The rules of Simple Simon
In brief
Play uses a single deck of 52 cards, all visible, arranged in 10 columns. A card can be placed on a card one rank higher, regardless of suit; a group can only move if it is of a single suit. A complete run from king to ace of the same suit is removed from play; the game is won when all 4 runs have been removed.
Setup
The game uses 52 cards, a single deck. The app deals them all into 10 columns of 8, 8, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1 cards, from left to right, face up. There is no stock and no hidden card, so no cards are dealt during the game: everything you will use is already on the table.
No runs removed. column 1: ace of spades, king of hearts, ace of clubs, 4 of diamonds, king of diamonds, 6 of clubs, 10 of hearts, 4 of clubs; column 2: 3 of diamonds, 2 of diamonds, 4 of spades, 9 of clubs, ace of diamonds, 7 of clubs, 8 of diamonds, 9 of hearts; column 3: jack of hearts, 6 of spades, 8 of hearts, 5 of hearts, 2 of spades, 3 of clubs, 6 of hearts, king of spades; column 4: jack of spades, 7 of diamonds, 2 of clubs, 10 of spades, 9 of diamonds, 10 of diamonds, 5 of spades; column 5: 2 of hearts, 9 of spades, king of clubs, 8 of clubs, queen of spades, ace of hearts; column 6: queen of clubs, 7 of hearts, 10 of clubs, jack of clubs, queen of hearts; column 7: jack of diamonds, 3 of hearts, 5 of clubs, 6 of diamonds; column 8: 8 of spades, 4 of hearts, queen of diamonds; column 9: 3 of spades, 7 of spades; column 10: 5 of diamonds.
The number of suits
At the start of a new game, the app asks “How many suits?”. This choice changes the composition of the 52 cards, never their number. The very first game after installation uses 1 suit.
| Suits | In the app | Composition |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Easy | 4 × 13 spades |
| 2 | Medium | 2 × 13 spades + 2 × 13 hearts |
| 4 | Hard | 1 × 13 spades + 1 × 13 hearts + 1 × 13 diamonds + 1 × 13 clubs |
Placing a card
The last card in a column can be placed on the last card in another column if the latter is one rank higher, regardless of suit: a 3 of hearts on a 4 of spades, a queen on a king. The ace is the lowest card and the king the highest: nothing can be placed on an ace, and a king can only move to an empty column.
Moving a group
Several cards at the bottom of a column can move together if their ranks are in consecutive descending order, such as 8, 7, 6, and they are all of one suit. A group of mixed suits cannot move as a unit, even if its ranks are consecutive: it must be split into groups of a single suit. The app does not do this for you, even when there are empty columns. A group is placed like a single card: its first card must go on a card one rank higher, or into an empty column. There is no size limit.
The empty column
An empty column accepts any card or any group of the same suit, not just a king. In the game in the examples, a group of 12 cards moves there in a single move. It is the most useful space in the game: there is no stock or reserve cell for setting a card aside.
Removed runs
When a column ends with the 13 cards of a single suit, from king to ace, the app automatically removes that run from play, immediately after the move that formed it. A run is only removed if it is of a single suit.
The end of the game
The game is won when all 4 runs have been removed: no cards remain. The app does not detect a blocked game or tell you whether a deal has a solution: when no move helps any longer, it is up to you to undo, restart or start a new deal.
The app's variants
- 1, 2 or 4 suits (“Easy, Medium or Hard”), at the start of a new game. With 1 suit, there are only spades, with four copies of each card; with 4 suits, it is a standard deck.
- Game code: it indicates the number of suits and the shuffle, such as SS1-S1-AAAAABD for a deal with 1 suit.
Scoring
The game starts at 500 points. Each move of a card or group costs 1 point; each run removed earns 100 points. The score has no lower limit: a very long game can go below zero. Removing a run does not count as a move.
| Action | Points |
|---|---|
| Start of the game | 500 |
| Moving a card or group | -1 |
| Run removed | +100 |
Example: the game on the Examples page is won in 49 moves. It finishes at 500 − 49 + 400 = 851 points (4 runs × 100 = 400). This is the app's scoring system; the game has no official scoring system.
App-specific features
- Double-click (enabled by default): the tapped group moves to the best column, preferring the same suit, otherwise an empty column.
- Drag and drop; “Auto placement” (disabled by default) sends the dropped card to the best position.
- Placement assistance: while you drag a card, valid columns are highlighted. Interactive rules: after a rejected move, the app reminds you of the rule.
- Undo: the last 100 actions. The score and move count return to their previous values; a removed run returns when the move that formed it is undone.
- No hints or solver: the app does not tell you whether a deal is winnable.
Simple Simon and Spider
Wikipedia describes Simple Simon as a common single-deck variant of Spider. The legal moves are those of Spider; the difference lies in the layout: all cards are visible from the start, and there is no stock. See the sources.