A strange little side quest
Royal Carpeteer has plenty of company in a long tradition of players chasing timing, patterns and better decisions. Arthur Wynne published a diamond-shaped 'Word-Cross' in the New York World on December 21, 1913; the name later shifted to 'Cross-Word' and then 'crossword'. The surprising part is how quickly the next milestone followed. 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. That history is one reason familiar mechanics can still feel new when they are recombined well.
