List of games inStar Trek

For games based onStar Trek,seeList of Star Trek games.

The fictionalStar Trekuniverse includes a variety of sports, games, and other pastimes. Some of these fictional recreational activities are closely associated with onerace,although they may have gained adherents from other backgrounds. Others thrive on the interaction of different species.

Some of the games below were central to the plot of a single episode, while Others were recurring plot elements spanning multiple television series of theStar Trekfranchise.

Holodeck games

Theholodeckis a facility that simulates reality; it can replicate a wide variety of environments. It is found on starships and starbases in all the series that are set in the 24th century, i.e.Star Trek: The Next Generation,Star Trek: Deep Space NineandStar Trek: Voyager.The holodeck is sometimes used for research or training, but is frequently shown in use for various forms of entertainment.

Some programs depicted in the variousStar Trekshows include aKlingoncalisthenics program, used heavily by Lieutenant CommanderWorf;a park-like setting where Riker first encounters Data in "Encounter at Farpoint";various 'social' programs, such as a mud-bath and a pool hall; andJean-Luc Picard'sDixon Hillholonovels.

Other settings have sometimes been shown, such as the Jupiter Station Diagnostic Program which was used to maintain the Emergency Medical Hologram on variousStarfleetvessels, theUtopia PlanitiaShipyards, severalSherlock Holmesprograms created byDatafor his exploration of humanity, and variousShakespeareprograms enjoyed byJean-Luc Picard.

InVoyager,an entire holographic village and its population were created. The "Fair Haven"program was originally designed for occasional enjoyment by the crew ofVoyager,but the characters becomesentientby the time of the follow-up episode "Spirit Folk",and the captain orders that the holodecks be modified so that the program could remain running continuously.

Also inVoyager,Seven of Nine is continuously frustrated by Captain Janeway's superior skill atVelocity,a game played in a racquetball-type arena where opponents try to be the first to acquire the target of a flying discus and shoot it. The game is scored in points. Each time a player is unable to acquire the disc and is hit by it the other player scores a point. The game is played to ten points.

Sports

Ice hockey

Tom Paris and Harry Kim are seen walking with hockey skates over their shoulders coming out of the holodeck. Tom tells Harry to "watch out for those Nausicaans, they're tough".

Baseball

According to the history presented inStar Trek,the Earth gamebaseballsuffered from a decline in popularity that culminated in the finalWorld Series,which was played in 2042 before a crowd of 300 and won by legendary player Buck Bokai.By the 24th century, the now-obscure game was appreciated by a relatively small number of aficionados includingCaptain Sisko(who kept a ball on the desk in his office aboard Deep Space Nine),Jake Sisko,Kasidy Yatesand astrophysicist Dr. Paul Stubbs. The only organized baseball mentioned is a six-team league on the distant Cestus III.AVulcanStarfleet crew formed a team under the leadership of their captain and challenged a team led by Captain Sisko in 2375.

Parrises Squares

Parrises Squaresis a vigorousathletic game,mentioned in several episodes ofStar Trek: The Next GenerationandVoyager.

It is often implied that the game involves a high risk of serious personal injury; nevertheless, much to the concern of parents, the game was quite popular with teenagers during the 24th century. The game involves the use of a piece of equipment called an ion mallet and a ramp, and players often wear special padded uniforms.

While healing a deep cut onWilliam Riker's face, Dr.Beverly Crusherlectured him "to stop playing Parrises Squares as if you're 21", further advising him that "one day, you'll break your neck, and I won't be able to heal that as easily."

WhenThe Doctorcreated aholographicfamily for himself in 2373, his 'daughter' Belle was on her school's Parrises Squares team. This worried her 'parents', because Parrises Squares can be a dangerous game for someone her age. It later turned out their worries were justified, as she later 'died' of complications from a Parrises Squares injury.

While in Starfleet Academy,Harry Kimplayed Parrises Squares, and was theAcademychampion three times.

Parrises Squares is mainly mentioned as a game played by humans, but other species participate. M'Kota R'Cho was the firstKlingonto play the game, when he participated in the controversial Championship Finals of 2342.

Springball

Springball is a sport played byBajoransand is somewhat similar to the human sport ofhandball.A game is shown during theStar Trek: Deep Space Nineepisode "For the Cause."

Racquetball

Racquetballis a game played inside a room where the players use racquets to hit a small ball. InStar Trek: Deep Space Nine,Miles O'BrienandJulian Bashirenjoy the sport. Bashir was captain of the Starfleet Medical Academy racquetball team in 2368, when he led the team to victory in the sector championships.

