Simon Says

Four pads light up in turn with a different pitch each, and you repeat the order, with one more step added every round.

FAQ

Why do the four pads sound different?

Each pad has a fixed pitch, with green highest and blue lowest. Pitch plus color gives the sequence two hooks, so the order is easier to recall and still readable with headphones on.

What happens if I tap during playback?

Input is ignored while the sequence is playing, so taps do nothing and the round is not lost. Wait for the last pad to finish, then repeat the order at your own pace.

How is the best level counted?

Every full round you repeat adds one level, and the best level updates at that point. A round that ends on a wrong pad does not count toward the best, but its length appears in the end message.

Where is my record stored?

The best level lives in your browser local storage under the key t55k6-simon. It disappears if you switch devices or clear site data, and nothing is uploaded to a server.

How to use

Start a run
Press start and the page plays a one step sequence, lighting each pad with its own tone. Wait for the playback to end, since taps during it are ignored.
Repeat the order
Tap the pads in the same order. Each correct tap moves the pointer forward, and a full round adds a level, a longer sequence, and a fresh playback.
End on a miss
One wrong pad ends the round and the page shows how many steps the sequence had. Your best level does not drop, and the new game button starts another run at once.
Read the record
The top bar shows the current level and the best level stored on this device. A completed round writes the record to local storage, and clearing site data resets it.

About this tool

Simon Says brings the classic memory game into the browser. Four pads sit in a two by two grid, and each round plays a random order of lights with four distinct pitches. The sequence starts at one step and grows by one every time you repeat it correctly, until a wrong pad ends the run. The page tracks your current level and your best level on this device. A refresh or a closed tab does not erase the record, and the page needs no network once loaded.

The game leans on short term memory and attention rather than reflexes. The four pads never change position, but the order is reshuffled every round, so there is no spatial trick to exploit. You have to hold the colors and pitches together as one impression. Input locks during playback, which keeps a fast finger from breaking the rhythm. The pause after each round gives you a moment to replay the order in your head before the next, longer sequence begins.

How it works

Working memory holds only a handful of items at once, and the common estimate is four to seven chunks. Simon Says gives every step two channels by pairing a color with a pitch. The sound can act as a second handle on the same position. Once the sequence passes six or seven steps, remembering single pads gets heavy. Grouping two or three neighbors into one chunk makes the load easier to carry. The game keeps no clock, so you set the pace.

All four tones are generated live by the Web Audio API. The base frequencies run from roughly three hundred hertz down to one hundred and sixty, and every tone is a plain sine wave. A sine wave has no overtones, so the pitch difference is easy to hear and survives small phone speakers. The highlight and the tone fire together, which gives the eyes and the ears one event to remember. On mobile the audio context is created on the first tap of the start button, which matches the autoplay rules in modern browsers.

When to use it

Practice on the commute
Underground trains often lose signal, and this page needs only one load to keep working. You can play with one hand on a phone. A run starts at a single step, so three or four minutes is enough to reach your limit. Stop before your station and the best level is already saved for next time.
Parent and child rounds
Children and parents can take turns and compare best levels. The pads are large and the colors are plain, so even a young child can join in. Waiting for the playback to finish is good practice in taking turns and following an order, and each result belongs to a single short round.
A two minute warm up
After a long stretch of reading, a couple of quick rounds pull your attention back to the screen. The growing sequence asks for focus, and most people feel sharper by the fifth or sixth step. It is a cleaner break than scrolling a feed, and it costs no more than two minutes.

Tips & tricks

Group two or three neighboring steps into one chunk instead of memorizing single pads.
Keep your hand off the screen until the last tone has finished.
Play a few rounds a day, since tired attention lowers your best level.

Things to watch

Tapping too early
Tapping while the sequence is still playing means every input is ignored, and your own rhythm gets broken. Lift your hand off the screen and wait for the last pad to fade before you start. Better accuracy follows almost at once, and the same habit helps in any task that asks you to wait for a signal.
Watching colors only
Watching the pads without listening makes a six or seven step run feel much harder. Treat the pitch as a second clue, with green highest and blue lowest. Two channels give you two ways back into the order, and a gap in one is often filled by the other.
Playing for an hour
Short term memory runs on attention, and dozens of rounds in a row mostly produce mistakes. Stop after five or six runs, take a short break, then come back. Best levels often improve after that pause, and tracking each session tells you more than chasing a high number of games.