A strange little side quest
Train Station Master belongs to a much longer story of play than a browser tab might suggest. M.U.L.E. arrived in 1983 with multiplayer competition built around gathering resources and keeping a colony alive, an early example of resource-driven strategy play. A second detail makes the picture even better: In 1958, Tennis for Two used an analog computer and an oscilloscope to turn simple physics into a playable tennis-like demonstration. The screen is modern; the urge to test skill, pattern and timing definitely is not.