Tennis

Tennisis clearly known and played in theStar Trekuniverse. In theStar Trek: The Next GenerationepisodeSuspicions,Guinancomes to Dr.Beverly Crushercomplaining oftennis elbow.Later in the episode, the doctor gifts Guinan with a new, state-of-the-art tennis racket, which she is sure will alleviate her elbow problems. As it turns out, Guinan was lying about playing tennis, but nonetheless the game is clearly known by the both of them, and the racket is real.

InStar Trek: Deep Space Nine,the Chief Medical Officer, Dr.Julian Bashir,during his childhood, briefly considered becoming a professional tennis player (DS9,episode 173, "Melora" ). It is revealed that he was good enough to play at professional level; however, he chose medicine as his profession.

Water polo

Captain Jonathan Archer (Star Trek: Enterprise) enjoyed water polo and played when he was on Earth. In the episode "Catwalk", he is seen watching a water polo match on a portable viewing device while trying to fall asleep. He is also seen on several occasions bouncing a water polo ball off the wall in his quarters.

Basketball

In theStar Trek: Enterpriseepisode "The Forge", the bridge crew (except T'Pol) is briefly seen playing basketball. Doctor Phlox has amazing shot accuracy.

Soccer/Football

In theStar Trek: Enterpriseepisode "Minefield", Captain Archer mentions to Lieutenant Reed that England has made the World Cup Final (this being in 2152).

Darts

O'Brien and Bashir are frequently seen playingdartsat Quark's bar inDS9.

Volleyball

Harry Kim and Tom Paris are never seen playing, but in the episode "Warlord", Kim adds to an existing holodeck program three holographic characters he says he practices with—a championship team of three beautiful women. Paris remarks that now he knows why Kim has been playing better.

Martial arts

Gladiatorial combat

In the memorableOriginal Seriesepisode "The Gamesters of Triskelion",Captain Kirkand some of his crew are forced to participate as gladiators in combat against other humanoids, for the entertainment of unseen masters who wagerQuatloosamong themselves on the outcome in the arena.

Anbo-jitsu

Anbo-Jitsu (or anbo-jyutsu) is a fictitiousJapanesesport shown inStar Trek: The Next Generation.In it, two armored opponents facing each other wear a solid visor, rendering them blind, and fight with a large staff. One end of the staff contains a proximity sensor, alerting each contender to their opponent's location with an audio signal. The other end of the staff is rounded and padded and used for direct blows. The staff itself can be used for sweeping attacks. The opponents dress in armor and helmets to protect them from injury. Ceremonial Japanese chants are used to greet the opponent, initiate combat and yield if necessary. It is called "the ultimate evolution in the martial arts" in the context of the show.

William Rikerand his father settled a long-standing grudge with this game in the episode "The Icarus Factor".

Tsunkatse

Tsunkatse is a form of martial arts, similar tokickboxingand some Japanese sports. Each opponent wears a round device on both the front and back of their harness which sends the wearer a shock when it is touched by an opponent's counterpart, worn on the feet and hands. Each match is designated by a color code, red meaning to the death, blue meaning until one opponent is defeated.

The sport is practiced by various species in theDelta Quadrant.In theVoyagerepisodeof the same name,Seven of Ninewas kidnapped and forced to compete in the sport.

Fencing

Captain Jean-Luc Picard engages infencingmatches on at least two occasions. First, in the episode "We'll Always Have Paris",Picard is in a match against an unnamed crew member. Picard scores a point, and then the match is cut short because of a strange time loop (which serves as the plot for the main story). Second, he matches against Guinan in the episode"I, Borg".Guinan feigns injury and Picard lowers his guard to help, at which time she strikes for an easy point. She does this to warn Picard against feeling sorry for the injured Borg that the crew has saved (which serves as the plot for the main story).

In a flashback scene inStar Trek: Picard,Admiral Picard is shown reading part ofThe Three Musketeersto a young Romulan boy, Elnor. He then teaches Elnor the basics of fencing, as depicted in the book. In the present time of the show, Elnor has grown to become an excellent swordsman.

Hikaru Suluin the original series is known to be a fencer, as demonstrated in the episode "The Naked Time".In the 2009 movie, Sulu mentions he has combat training, which he later tells Kirk is" fencing. "He carries a retractable sword during the space jump to the mining probe over Vulcan, and proves to be a formidable swordsman against his Romulan opponents.

Games of chance

Chula

Chula is a game played by theWadirace that places real people into a game who face a series of challenges based on dice rolls and decisions made by an outside player. Wagers are placed on the survival of the in-game players. It was the plot of theDS9episode "Move Along Home".It would appear again as a major subplot in the Lower Decks episode" In the Cradle of Vexilon. "

Dabo

Dabo (/ˈdɑːboʊ/DAH-boh) is aFerengigame of skill and chance. The game relies on the spinning of a "dabo wheel" similar to aroulettewheel. During various betting hands (similar to poker) each player either "buys" or "sells" or "converts" theirgold-pressed latinum(money) in preparation for the next spin of the dabo wheel.

