A strange little side quest
City Blaster! belongs to a much longer story of play than a browser tab might suggest. The word 'checkmate' is linked to the Persian expression 'shah mat', used when the king was trapped. The surprising part is how quickly the next milestone followed. Computer Space reached arcades in 1971 and became one of the earliest commercial electronic arcade games, even though its controls proved demanding for many players. That history is one reason familiar mechanics can still feel new when they are recombined well.
