A strange little side quest
Noughts and Crosses may feel immediate, but the ideas around puzzles have been evolving for a very long time. Alexey Pajitnov created Tetris in 1984 after drawing inspiration from pentomino puzzles, then simplified the idea around shapes made from four squares. The same trail leads to another fact: Space Invaders, released in 1978, helped push video games into mainstream popular culture. It is a good reminder that simple game mechanics can carry a surprising amount of history.
