Sweet Memories

Many of us had memory games when we were kids. Cardboard tiles decorated with veggies or pictures of critters, placed face-down in rows so we could pick them in pairs, hoping for a match.

Since the first time the memory game appeared in 1959, many game designers have used the memory game as a play mechanic. But when you get rid of the carrots and cars, and replace them with candy, it's so much more appetizing!

Taste and Color

If you like sweets (and who doesn't), Bonbons is for you! Each player receives four round tiles face-down, with 36 square tiles (also face-down) forming a six-by-six square in the middle of the table.

Every turn, a player will return one of his round tiles and choose a square tile. If they're identical, he picks up the square and places it, face-up, on his round tile. The first player to match up all his tiles this way is the winner.

Special tiles add some flavor to the game, starting with one that features an empty package. It forces the player who finds it to pick up an extra tile, and now that player has to match five!

Three money tiles are also hidden in the play area. If a player manages to pick them up in the right order, they become a joker, and can complete any round tile in front of him.

Check Out The Other People's Candy.

It's important to keep track of the tiles you reveal, but it's just as important to watch what your opponents flip over. The player to your left might be the one to flip up that sweet yellow morsel you have in front of you!

And the rule that has you flip the square tile first – that's a big deal! If you flip a candy you saw on one of the other player's round tiles, and can match it, you can steal his tile (now that it's complete) and give him one of your unfinished round tiles, still hidden so that nobody (including him) knows what he got!

Every tile you turn over has to be seen by all the players, so that everyone has a chance to remember what it is. At some point, you're going to have to flip your own round tiles, too, so that you can find out what it is you're supposed to be matching. At the beginning of the game, all your round tiles are hidden, even from you!

To sweeten the deal, two minor variations are available to make your game a little more interesting:

The Self-Control Variant

To mix things up a little, you might decide that the empty package tile stays in play face down! This way, other players might get stuck with an empty box of chocolate after you do. Normally, you would put it back where you found it, but you might also decide that the player can put it face-down in any empty spot in the grid. Even if the other players see you do it, they might not remember where it was – and for that matter, you could wind up getting stuck with it again!

The Greedy Variant

This variation will delight the kids. Four round tiles are placed on the table for each player, face-down around the outside of the grid. Put a piece of candy on each one. These round tiles don't belong to anyone, and anybody who can match them up with a square tile gets to eat the candy!

This game continues until all the round tiles are matched. The winner is the one who ate the most candy. This variant doesn't work with the last one, though – all those greedy chocolate-lovers would be rushing to pick up the empty package and grab some more sweet treats! The smart thing to do would be to leave out the empty package completely, and just let there be a hole in the grid.

Yum Yum!

Smart and attractive, Bonbons is an elegant and fun variation on the classic game of Memory. Oh, and don't forget to eat your fruits and vegetable is you're going to play the greedy variant. Or take away the candy and replace them with carrots and celery – the game will be healthier, but the kids probably won't be quite as thrilled.