The ancient Chinese stone flipping board game Go, marketed in the US under the name

of Thelo, has a strategic depth that some say rivals chess.

And like chess, a dominant move has a name, not check, but a tarry.

And so an American computer engineer and Goaficionato named Nolan Bushnell came to choose

that name for his burgeoning video game company, who had a signature black and white game

of his own.

Pong.

Bushnell's crude table tennis simulation was the first true video game blockbuster and

is credited for initiating the electronic gaming craze.

After his Atari 2600 took America by storm, Bushnell moved on to another business venture,

reimagining the dank Grungy video arcade into a brightly lit, child-friendly pizza parlor,

complete with games, prizes, a ball pit, and an animatronic stage show.

The concept was a hit in the early 80s, the later endured a series of bankruptcies, finding

its salvation in a biote and subsequent merger from rival Shobiz Pizza.

Over the decades, the Pizzeria's rodent mascot has evolved from a playful happy mouse into

a skateboarding guitar-wailing CGI creation voiced by the lead singer from bowling for

soup.

And now, with 500 locations across North America, it remains a mecca for kids' birthdays

and youth sports celebrations.

As its famous slogan says, it's where a kid can be a kid.

But what about us grownups?

This week on Doe Boys, Chuck E. Chieses.

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