Uses brains, not batteries!

THE THEME:  Players take turns being the Programmer.
The Programmer chooses a secret number or word which
the other players try to deduce, by logic and collaboration.

Memory Bank was created by Bracha (Barbara) Ungar Klein as a mentally stimulating game for the whole family, a logical deduction game that would be educational as well as fun. Kadon helped her to produce it, with set design by Kate Jones.

The game has been out of print for a number of years, although Kadon retained a number of archival sets. We are making these archival sets available to collectors and game lovers while supplies last. The price, appropriately enough, is $40.

You can play Memory Bank with number tiles or with alphabet tiles, and with up to four players. Here's a summary of how to play. Full instructions are in the game booklet.

Numbers — The Programmer, depending on desired level of difficulty, chooses 2, 3 or 4 numbers and places a marker showing only the total in the center of the board. The other players now enter their guess of which numbers add to that sum, by placing those numbers from their bank of numbers into the "Input" box. Whoever has guessed the correct numbers wins 4 points. If no one has guessed, the Programmer gives each player a feedback token indicating how many of their numbers were correct. Using this clue and comparing with all other players' guesses and feedbacks, players enter a second round of guesses. A good collaborative strategy among the guessers is for them not to enter the same guess unless they're all sure it's the right answer. Placing diverse guesses will get more varied feedback.

Up to four rounds are played, each worth one point less than the earlier round to the successful sleuth. If the Programmer manages to stump all players for 4 rounds, the Programmer wins the 4 points. Play as many rounds as there are players, so each gets a chance to be the Programmer.

Words — The Programmer chooses a word of 3, 4, 5 or more all-different letters, writes this secret word on a piece of paper and conceals it, placing only the first letter of the word face-up in the input box in the center of the board. The remaining letters are placed face-down. Each player enters a guess and receives feedback of how many letters are correct. Score as for the number game. Here it really pays to coordinate with the other players to get as much feedback as possible in each round. All successful solvers score, so the competition is between the players and the Programmer, not among the players themselves. If no one guesses the word in four rounds, the Programmer gets the 4 points. This game is a real mind stretcher and vocabulary builder.

The game box includes:

• the roll-up vinyl mat
• four sets of 12 yellow, rigid-vinyl number tiles (1 through 12)
• four sets of 26 green, rigid-vinyl alphabet tiles (A through Z)
• round die-cut cardboard markers (1 through 4)
• three sets of cardboard feedback tokens (0 to 3)
• totals numbers (5 through 49), cardboard
• the detailed, illustrated instruction book

About the inventor: — Bracha Ungar Klein was born in Bratislava, Slovakia. At the age of 17 she moved to Israel, where she earned a degree in physical education and worked for 22 years as an exercise teacher. She has degrees in education and languages. Besides her native Slovakian language, Bracha is fluent in German, Hebrew and English, with some Hungarian and French on the side.

Upon moving to the U.S., she attended Anne Arundel Community College to learn English and went on to earn her Master's degree in languages at the University of Maryland. Later she worked in Annapolis, Maryland, as activity director for a senior center, continuing her exercise program and crafts. While teaching in Maryland, Bracha had the inspiration that people needed their minds exercised along with their muscles, and she developed the game that became known as Memory Bank, her registered trademark. Congratulations, Bracha, on this 40th anniversary of your creation!

Widowed, Bracha moved to Long Island, NY, with her new husband, Leo Klein, in 1989. They liked spending their year between Long Island in the summer and Deerfield Beach, Florida, in the winter. In 2023 Bracha is age 102 and lives in Cedarhurst, NY. Her husband is 103. All those years of physical fitness and mental acumen do win a long life.