A strange little side quest
The next time Color by Numbers asks for one more try, remember that game ideas rarely appear from nowhere. The Oregon Trail began in 1971 when three student teachers created a computer simulation to help Minnesota schoolchildren learn American history. It also connects to a different milestone: Space Invaders, released in 1978, helped push video games into mainstream popular culture. The screen is modern; the urge to test skill, pattern and timing definitely is not.