After experimenting with a physics problem in assembly language, he created a game where a trail was left behind a player that disallowed them to return to a position they had already visited.

After showing the concept to the staff at Gremlin, it was developed into a video game, test marketed and released to great acclaim at the 1976 Music Operators of America in Chicago.

[6] Designer Lane Hauck, a physics and engineering graduate of UCLA and Cal State, purchased a Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) PDP-8 computer to teach himself Assembly language.

[6] Hauck played games on the system such as Moo and began to grow interested in simplifying complex technology to make it more affordable.

To test out the problem visually, Hauck wrote a program in which the computer randomly picked either an up, down left or right direction to move an arrow.

Hauck did not expect this result and it led to him developing a game where two players move and try to avoid hitting each other, creating a trailing maze behind them.

[8] Hauck recalls that Blockade was the very first name which came to Fogleman's mind, and after purchasing a cabinet and monitor, they tested the game at a miniature golf course.

[7] At the time of Blockade's release, counterfeiting was high and public demand for the game was not as long-lasting as the company had hoped.

"[13] Months later, when Gremlin's Blockade was distributed in November 1976, the market had shrunk, leading to the game releasing only a small fraction they had presold at the show.

[15] From contemporary reviews, Ray Pasziewicz, a Baltimore coin machine operator, said he specifically praised Blockade at the MOA show, noting the games competitiveness and that "I stood there and played it for a long time and I was excited over it.

"[18] After witnessing a mother and daughter play Blockade and constantly hit each other and laugh at them exploding, Lane Hauck developed the arcade game Fortress.

[7] By 1977, Gremlin had no major hit arcade games following Blockade which led to the company being purchased by Sega on September 29, 1978.