Simon (game)

Simon is an electronic game. It was launched in 1978 at Studio 54 in New York and became an immediate success. The brainchild of electronic inventor Ralph Baer (who had developed the first home video game console, the Magnavox Odyssey, in 1972), and manufactured and distributed by Milton Bradley, Simon went on to become a pop culture symbol of the 1980s.

Related Topics:
Electronic game - 1978 - Studio 54 - New York - Ralph Baer - Video game - Magnavox Odyssey - 1972 - Milton Bradley - Pop culture - 1980s

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The game unit has four large buttons, one each of the colors red, blue, green, and yellow. The unit lights these buttons in a sequence, playing a tone for each button; the player must press the buttons in the same sequence. The sequence begins with a single button chosen randomly, and adds another randomly-chosen button to the end of the sequence each time the player follows it successfully. Gameplay ends when the player makes a mistake.

Related Topics:
Red - Blue - Green - Yellow

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Mathematically, the sequence generated is n, n + 1, n + (n + 1), n + (n + 2)..., in which n is the single occurrence of any of the four colors lighting up within a given color sequence. Simon's built-in computer generates which of the four colors is chosen, probably with a random number generator.

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Simon is considered a classic electronic game and is still sold today by Milton Bradley (now owned by Hasbro). It is roughly based on the simple children's game of Simon says.

Related Topics:
Hasbro - Simon says

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