2048 Christmas Spirit

A strange little side quest

A small trivia drop for 2048 Christmas Spirit: Alexey Pajitnov created Tetris in 1984 after drawing inspiration from pentomino puzzles, then simplified the idea around shapes made from four squares. Another piece of context lands nicely beside it: Nintendo's Donkey Kong arrived in 1981 and introduced the character first known as Jumpman, who later became Mario. That history is one reason familiar mechanics can still feel new when they are recombined well.