About ten players can sit around the dabo wheel. When something good happens, everyone around the table shouts "Dabo!"

The game is most often seen played in Quark's bar onDeep Space Nine.

In the online role-playing gameStar Trek Online,players can play a version of dabo with in-game currency. The wheel has three concentric rings that rotate independently; the players win based on how the symbols align after each spin.

Dabo girls

Dabo girls are attractive women of various species who run the games in Ferengi establishments.Leeta(Chase Masterson), who was a dabo girl inQuark'sbar, maintained that dabo girls not only had to look appealing enough to lure customers to play, but also be able to quickly calculate odds and ensure a house victory in the long run, typically by enticing gamers to stay until they lose.

The character therefore turns around the stereotype of thedumb blondeorbimbo;while dabo girls may be intentionally giving that impression to customers, they take advantage of those who view a dabo girl as no more than that. In theDS9episode "The Abandoned",Jake Sisko's dabo girlfriendMardah(Jill Sayre) was quoted as saying "The first rule of Dabo is watch the wheel, not the girl", and she makes a good impression onBenjamin Siskoduring a private dinner he hosted for her and his son.

While the character Leeta made the role of dabo girl significant inStar Trekfandom, other dabo girls who appeared or were referred to in multiple episodes include Mardah andM'Pella(Cathy DeBuono). The sweet and hard workingAluura(Symba Smith), had a central role in the episode "Profit and Lace".

In the non-canonStar Treknovel seriesMission Gamma,one of Quark's dabo girls hires Hetik, an Orion male, as the first ever dabo boy in the game's history. Quark is initially dubious about the introduction of a dabo boy, but Hetik soon becomes popular among female patrons.

Tongo

Tongo is acard gameplayed predominantly by theFerengi.The game centers around aroulette-type wheel with an elevated pot in the middle. On each turn the wheel is spun, and the player has the choice to "evade", "confront", "acquire", or "retreat". Each choice has its purchase price, sell price, and its risk, all of which are interrelated.

A Global Tongo Championship is held each year onFerenginar.

Jadzia Daxwas fond of this game, playing long games into the night with Quark and hisFerengistaff.

Poker

Pokeris acard gameplayed on manyTNGepisodes. The crew of theEnterprise(NCC 1701-D) playsdealer's choice,usuallyfive-card stud,which is one of the more rare variants of poker by 20th and 21st century standards.Drawshave also been picked as well as an unknown variation on 5 card stud, as well as7 card stud.William Riker,a highly skilled player, hosts regular games for the senior officers; in the series finale "All Good Things...",Jean-Luc Picardjoins in for the first time.

Fizzbin

Fizzbin is a fictional card game created byJames T. Kirkin theOriginal Seriesepisode "A Piece of the Action".While being held hostage on Sigma Iota II withSpockandLeonard McCoy,he spontaneously invented a confusing card game to distract the henchmen guarding them.

The rules were intentionally complex. Each player gets six cards, except for the player on the dealer's right, who gets seven. Simultaneously, the first and second card are turned up, except on Tuesdays, when the first card alone is turned up. Kirk dealt the henchman two like cards (jacks), which are a "half-fizzbin". When the henchman said he needs another jack, Kirk warned that a third jack is a "shralk" and is grounds for disqualification. With a half-fizzbin, one wants a king and a deuce, except at night, when one wants a queen and a four.

At this point, Kirk dealt a third jack, but to keep the ruse going, he ignored the disqualification rule he had just made up. He explained that, had a king been dealt instead of a jack, the player would get another card, except when it is dark, in which case he'd have to give it back. The top hand is a "royal fizzbin", consisting of a king, a two, a jack, a six, two queens and two aces during the day, and a queen, a four, an ace, an eight, two kings, and two jacks at night; however, the odds against getting one are extremely high. He asked Mr. Spock what the odds of such a thing were, to which Mr. Spock replied that he had never calculated them.

Kirk called the last card a "kronk", which is two like cards and either a king, queen, jack, ace, two, four, six, or eight (time of day applicable), and then purposely dealt a card such that it fell on the floor. As the henchman being taught reached down, Spocknerve-pinchedhim while Kirk and McCoy attacked the other guards, allowing the three to escape.

In theDeep Space Nineepisode "The Ascent",Quarkmentioned the game as a way for him andOdoto while away the time while traveling on a runabout; whether it had become a real game or if it had been a reference was not explained. Playable versions of the game have been invented, and it featured in the episode "Nantucket Sleighride" of the animated seriesStarcom.

