A strange little side quest
Even a quick game like Gnomes of War sits on top of decades — and sometimes centuries — of ideas. The word 'checkmate' is linked to the Persian expression 'shah mat', used when the king was trapped. And the history keeps stacking up: In 1958, Tennis for Two used an analog computer and an oscilloscope to turn simple physics into a playable tennis-like demonstration. Not bad for a few facts hiding behind a Play button.