All the cards are visible
The following details apply here. All cards are face up from the beginning. There are ten tableau columns and no stock pile. The goal is four complete same-suit King-to-Ace sequences. Simple Simon on contraem.com uses a single 52-card deck with four suits.
Read the opening pattern
A few details help explain this feature. The remaining columns contain seven, six, five, four, three, two and one cards. The first three opening columns contain eight cards each. All 52 cards are placed in the tableau at the start. No hidden cards remain to be turned over later.
Find a receiving card
The following details apply here. An Ace is the lowest rank and cannot receive another card. Single-card placement does not require matching suits. A King needs an empty column because no higher rank exists. An exposed card can land on a card exactly one rank higher.
Move matching groups
Here are the details for this mode. A group moves together only when its selected cards descend in the same suit. Being face up does not make every multi-card group movable. A visible card can remain blocked by cards beneath it. A shorter same-suit segment at the bottom may offer a legal move.
Manage suit changes
A few details help explain this feature. Planning where each segment can land helps avoid blocking a useful card. A mixed build must be separated into legal groups before those groups can move. Open columns can provide space for rearranging suit segments. A mixed-suit descending build can serve as a temporary arrangement.
Use an empty column
Spare columns can help you reconnect separated parts of one suit. You do not have to reserve empty columns for Kings. A King-led group cannot land on a nonempty column. An empty column accepts any exposed card or legal same-suit group.
Work with the visible cards
Keep these points in mind. All possible future arrangements depend on the cards already in the tableau. Undo and Replay provide ways to investigate a different sequence of decisions. Simple Simon has no stock-deal action. A difficult position cannot receive another row of cards.
Complete the suits
Keep these points in mind. A descending sequence with a suit change does not count as complete. A full qualifying run is removed automatically at the bottom of a column. Each collected run must contain one suit in order from King down to Ace. Collecting four runs clears all 52 cards.
Study a visible puzzle
A few details help explain this feature. Hint suggests a currently legal move rather than a complete solution. Replay returns to the same opening arrangement. New game deals a fresh face-up arrangement. Random Simple Simon games are not claimed to be guaranteed solvable.
Keep your progress
My Statistics lists Simple Simon starts, wins and best completed results. With saving enabled, Simple Simon stores its current game in this browser. Use Privacy & Cookie Settings to manage or clear the local records. Its saved position is separate from Spider and the other variants.