See also:List of games with concealed rules

Games of strategy and logic

Dom-jot

Dom-jot was featured in the episode "Tapestry".It appears to be a futuristic version ofbumper pool.Jean-Luc Picard (as a Starfleet cadet) was stabbed in the heart by a Nausicaan after a fight that ensued because his friend rigged a Dom-jot table to thwart a cheating Nausicaan. In theDS9episode "The Abandoned",Jake's girlfriend Mardah mentions to Jake's father that Jake is a hustler at the Dom-jot table.

Kadis-kot

Kadis-kotis aboard gameplayed on a six-sided board with three sets of colored tiles: red, green, and orange. Visually, the game appears to be a variant ofReversi.It appears to be a game of logic and strategy for 2 players, but as many as 5 players have been shown playing together.

The characters ofNaomi WildmanandSeven of Nineplayed the game sometimes, after the events of the episode "Infinite Regress".

Kal-toh

Kal-Toh (kal-toe) is aVulcangame of logic. According toTuvok,"Kal-Toh is tochessas chess is toTic-Tac-Toe".Its goal, according to him," [i]s not about striving for balance [but] about finding the seeds of order even in the midst of profound chaos. "It first appeared onStar Trek: Voyager,often played by Tuvok and a partner.

The game itself involves a large number of small gray holographic rods called t'an, generated from a platform below. They are arranged in a specific manner, which eventually produces the shape of two nestedicosidodecahedraconnected by the center points of their edges. Kal-Toh can be played singly or against an opponent, each taking a turn to place a piece.

Kotra

Kotrais aCardassianboard game, seen played only once in the entire franchise, in theStar Trek: Deep Space Nineepisode "Empok Nor".It is shown on the table in theStar Trek: Deep Space Nineepisode "Wrongs Darker than Death or Night".

Strategema

Strategemais a game central to the episode "Peak Performance"ofStar Trek: The Next Generation.

Strategemais astrategy gameplayed on aholographicboard. The object ofStrategemais to manipulate circular icons to gain control of your opponent's territory while defending your own.

Strategemais generally played on a specially-designedcomputer.Both players sit at the computer-controlledStrategematable, facing each other, with the board continuously rotating in the middle. The game is controlled with metalthimblesplaced on the players' fingers.Electronicsin these thimbles then calculate the movement of the fingers and send the information to the computer.

The duration of aStrategemagame depends on the competence of the players. Generally, games last only a hundred moves at most. However, experienced master players can achieve games of well over a thousand moves.

The longest game ofStrategemaon record was between Zakdorn master strategist Sirma Kolrami and Lieutenant CommanderData,lasting over 30,000 moves. Kolrami, realizing that Data was playing to achieve a draw, eventually threw down his controls in disgust and resigned the game to the delight of theEnterprise-Dcrewmembers who were watching.

"The Game"

In theStar Trek: The Next Generationepisode "The Game",an undesignatedvirtual realitygame was introduced to the crew of theEnterprisein which players wore an optical headset and used mental commands to manipulate holographic funnels to catch virtual disks.

The Game was eventually revealed to be deliberately addictive, stimulating the pleasure centers of the players' brains, and was designed by aliens called theKtarians,as a stratagem to take control of theEnterprise.

The effects and structure of The Game appear to mirrorvideo game addiction.

Tri-dimensional chess

Main article:Three-dimensional chess

The game of tri-dimensional chess (tri-d chess) can be seen in manyStar Trekepisodes and films, most notably played bySpockagainstJames T. KirkorLeonard McCoyon theOriginal Series.

Rules for the game were never explained within the series; in fact, the boards are sometimes not even aligned consistently from one shot to the next within a single episode. The Tri-D chessboard set was made popular by its inclusion inThe Star Trek Star Fleet Technical ManualbyFranz Joseph,who invented starting positions for the playing pieces and short additional rules. With his approval, Andrew Bartmess first developed the Standard Rules in 1976.

Go

Main article:Go (board game)

Go can be seen onStar Trek: Enterprise,in the episode "Cogenitor".

Terrace

Main article:Terrace (board game)

Terraceis a board game introduced in 1992, and was subsequently featured onStar Trek: The Next Generationas a permanent prop.

Durotta

Durottais a board game played by Paris and Torres in theStar Trek: Voyagerepisode "Night".

The props used were from the real world gameQuarto.

Pair Match

Pair Match,manufactured by Bandai in 1984, appeared in severalStar Trek: The Next Generationepisodes.

See also

• History ofStar Trekgames

External links

• Tapestryepisode at StarTrek.com, with a picture of a Nausicaan playing Dom-jot
• Category:SportsatMemory Alpha
• Category:RecreationatMemory Alpha