Associative Card Sets [5.0]

There's always been something called Associative Play in Concentration - the Memory Games (well, to be more precise it was introduced in version 3.0), it allowed the player to match card images to their related descriptions.

With the upcoming 5.0 release the concept of the associative card sets will be extended. Let me give you a glimpse of this new feature. I'll use a "work in progress" card set, Pounce and Wag to demonstrate what this is all about.

In previous releases, when you used a card set that came with subtitle tool tips (small textual descriptions of the card face images) Associative play became available. If you wanted to match card faces to descriptions, you just checked the proper check-box in the Options / Game Type.

Associative Play • 5.0 Introduces Image Associations

For version 5.0 with the introduction of image associations your options and the configuration interface have been extended. When image association is enabled for card sets in an installed card set pack, a small yellow bubble image is overlaid on the card set icon (you can also check this property in the card set property list). Also, the name of the card set, displayed in the Card type combo always uses the "Pack name (Set name)" format for associative sets.

Associative Play • 5.0 Simple and Custom Associations

In version 5.0 you'll find a new node in the Option tree: Associative Play. Select No associative play to match identical card images. By choosing the Simple association option you can play the exact same text-based association as in previous versions of the game. In this case the values of the Custom association combo boxes are set and they are disabled. (Note that this option is not available when the selected card set has no subtitle tool tips.) Nothing really new so far...

But when you select the Customize association option these combo boxes become enabled and you're free to select any combination. In this example you see that only the "Pounce and Wag (Pounce)" set has subtitle tool tips, so description matching is only available for that set (marked by the " (text)" suffix). You have several options:

1. Pounce + Pounce • Same as the No associative play option.
2. Pounce + Pounce (text) • Same as the Simple association option.
3. Pounce (text) + Pounce • Almost exactly the same as option 2.
4. Pounce (text) + Pounce (text) • A strange combination to match descriptions to descriptions.

The really cool option is the penultimate one:

5. Pounce + Wag • This is the option this post is about. You can match images of Pounce to images of Wag. See next screen shot.
6. Pounce (text) + Wag • Yes, you can play with the descriptions of one set and the images of another one. Sounds strange, but since the card faces are related, card descriptions are, too.

Image Associations • An Example of an Associative Pair in 5.0

This type of association exercises different parts of your brain than identical image matching does.

More "Extreme" Configurations

The choices are endless... If you play a game in which a Pair consists of let's say: Three identical cards, then you might configure the gameplay to match Pounce + Wag + Pounce (text), that is: an image to an associative image to an associative text.

If an associative card set pack contains more card sets, it's even possible to match three or four related images (when playing with the three is a pair or four is a pair options.). Imagine a card set with euro coin tails and various other associative sets with the euro coin head images of the respective member countries.

And to leave the best for last, associative play will also be available for sound sets. Matching images of household utensils to the sounds they make seems to be fun.

Final Note

At the moment neither Concentration - the Memory Games 5.0 nor the Pounce and Wag card set pack is available. That's why this post is categorized under Feature Preview.

Update on Associative Card Sets and Duel Mode »