Everything parents need to know about this timeless listening game, from the basic rules to the science behind why it matters for little minds.
Simon Says is played by one leader, who issues instructions to a group, each beginning with the phrase "Simon says." Players must only follow an instruction when it is preceded by those two words. If the leader calls out an action without saying "Simon says" first and a player follows it, that player is out. The last player remaining wins and takes over as Simon. That is the whole game, and it has been delighting children for centuries precisely because it is so simple.
For children under five, the competitive element matters far less than the playing itself. What matters is the listening, the laughter and the physical engagement. You need no equipment, no space larger than a sitting room and no preparation whatsoever. It can be played with two people or twenty, indoors or in the garden, in under five minutes or stretched to half an hour depending on how engaged your child is feeling. Few activities offer that much flexibility for so little effort.
The origins of Simon Says are genuinely ancient. Variants of the command-and-follow format appear across European folk traditions under different names, and the underlying structure, a leader whose authority must be carefully attended to, maps onto games played in Roman times. The name "Simon" itself likely arrived in English-speaking nurseries sometime in the nineteenth century, but the format predates it by a long margin.
Its longevity is no mystery. The game sits at the intersection of physical movement, social attention and cognitive challenge in a way that is genuinely rare. Adele Diamond at the University of British Columbia has documented how tasks requiring a child to inhibit a habitual response, doing nothing when every impulse says to act, are among the most productive exercises for the developing prefrontal cortex. Simon Says, almost by accident, is precisely that kind of task.
What the research says
Adele Diamond's work on executive function in early childhood identifies inhibitory control, the ability to pause and override an automatic response, as one of the strongest predictors of later academic and social success. Simon Says trains this skill directly, through play, at exactly the age when the brain is most receptive to it.
Start with one adult or older child as Simon. Simon stands facing the players and calls out actions clearly and at a steady pace. Any instruction beginning with "Simon says" must be followed. Any instruction given without that prefix must be ignored. Begin slowly, allowing children to build confidence, then gradually introduce a faster pace or more unusual commands as the game warms up.
Good starter commands include: "Simon says touch your nose," "Simon says jump on the spot," "Simon says put your hands on your head," and "Simon says spin around once." The trap commands, those without the prefix, work best when they follow naturally from a sequence: three "Simon says" instructions in a row, then a sudden plain command delivered in the same tone. The pause before deciding whether to act is where the learning happens.
Children as young as two can enjoy a simplified version of Simon Says, though they will rarely manage the inhibition element reliably until around age four. This is entirely normal. Before three, the prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain responsible for holding a rule in mind while suppressing a competing impulse, is still in its earliest stages of development. Expecting a two-year-old to resist copying every command is like expecting them to tie their own shoelaces: the wiring simply is not there yet.
The appropriate response is not to correct the child but to keep playing. Research by Jeffrey Trawick-Smith emphasises that the process of attempting a challenging game, rather than mastering it perfectly, is where the developmental value lies for toddlers and pre-schoolers. Play the game anyway. Laugh when the rules go wrong. Come back to it regularly.
For two-year-olds, abandon the elimination rule entirely. Simply play as a copying game where every instruction is a "Simon says" instruction. Focus on body-part vocabulary, animal sounds and simple physical movements. The game becomes a language-rich exercise rather than a rule-following one, and both outcomes are worthwhile.
For three-year-olds, introduce the rule gently with long pauses between the prefix and the command, giving the brain time to process. Use a puppet or soft toy as "Simon" if your child finds it easier to attend to a character rather than an adult voice. For four- and five-year-olds, the full game works well. Invite the child to be Simon themselves: leading requires holding the rules, the commands and the attention of the group in mind simultaneously, a considerably more demanding cognitive task than following.
The benefits of Simon Says extend well beyond an ability to follow party-game rules. Listening carefully to the precise wording of an instruction, rather than simply acting on its general shape, is a skill that underpins reading comprehension, mathematical reasoning and classroom behaviour. Kathy Hirsh-Pasek and Roberta Golinkoff, whose decades of research into playful learning are among the most cited in developmental psychology, describe this kind of structured play as the most efficient vehicle the young brain has for building cognitive flexibility.
