A strange little side quest
Free Cell may feel immediate, but the ideas around arcade history have been evolving for a very long time. Pac-Man went on sale in 1980, and its creator Toru Iwatani famously linked the character's shape to a pizza with a slice missing. The broader history adds one more wrinkle. 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. It is a good reminder that simple game mechanics can carry a surprising amount of history.
