Simon (game)

Simon is a fun electronic game that tests your memory. It was invented by Ralph H. Baer and Howard J. Morrison while they worked for a toy design company called Marvin Glass and Associates. Lenny Cope helped create the game's software. The game makes a series of tones and lights, and players have to repeat the sequence exactly. As players get better, the sequences get longer and harder. When a player makes a mistake or runs out of time, the game ends.

The original Simon game was made and sold by Milton Bradley, and later by Hasbro after they took over the company. Charles Kapps, a computer science teacher at Temple University, helped write the game's code. Simon was first shown in 1978 at Studio 54 in New York City and quickly became very popular. It is remembered as a symbol of the 1970s and 1980s and is still enjoyed by people of all ages today.

History

Ralph H. Baer and Howard J. Morrison saw a game called Touch Me at a show in 1976 and thought they could make a better version. They used a special chip from Texas Instruments to build their first model, with help from programmer Lenny Cope. The game, originally called Follow Me, used tones inspired by a bugle. When they showed it to the Milton Bradley Company, they renamed it Simon. It went on sale in 1978 for $24.95, which would be about $123 today, and quickly became a popular toy that Christmas shopping season.

Over the years, many new versions of Simon have been created. In 2000, Simon Squared added extra buttons, and in 2004, Simon Stix used drumsticks to play. Later versions like Simon Trickster added different game modes and fun sounds. In 2011, Simon Flash used small cubes, and in 2013, Simon Swipe featured a steering wheel shape. Each new version made the game more exciting and challenging in new ways.

Gameplay

The classic version of Simon has four colored buttons, each making a special tone when pressed or lit up by the game. To play, the game shows a sequence of lights, and the player must press the buttons in the same order. As the game goes on, the sequences get longer and harder.

Simon is inspired by a simple children's game called Simon Says, but its gameplay comes from an older arcade game called Touch Me. Over the years, Simon has had many versions, including ones with more buttons, smaller sizes, and different ways to play. Some versions let two players compete, while others have special rules like repeating the sequence backwards.

Clones

Because Simon became a popular game, many other companies made similar versions. Atari made a handheld game called Touch Me in 1978. It had colorful buttons and musical tones, just like Simon, but it could only go up to 99 steps instead of 31.

Other games that copied Simon's idea include:

• Nintendo's Flagman, part of the Game & Watch series
• Monkey See, Monkey Do, with oval-shaped buttons
• Tiger Electronics' Copy Cat from 1979, later sold by Sears as Follow Me
• Castle Toy's Einstein from 1979
• Genius, made in Brazil in the 1980s
• Space Echo by an unknown company
• A DIY version from Makezine that needs soldering
• R2-D2 Ditto Droid, a Star Wars version from Tiger Electronics in 1997
• VTech's Wizard
• A sidequest in Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! for the SNES and Game Boy Advance
• Soviet Elektronika IE-01 Ivolga, which looks almost exactly like Simon
• Oddworld games with sound-based puzzles

The same memory game idea appeared in many other handheld games too, like Tiger Electronics' Brain Warp and Brain Shift, Mego Corporation's Fabulous Fred, and Parker Brothers' Merlin.

Audio

Some versions of the Simon game make sounds while you hold down a button, while others play a sound for a set time. There are even versions with fun sound themes, like animals such as cats, dogs, pigs, and cows, or sounds like a xylophone, football, or space effects. You can also turn the sound off in some versions, which makes the game more challenging by using only the lights to follow the sequence.

Reception

Games magazine included Simon in their "Top 100 Games of 1980". They praised it as "the original electronic 'follow the leader' game". The game uses musical tones and lights to create sequences that players need to repeat.

Reviews

The game was well-liked and enjoyed by many players. It appeared in the magazine Games at issue number 8.