Language and listening
Hart and Risley's landmark research into early language environments demonstrated that the richness and responsiveness of verbal interaction in a child's first years has profound effects on later language ability. Simon Says is a naturally language-dense, responsive activity: every instruction invites an immediate physical reply, which makes it a strong informal tool for building vocabulary and auditory processing alongside executive function.
The game also develops body awareness and gross motor coordination in an incidental, pressure-free way. Commands such as "Simon says balance on one leg" or "Simon says make yourself as small as you can" ask children to locate and control specific parts of their body, building proprioceptive awareness that supports handwriting, sport and physical confidence in later years.
Simon Says works particularly well as a transition game: a way to move children from one activity to another, to refocus attention before a meal or a story, or to release physical energy on days when outdoor time is limited. UK Chief Medical Officers recommend that children under five who are capable of walking should be physically active for at least three hours each day. A game of Simon Says is not a substitute for outdoor play, but it contributes meaningfully to that total and requires nothing more than the willingness of an adult to play along.
Pairing Simon Says with other traditional games and open-ended play materials creates a richer routine. The skills it builds, sustained attention, auditory processing and the ability to hold a rule in working memory, complement those developed through puzzles, building and turn-based games. A child who has spent twenty minutes listening carefully to a sequence of commands is well primed for the focused attention that a good puzzle or board game requires.
If Simon Says has captured your child's enthusiasm for rule-following games and structured play, there is a natural next step into games that ask for similar cognitive engagement but add an extra layer of strategy, memory or physical coordination. Jaques of London, established in 1795 and the world's oldest games company, has been making precisely these kinds of games for generations.
Browse Jaques traditional games, played and loved across generationsGames involving matching, sequencing and careful turn-taking extend the same inhibitory control that Simon Says begins to build. Puzzles require sustained attention and the ability to hold an image in mind while searching for a matching piece, a direct analogue of holding the "Simon says" rule in working memory. Skittles and outdoor coordination games develop the body awareness that Simon Says introduces through its physical commands.
Explore Jaques educational toys designed to grow with your childPlay, not performance
Stuart Brown, whose research into the biology of play has influenced thinking across medicine and education, argues that play pursued for its own sake, without outcome pressure, is the condition in which the brain learns most efficiently. Simon Says, when played without anxiety about winning or losing, is a near-perfect example of this kind of intrinsically motivated, cognitively rich activity.
Completely normal, and worth celebrating rather than correcting. The ability to inhibit an automatic response develops gradually through the pre-school years and is rarely reliable before the age of four. At two, the brain is still building the very circuits needed for this kind of rule-governed restraint. Keep playing in a simplified form where every instruction is valid, enjoy the physical activity and the language together, and revisit the full rules gently as your child approaches three and four. The game will get richer as the brain catches up.
Follow your child's lead entirely. Most two- and three-year-olds will engage enthusiastically for five to ten minutes before attention naturally wanders. Four- and five-year-olds, particularly in a group, can sustain interest for twenty minutes or more, especially if the commands grow increasingly silly or physical. The moment you notice the game becoming effortful rather than joyful, stop. Ending on a high note, while the game is still fun, means your child will ask to play it again tomorrow.
Yes, though the key is to approach it as a playful habit rather than a therapeutic exercise. Research consistently shows that repeated, low-pressure exposure to activities requiring auditory attention and response inhibition strengthens the neural pathways involved in those skills. Because Simon Says is intrinsically motivating and carries no academic pressure, children who struggle in more formal listening contexts often engage with it willingly. Pair it with other active, language-rich games and keep sessions short and positive for the best results.
Absolutely. A seated version works well at a table or on the sofa, with commands focusing entirely on hands and face: "Simon says wiggle your fingers," "Simon says close your eyes," "Simon says tap your knees twice." A whisper version, where every command is given in a very quiet voice, adds an extra layer of auditory attention and is particularly useful when noise levels need to stay low. A facial expression version works beautifully with younger toddlers: "Simon says make a surprised face" builds emotional vocabulary and social awareness alongside the usual listening benefits.
Britain's oldest toy maker. Every toy open-ended, wooden, and built for exactly the kind of play the research recommends.