CpsSpeedTest
CpsSpeedTest Editorial TeamLast updated: October 2026
Ralph Baer (1978) Audio-Visual Memory Benchmark

Simon Says Game

Watch the flashing lights, listen to the musical tones, and repeat the escalating sequences. Test your audio-visual working memory against global standards.

Simon Says

Watch the pattern and repeat it back.

Score: 0

What Is the Simon Says Memory Game?

Simon Says is a classic electronic sequential memory game invented in 1978 by Ralph Baer and Howard J. Morrison. The device generates random sequences of lights and associated harmonic tones across four colored quadrants. Players must reproduce the entire sequence in exact chronological order, with each successful round appending one new step to test the outer limits of human working memory span.

Invention Year1978Ralph Baer & Howard Morrison
Cognitive Threshold7 – 9 StepsMiller's working memory limit
Elite Mnemonic Tier15 – 25+ StepsUsing geometric chunking

How to Master Simon Says Sequences

1

Initialize the 4-quadrant console

Click 'Start Game' to launch the round. The 4 colored quadrants (Green, Red, Yellow, Blue) will calibrate.

2

Observe the flashing color and acoustic pitch

Simon illuminates one quadrant with an optical flash accompanied by a distinct harmonic frequency tone.

3

Repeat the exact sequence in identical order

Click the corresponding colored quadrant. Each correct sequence awards one point and increases your active streak.

4

Encode the growing chain using audio-visual dual coding

With each round, Simon appends one additional random color. Combine visual position with the acoustic pitch to anchor recall.

5

Apply spatial chunking as lengths exceed 7 steps

Group colors into trios or geometric shapes (e.g., clockwise triangles) to bypass the standard working memory bottleneck.

6

Avoid mistakes to push your high-score record

A single mistimed or incorrect button press ends the game immediately. Review your maximum sequence length against global norms.

Cognitive Benefits of Audio-Visual Sequence Games

Multisensory Dual-Coding

By binding visual color flashes to distinct acoustic pitches, Simon exercises cross-modal sensory integration. This strengthens neural connectivity between the primary visual cortex (occipital lobe) and auditory processing areas (temporal lobe).

Working Memory Updating

Every round forces your brain to recall an existing sequence and immediately append a new item without corrupting the chronological order of earlier steps, directly training the n-back updating functions of the prefrontal cortex.

Rhythm & Pitch Discrimination

Musicians and gamers learn to perceive sequences as melodic phrases rather than abstract colors. Auditory pattern recognition allows players to "hear" the correct buttons before conscious thought initiates.

Impulse Gating & Error Avoidance

Simon Says enforces strict instant-death consequences: a single wrong click ends the game. This demands unwavering attentional discipline, eliminating hasty premature clicks during playback.

Audio-Visual Harmonic Profiles in Simon

Quadrant ColorQuadrant PositionStandard Acoustic FrequencyMusical Tone Equivalent
GreenTop-Left415 HzG#4
RedTop-Right310 HzD#4
YellowBottom-Left252 HzB3
BlueBottom-Right209 HzG#3

Simon Says Performance Tiers

Novice Observer
1 – 6 Steps

Memorizes colors as isolated visual events. Loses track when sequence crosses the standard short-term memory limit.

Average Adult
7 – 10 Steps

Matches global human baseline (Miller's 7 ± 2). Demonstrates reliable dual-coding across moderate sequence lengths.

Advanced Chunking
11 – 15 Steps

Top 10% cognitive performance. Groups colors into triplets or recognizable melodic phrases with rhythmic subvocalization.

Simon Grandmaster
16 – 25+ Steps

Top 1% elite memory tier. Seamless combination of spatial geometry, melodic pitch memory, and numerical motor mapping.

Tips to Reach 15+ Steps in Simon Says

1
Assign Numbers (1, 2, 3, 4)Saying "Yellow, Green, Red" takes too many syllables. Number the quadrants (1 = Green, 2 = Red, 3 = Yellow, 4 = Blue) and recite them as quick single-digit numbers.
2
Chunk Into Rhythmic TripletsGroup incoming signals into groups of three (e.g., "1-2-4", pause, "3-3-1"). Grouping prevents memory overload and resets attentional focus between beats.
3
Listen to the Musical MelodyBecause each quadrant has a unique pitch, the sequence creates a musical tune. Humming the tune activates the auditory cortex, adding a second layer of recall insurance.
4
Trace Spatial Shapes with FingersLightly hover your finger over the quadrants as they flash. Kinesthetic muscle memory reinforces visual signals and makes input execution automatic.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q:How does Simon Says measure sequential working memory capacity?

Simon Says directly benchmarks the capacity of your short-term phonological loop and visuospatial sketchpad. With each completed round, the sequence extends by one additional random unit. According to cognitive psychologist George Miller's Law, typical human working memory holds 7 ± 2 discrete items. Advancing beyond 9 to 12 steps requires active cognitive chunking and cross-modal encoding.

Q:What cognitive strategies help achieve scores above 15 in Simon Says?

Top performers utilize spatial chunking and verbal narrative encoding. Instead of memorizing individual colors in isolation (e.g., Red, Blue, Green, Red), they group signals into trios, visualize geometric paths (such as clockwise triangles or diagonal crosses), or assign numerical digits (1 to 4) and subvocalize them rhythmically.

Q:How does dual audio-visual stimulation assist sequence recall?

Paivio's Dual-Coding Theory demonstrates that when stimuli are presented simultaneously as an optical flash (visuospatial) and a unique auditory tone (phonological), the brain generates two distinct, parallel memory traces. This multisensory redundancy makes recall significantly more resilient against attentional lapse than pure silent visual observation.

Q:Who originally invented the electronic Simon game?

The electronic Simon toy was invented by Ralph Baer (the legendary 'Father of Video Games' and creator of the Magnavox Odyssey) and Howard J. Morrison. Released by Milton Bradley at Studio 54 in New York in 1978, it was inspired by Atari's 1974 arcade game 'Touch Me' and became a cultural defining icon of the 1980s.

Q:What is the difference between Simon Says and the Corsi Sequence Memory Test?

The Corsi Sequence Memory Test uses an un-tinted, un-toned 3x3 grid testing pure spatial location order without sound. Simon Says uses a 4-color layout with fixed geometric positions and synchronized acoustic pitches, heavily recruiting musical pitch memory and dual-hemisphere auditory-visual processing.

Q:Can playing sequential memory games improve daily focus and executive function?

Yes. Regular practice with escalating sequential tasks enhances selective attention, working memory updating, and impulse inhibition in the prefrontal cortex—vital skills for following multi-step work instructions and maintaining concentration in distracting environments.

Q:Why do sequence memory scores degrade rapidly when tired or distracted?

Maintaining ordered neural tokens in working memory requires sustained metabolic energy in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). Mental fatigue causes item timestamping to scramble, leading to misplaced clicks even when all individual colors were correctly remembered.

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