A strange little side quest
One reason strategy games keeps producing good game ideas around Zombie Garden Vs Plants Defence is that its history is full of strange turns. Games resembling checkers were being played thousands of years ago; evidence of related games reaches back to around 1600 BC. The broader history adds one more wrinkle. Atari's Gran Trak 10 from 1974 is recognized as the first arcade racing video game. It is a good reminder that simple game mechanics can carry a surprising amount of history.