Milton Bradley Simon series U. S. Patent # 4,359,220
(for Super Simon)
U. S. Design Patent # D253,786
(For the original Simon) (patent on the look of the game housing)
U. S. Design Patent # D262,044
(For Super Simon) (patent on the look of the game housing)
Super Simon Invented by: Howard Morrison and Rex Harper (according to the patent) View Manual (For Pocket Simon, game play
is the same for regular Simon)
MB debuted Simon in 1978 at Studio 54 in New York among many 70's celebrities
and a lot of disco music. It was the must-have item for the Christmas season
in 1978 (and I still have the one I got for Christmas that year), and naturally
was impossible to find... To celebrate it's 25th anniversay in 2003, Hasbro
assembled 14 commemorative packs including the modern Simon2,
and handheld Simon (with a similar design to Simon2), a T-shirt and a tote-bag.
They sold these on eBay from June 19th - June 29 2003, and all procedes were
donated to charity (Boundless
Playgrounds). They also sold several Simon2s autographed by celebrity Simon's
like Neil Simon and Simon Cowell (from American Idol) and others.
Simon has been an ongoing product for MB/Hasbro since it's debut in 1978, and
can still be purchased at Toys R Us and other toy stores (though the versions
they sell now are a little different in design). They've also made several different
versions of the Simon game over the years including the 2-player Super Simon,
handheld Simon and even a keychain Simon. The newest incarnation is Simon2
that you can actually flip over for a 2-player head-to-head style game. Replace
the word Simon with Senso and you have the German versions. :)
Simon (1978, Lights, 2D & 1 9-Volt batteries, Model# 4850-L1)
The first version of Simon. Has three different games. Also was packaged with
a spare light bulb inside the game:
Japanese version:
Other international versions:
(White Japanese version, U. K. version and one from Spain 'Mi Amigo')
Super Simon (1980, Lights, 2 D & 1 9-Volt batteries, Model# 4050)
(multi-player party version) (And the German version, Super Senso):
Pocket Simon (1980, Lights, 9 Volt & 2 AA Batteries, Model # 4046)
(also made out of clear plastic) and Mini Senso (Germany):
This is a version I saw forsale in the U.K., different packaging. I've never
seen this packaging in the U.S.:
Simon keychain (they just keep getting smaller!):
Here's Pocket Simon (and others) being played by a kid (in the red shirt) in
October Films' 'Wet Hot American Summer':
(See Handhelds in Movies for more!)
Super Simon can be seen in Warner Bros' 1983 movie National Lampoon's Vacation
(white box in the center, behind the back seat)
and Universal's E. T.- The Extra-Terrestrial: (See Handhelds
in Movies for more!)
Do I have this? I have Simon boxed (original 1978 version), Pocket
Simon loose, and the keychain mint in package.
I also have one of the 14 25th anniversary Simon2 packs.
