The electronic memory game Simon was unveiled in 1978 at Studio 54. And after a long night of boozing and doing hardcore drugs with its pal Sp
eak & Spell, the primary-colored toy sobered up and got down to the business of becoming one of the most coveted kid items of the late '70s and early '80s.
Based on the classic children's game Simon Says, the objective of Simon was straight-forward: Remember an increasingly complicated pattern of flashling lights and hit the correct buttons to replicate it. Simon challenged but didn't require much explanation. Its clunky yet futuristic design looked like something straight out of "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," which made it that much more awesome. And parents liked it because it appeared to strengthen kids' ability to memorize, which, as we all know, is the cornerstone of getting a solid education. Simon also had an uncanny ability to suck up a lot of kid hours, another reason moms and dads may have secretly been psyched when one of us wanted to play with it.
You might think Simon just faded away, another casualty of its time, like Pong and Intellivision. Not so. Hasbro still makes a few versions of the game, including a handheld take on the original and a more challenging version called Simon Trickster. I have to say, I don't like the design of the new incarnations as much -- the colors and the fonts don't convey the seriousness that Simon requires.
Look again at the original, pictured above. Doesn't the black background, orb-like shape and protruding set of switches look intimidating? The whole thing screams: "Kids, this ain't no Yahtzee. You gotta concentrate when you play this mutha." If the 1978 Simon could talk, I think it would sound a lot like HAL from "2001: A Space Odyssey." And that's a machine you don't want to mess with.
Still, as much as I miss the more badass version, I have to give props to Simon for sticking around for 30 years. It's proof that the simplest games very often turn out to be the most lasting. And here's proof that Simon can still suck up lots of your valuable time: Play it online here, if you dare.
Photo: Vidgame.net
RetroFitted appears every Thursday morning on Strollerderby.
