About the Gemstones What's Missing? Game
Diamonds, crystals, crowns and buried treasure — the gemstone deck glitters with everything a rockhound or jewel thief could dream of. Dig deep and unearth the matching pairs.
What's in the Gemstones deck
The full deck, so you know what to watch for — 12 pictures: 💎 Diamond💍 Ring👑 Crown📿 Beads⛏️ Pickaxe🪨 Rock✨ Sparkle🔮 Crystal Ball🏺 Treasure Jar💰 Treasure🗝️ Vault Key🕳️ Mine Shaft
Study tip: link the first three — diamond, ring and crown — into one ridiculous mental picture. Absurd images stick; lists don't. When a picture vanishes, replay the scene and ask what doesn't fit any more.
How to memorise a nature board
Nature decks are scenes waiting to happen. Put the sun or moon at the top of your mental image, weather in the middle band, and plants and terrain at the bottom — a three-layer landscape. When you need to recall whether the mushroom was there, you check the forest floor layer, not the whole board.
Use the seasons as a story spine: blossom, then fruit, then falling leaves, then snow. If the deck's items can be walked through in seasonal order once, the order itself becomes a checklist you can replay mentally whenever you are hunting a missing pair.
How to Play
- Press Start and memorise every picture on the board.
- After a few seconds the board hides and one picture is removed.
- Pick the missing picture from the answer choices.
- Each correct answer adds a bigger board. Three misses ends the game.
Fun Facts About Gemstones
- Diamonds are made of pure carbon — the same element as pencil lead.
- Rubies and sapphires are the same mineral, corundum, in different colours.
- The biggest diamond ever found, the Cullinan, weighed over 3,100 carats rough.
- Each month of the year has its own traditional birthstone.
Nature deck questions
Do nature themes suit older players?
Yes — gardens, weather and landscapes are familiar at every age, which makes the boards friendly rather than childish. Many care-home activity sessions use exactly this kind of deck for gentle reminiscence.
How do I stop the green tiles blurring together?
Anchor on shape, not colour. A leaf, a fern and a clover are all green but wildly different silhouettes — memorise the outlines and the colour stops mattering.