The word roulette comes from French and means little wheel, derived from "la roue," which means the wheel. Early forms of the game of roulette first appeared in Western Europe during the 17th and 18th centuries. Historians believe that the famous French mathematician Blaise Pascal invented roulette in 1657 while he was pondering the unsolvable problem of perpetual motion, the ever-running machine. Today, roulette is played in all casinos around the world according to nearly identical rules. The simple rules of the game make roulette a popular family game.