Classic Word Search

A strange little side quest

Even a quick game like Classic Word Search sits on top of decades — and sometimes centuries — of ideas. Alexey Pajitnov created Tetris in 1984 after drawing inspiration from pentomino puzzles, then simplified the idea around shapes made from four squares. And then there is this: Midway's Gun Fight from 1975 was the first arcade video game to use a microprocessor. That history is one reason familiar mechanics can still feel new when they are recombined well.