A strange little side quest
Math Nerd may feel immediate, but the ideas around learning games have been evolving for a very long time. The Oregon Trail eventually appeared across generations of computer hardware and sold tens of millions of copies, making it one of the most enduring educational games. A second detail makes the picture even better: Pong was field-tested in California bars in 1972 and helped launch the modern arcade-game era. That history is one reason familiar mechanics can still feel new when they are recombined well.
