Why birds?

The memory-and-music game is usually played with colored lights and beeps. We wanted it to sound like it belongs outdoors. Birds already sing short phrases back and forth, so each button became a bird on a branch with a note of its own.

The twist is that the branch fills up. You start with four birds. As the song grows, a fifth and then a sixth bird fly in, and the sky slowly turns from night to morning. Finish a song and every bird sings at once, a small dawn chorus. Each bird has its own color and a shape on its chest, and it lights up and hops when it sings, so you can play with the sound off.

A bit of real history

The best-known electronic version took its name from Simon Says, the playground game where you only follow orders that start with “Simon says.” That game is old. A Pittsburgh newspaper mentioned “the youth’s game of Simon says up, Simon says down” in 1848.

The electronic game came from Ralph Baer and Howard J. Morrison, who worked with the Chicago toy design firm Marvin Glass and Associates. In 1976 they saw Touch Me, an Atari arcade game where you repeat a pattern of lights and sounds. Baer liked the idea but not the “miserable, rasping sounds.” While looking through his children’s Compton’s Encyclopedia, he read that a bugle can play only four notes. He used those bugle notes for the four buttons, so any order would sound pleasant.

Milton Bradley released it as Simon in 1978, with a midnight launch party at Studio 54 in New York. It cost $24.95, and the patent was granted in 1980. Simon is a Hasbro trademark today, which is why our game has its own name.

The real dawn chorus

The dawn chorus is the burst of birdsong at the start of the day, most noticeable in spring in cooler parts of the world. The RSPB, the UK bird charity, describes it starting with one or two voices and growing as more birds join in with the light, lasting from about 20 minutes to an hour. Robins, blackbirds and song thrushes are often early. Birds with bigger eyes tend to start first, perhaps because they can see well in dim light. That build-up, one voice and then many, is what the game copies.

How to play

• Press Start. The birds sing a short song, one note at a time. Each bird lights up and hops when it sings.
• When it says “Your turn”, tap the birds in the same order. Number keys 1 to 6 work too, counting from the left.
• Each round adds one note. When a new bird flies in, it sings the newest note.
• One slip is fine: the birds sing the song again and you carry on. A second slip ends the song.
• Songs mode has 30 songs over three mornings, from 4 notes up to 16. Three stars for no slips and no “Hear it again”. Each one costs a star.
• Free Song has no end. The birds speed up as the song grows, and your best length earns a rank, from Egg to Chorus Leader.
• Sound is on to start. Tap 🔊 to mute, or 🎵 for music.
• Earn 3 stickers in this game for your QuickBOP sticker book.

Tips

Say the birds out loud. “Robin, canary, robin.” Names stick better than colors, and you can say the shapes instead if that’s easier.

Hum along. The birds sit in order of pitch, lowest on the left. If you can hum the tune, your hand often knows where to go.

Only learn the new note. Each round is the last song plus one note at the end. Keep the old part and listen for what comes last.

Use “Hear it again” while learning. It costs a star, but you can always come back for three.

Your turn

Four birds are waiting on the branch at the top of this page. Press Start and see how long a song you can sing back.