Skip to content
MJ010.COM Room to think.

KEEP A LITTLE ROOM TO THINK · LET A LITTLE SPACE HELP

Simple Simon

Find what you need to know about Simple Simon. Use the section headings to find your way through the page.

A quick guide to the game
4 SUITS Ready to play
Time 00:00 Moves 0 Runs 0 / 4

Select a face-up card, then a destination column. Dragging also works.

Meet Simple Simon

Keep these points in mind. The goal is four complete same-suit King-to-Ace sequences. There are ten tableau columns and no stock pile. Simple Simon on mj010.com uses a single 52-card deck with four suits. All cards are face up from the beginning.

Read the opening pattern

All 52 cards are placed in the tableau at the start. No hidden cards remain to be turned over later. The first three opening columns contain eight cards each. The remaining columns contain seven, six, five, four, three, two and one cards.

Find a receiving card

Here are the details for this mode. 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.

Keep a descending suit sequence

Here are the details for this mode. A shorter same-suit segment at the bottom may offer a legal move. A group moves together only when its selected cards descend in the same suit. A visible card can remain blocked by cards beneath it. Being face up does not make every multi-card group movable.

Separate temporary builds

Here are the details for this mode. Open columns can provide space for rearranging suit segments. A mixed build must be separated into legal groups before those groups can move. A mixed-suit descending build can serve as a temporary arrangement. Planning where each segment can land helps avoid blocking a useful card.

Create room to rearrange

A King-led group cannot land on a nonempty column. You do not have to reserve empty columns for Kings. An empty column accepts any exposed card or legal same-suit group. Spare columns can help you reconnect separated parts of one suit.

There is no stock

A few details help explain this feature. Simple Simon has no stock-deal action. A difficult position cannot receive another row of cards. All possible future arrangements depend on the cards already in the tableau. Undo and Replay provide ways to investigate a different sequence of decisions.

Four runs finish the game

The following details apply here. 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. A descending sequence with a suit change does not count as complete. Collecting four runs clears all 52 cards.

Study a visible puzzle

Keep these points in mind. Replay returns to the same opening arrangement. Hint suggests a currently legal move rather than a complete solution. 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.