
Dominique Walker Dominique Walker Licensed Professional Counselor

Made for use in therapy: a licensed mental health professional decides whether a tool suits their client and guides its use.

Children should use this with a parent, therapist or teacher, not on their own.

Educational practice aid, not a medical device. Not a substitute for therapy, diagnosis or emergency care.