A strange little side quest
Even a quick game like Pigeon Ascent sits on top of decades — and sometimes centuries — of ideas. Chess changed dramatically in Europe during the 15th and 16th centuries when the queen became the board's most powerful piece. A second detail makes the picture even better: Boxing entered the modern Olympic Games in 1904 at St. Louis. That history is one reason familiar mechanics can still feel new when they are recombined well.