A deck of playing cards seems like a simple thing at first glance.

With four suits and fifty-two cards, the card deck rivals thousands of tabletop and board games that are competing for our time. We could choose a game of Call Of Duty or Unreal Tournament for this week, but games played with a card deck will often win.

The card deck has incredible versatility on its side. If you want it to become a whole new game, just change the rules. One moment, you could be playing bridge, and the next, you could be playing poker – and with the same object of a card deck.

What else can it do?

Card decks can be an excellent memory aid. Without the need for premium self-help memory tapes or tracks, a deck can jog your memory in new ways.

Working on your memory with a card deck in hand? Apply these learning techniques with a card deck to see how much your recall can improve.

The lost cards

Choose a few cards from an unplayed deck. Any suit, and any number. The selected amount of cards will depend on how far you’d like your memory to stretch.

Hide these cards in random places.

Good luck!

Make a list of where you remember putting them. Wait a month or two before starting your playing card hunt or list.

Much harder now, isn’t it?

The list of lists

Association is a powerful memory helper. When one can associate something like a rhyme with what you would like to remember, it flows easier.

For this memory exercise, associate something with your cards.

It can be a simple shopping list, or a list of completely random items that you want to recall.

What objects make you think of these cards? What do these objects rhyme with? What story can you create?

Choose as many cards as you like. Eventually, it gets easier.

The daily trade-in

Here’s a memory exercise that requires two people. For most bridge players, this just means it’s time to give your partner a call.

Choose a selection of cards, and trade-in with your partner on an agreed date. This exercise tends to work best as a regular one, where cards fly back and forth like correspondence chess.

Can they remember your list? Can you remember theirs?

While simple too, this memory exercise adds an element of competition as extra initiative. (Older players, remember what to do when you happen to spot the beer card!)

The numbered tarot

This entry might have started with regular card decks, but let’s talk about using tarot decks to end it. Tarot decks aren’t for everyone, though the imagery can be a very powerful visual aid to memory (and don’t you forget it!).

Select cards from the Major Arcana. These fall outside the suits, though are numbered from 0 to 21.

How fast can you recall each card and their number? Next, how well can you draw the detail on the card from memory?

Building your memory can be as simple as reaching for a card deck and choosing a couple of cards. Would you ever have considered spending cash on expensive memory tapes from the nineties?