How to Master the Simon Memory Game: Chunking & Tricks
Simon is a pure test of memory — watch a growing sequence of colours and tones, then repeat it perfectly. The good news is that memory is a skill you can train. This guide covers the techniques that let you hold far longer sequences than you'd expect: chunking, using the tones, verbal rehearsal, and the science of working memory.
How Simon Works
Simon shows you a sequence of flashing coloured pads, each with its own musical tone. When the sequence ends, you repeat it by tapping the pads in the same order. Every round replays the sequence and adds one new step, so it grows longer each turn until you make a mistake. Your score is the length of the longest sequence you correctly reproduced. Play it now on our free Simon memory game.
Why It Gets Hard: The Magic Number Seven
Simon is essentially a test of working memory — your ability to hold information active for a short time. In a famous 1956 paper, psychologist George Miller proposed that most people can hold about seven items, plus or minus two, in short-term memory. That is why so many players start to struggle right around the seven-to-nine mark. But that limit applies to unrelated items — and the key to beating it is to make each remembered unit hold more than one step.
The Number-One Technique: Chunking
Chunking is the practice of grouping individual items into larger, meaningful units. If you try to remember a nine-step sequence as nine separate colours, you will hit your limit fast. But if you group them into three chunks of three — “green-red-blue, yellow-yellow-green, red-blue-red” — you are now holding only three units, comfortably within anyone's capacity. This is exactly how people remember long phone numbers: not as ten digits, but as a few groups. As the Simon sequence grows, mentally break it into rolling groups of two or three.
Turn the Sequence Into a Melody
Simon's designers gave each pad a distinct musical tone for a reason — and it is your secret weapon. Instead of memorising a list of colours, let yourself hear the sequence as a short melody. Auditory memory for tunes is remarkably strong; you can probably hum dozens of songs you have not heard in years. Many top Simon players report that once a sequence “sounds like” something, they can reproduce it almost automatically. Keep your device's sound on and lean into the music.
Rehearse Out Loud
A second powerful aid is verbal rehearsal — quietly saying the colours to yourself as they flash (“green, red, red, blue…”). Speaking, even under your breath, engages a separate part of your memory and dramatically improves recall, which is why we naturally repeat a phone number aloud while dialling. Combine verbal rehearsal with chunking and the melody, and you are encoding the sequence three different ways at once.
Practical Habits for a High Score
| Habit | Why it helps |
|---|---|
| Chunk into 2s and 3s | Keeps the number of units below your memory limit. |
| Listen to the tones | Encodes the sequence as an easy-to-recall melody. |
| Whisper the colours | Verbal rehearsal strengthens short-term recall. |
| Keep a steady tapping rhythm | Rushing causes slips near the end of a run. |
| Practise in normal mode first | Build long sequences without the strict penalty. |
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a good Simon score?
Most people manage five to nine steps comfortably — around the limit of human short-term memory. Reaching the mid-teens or beyond is a genuine achievement that takes chunking, the tones, and practice.
Does the sound really help?
Yes, significantly. Each pad's distinct tone lets you remember the sequence as a melody, and musical memory is much more durable than a bare list of colours. Keep your sound on if you can.
What is chunking?
Chunking means grouping individual steps into small clusters — pairs or triples — that you memorise as single units. It lets you hold far longer sequences without exceeding your memory's natural capacity.
Is Simon good for your brain?
It is a classic, focused working-memory exercise that trains attention and sequence recall. Like any brain game it is not a miracle, but it is a fun way to practise concentration in short bursts.
Start Playing
Put these techniques to the test on our free Simon memory game. It has the classic four tones, a strict mode for serious high-score attempts, and saves your best level in your browser. It runs entirely on your device — no download, no signup. Chunk the sequence, hum the melody, and see how far past seven you can get.