Cascades was designed by the William I. Chang (China) in 2001, while he was living in Palo Alto, California. William I. Chang is the chief scientist of Baidu Inc. in Beijing, China, and a recognized expert in search technology, online community and advertising business models. Cascades can be played with Zillions, a game package for Windows that uses a unique "universal gaming engine" technology. On November 21, 2006, it was also implemented on Super Duper Games. However, some players soon discovered that there is a simple winning strategy for the first player.