Simon is an electronic game of short-term memory skill invented by Ralph H. Baer and Howard J. Morrison, working for toy design firm Marvin Glass and Associates,[1] with software programming by Lenny Cope.

Simon was launched in 1978 at Studio 54 in New York City and was an immediate success, becoming a pop culture symbol of the 1970s and 1980s.

Ralph H. Baer and Howard J. Morrison[1] were introduced to Atari's arcade game Touch Me at the Music Operators of America (MOA) trade show in 1976.

"[2] The prototype built by Baer used the low-cost Texas Instruments TMS 1000 microcontroller chip, which was in many games of the 1970s.

Lenny Cope,[2] who was one of Ralph H. Baer's partners, programmed the core of the game, titled Follow Me at the time.

When they pitched the demo, an 8-by-8-inch console, to the Milton Bradley Company the name of the game was changed to Simon.

Simon debuted in 1978 at a retail price of $24.95 (equivalent to $117 in 2023) and became one of the top-selling toys that Christmas shopping season.

Many variants of Simon have been made since Hasbro acquired Milton Bradley in the 1980s, building on the possibilities offered by advances in technology.

The original Super Simon was reinvented in 2003 as a hexagonal unit with six buttons, which was only released in Europe.

This version of Simon uses motion sensors, similar to those in Mattel's Loopz line of games.

Multiple Optix units can wirelessly interconnect for multiplayer gameplay; the first Simon game to do so.

Simon's tones, on the other hand, were designed to always be harmonic,[2] no matter the sequence, and consisted of an A major triad in second inversion, resembling a trumpet fanfare: Some of the original 1978 models used an alternative set of tones, forming the B♭ minor triad:[11] Simon was later re-released by Milton Bradley – now owned by Hasbro – in its original circular form, though with a translucent case rather than plain black.

It was also sold as a two-sided Simon Squared version, with the reverse side having eight buttons for head-to-head play, and as a keychain (officially licensed by Fun4All) with simplified gameplay (only having Game 1, Difficulty 4 available).

The exact notes and sound effects were also used for a smaller version called Simon Micro Series.

Atari released a handheld version of Touch Me in 1978, with multicolored buttons and pleasant musical tones.

Other clones include: The same gameplay also appears on multi-game handhelds such as: Some versions of the game have tones that play as long as the button is depressed, but others have a constant sound duration.

Some versions feature audio themes, such as animals (cat/dog/pig/cow), xylophone, football and space sounds, some of which make the game easier to play.