How to play Simon Says

Simon Says is a children’s game that can be enjoyed by players of all ages. The game is played by one or more players and involves following the instructions given by the game leader, who is known as Simon. Instructions may be as simple as “Simon says, touch your nose,” or they may be more complex, such as telling players to do a particular action only when Simon says the word “red.” If a player follows an instruction that was not given by Simon, they are out of the game. The last player remaining in the game is the winner.

The rules of Simon Says

The basic rules of Simon Says are easy to learn and can be adapted to fit any age group. To start, choose one player to be Simon. That player then gives instructions to the other players, telling them what to do and what not to do. Players must obey the instructions given by Simon, but ONLY if they hear the words “Simon says,” before the instruction. If the words “Simon Says” aren’t spoken first then the players must ignore that instruction. If a player follows an instruction that was not given by Simon, they are out of the game. The last player remaining in the game is the winner.

“Simon” can often get players out by giving his commands quite quickly as follows:

Simon says stand up

Simon says sit down

Simon says stand up

Simon says sit down

Stand up

You can almost guarantee that one or two players will immediately stand up despite the command not starting with “Simon says.”

Play continues until all the players are out, or until everyone gets bored! I have never seen a game where Simon hasn’t been able to get everyone out though.

Variations of Simon Says

Simon Says can be a great learning aid in schools. For instance all instructions could be given in French, Spanish or Welsh. As Simon Says is such a simple game, the instructions are necessarily simple which makes learning commands in another language fun and easy.

Simon Says can also be played as a physical game where the instructions are things like ‘”Simon Says do star jumps,” “Simon Says run on the spot” and so on.

Simon Says can be played with flash cards in TEFL classes where the instructions are, “Simon Says point to the word umbrella,” “Simon Says point to the word taxi” and so on.

With a little imagination, Simon Says can be used as a learning aid in almost any lesson.

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *