Simon

Watch the lights, listen to the tones and repeat the pattern. How long can you keep up with Simon?

Simon flashes a light on one of its colored buttons, and simultaneously plays a tone. You press the same button - repeating back the pattern. Then it gives you two. Then three. Then four. You must keep repeating the sequence until your memory finally gives up.

Simon is one of those games that grabs your attention and entices you to keep trying - “just one more time, I know I can do it!” (kind of like Tetris did years later - “just one more time”). The big round electronic game has four colored buttons - red, blue, green and yellow - each with its own corresponding tone. Simple, right? At first it’s easy - Red. Press red. Red, Green. Press red, then green. But the sequence keeps getting longer, and sooner or later you can’t remember what’s next.

Milton Bradley introduced Simon in 1978. Ralph Baer, who was already famous for helping create the first home video-game system, worked with the Marvin Glass toy-design group to perfect the Simon game, which turned the old “Simon Says” concept into something that felt very high-tech in the late 1970s.

This is a good game for all ages (although younger kids might get frustrated quickly) - there really isn’t any strategy other than memorizing a constantly growing string of colors and sounds. Which doesn't seem very difficult until you’re trying to recall whether that seventh flash was green-red-blue-yellow or green-red-yellow-blue.

Simon is still available today in versions that look remarkably similar to the original, along with variations designed for travel and versions that add additional controls.