List of games in Star Trek

The fictional Star Trek universe is memorable for various elements of imagined future culture, including a variety of sports, games and other pastimes. Some of these fictional recreational activities are closely associated with one race, 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. Others were recurring plot elements, spanning multiple television series of the Star Trek franchise.

Sports

Parrises Squares

Parrises Squares is a vigorous athletic game, mentioned in several episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation and Voyager.

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 wore special padded uniforms.

While healing a deep cut on Will Riker's face, Doctor Crusher lectured 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."

When The Doctor created a holographic family 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 Kim played Parrises Squares, and was the Academy champion three times.

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

External links

• Parrises squares at Memory Alpha

Racquetball

External links

• Racquetball at Memory Alpha

Baseball

External links

• Baseball at Memory Alpha

Martial arts

Gladiatorial combat

In the memorable episode "The Gamesters of Triskelion" of Star Trek: The Original Series, Captain Kirk and some of his crew are forced to participate as gladiators in combat against other humanoids, for the entertainment of unseen masters who wager Quatloos among themselves on the outcome in the arena.

Anbo-jitsu

Will Riker and his father doing Anbo-jitsu

Will Riker and his father doing Anbo-jitsu

Anbo-Jitsu (also known as anbo-jytsu) as is a fictitious Japanese sport shown in Star Trek: The Next Generation. In it, two armored opponents facing each wear a solid visor, rendering them blind, and fight with a large staff. A proximity sensor is worn by each combatant, alerting them to their opponent's location with an audio signal. A protective cushion is worn on one arm and can be used to shield or deflect attacks. It is called "the ultimate martial art" in the context of the show, but all the required paraphernalia seems counter-intuitive to the very nature of most martial arts (which train the body and mind).

Will Riker and his father settled a long-standing grudge with this game in Star Trek: The Next Generation's episode, The Icarus Factor.

External links

• Anbo-jyutsu at Memory Alpha

Tsunkatse

External links

• Tsunkatse at Memory Alpha

Games of chance

Dabo

Dabo is a Ferengi game of skill and chance. The game relies on the spinning of a "dabo wheel" similar to a roulette wheel. During various betting hands (similar to poker) each player either "buys" or "sells" or "converts" their gold-pressed latinum (money) in preparation for the next spin of the dabo wheel.

When something good happens, everyone around the table yells "Dabo!"

About ten players can sit around the dabo wheel. Often, proprietors who house dabo games in their establishments pair dabo wheels with attractive women (colloquially, "dabo girls") to run the games and to entice customers to play. Leeta, who was a dabo girl in Quark's bar, maintained that dabo girls not only had to look appealing to the customers 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 game is most often seen played in Quark's bar on Deep Space Nine.

External links

• Dabo at Memory Alpha

Tongo

Tongo is a card game played predominantly by the Ferengi. The game centers around a roulette-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 on Ferenginar.

External links

• Tongo at Memory Alpha

Fizzbin

Fizzbin is a fictional card game created by Kirk in the original series episode "A Piece of the Action". While being held hostage on Sigma Iotia II with Spock and McCoy, he spontaneously invented a confusing card game to distract the henchmen guarding them.

The rules were intentionally very complex. Each player gets six cards, except for the player on the dealer's right, who gets seven. The second card is turned up, except on Tuesdays. Kirk dealt the henchman two 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 two jacks, 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's dark, in which case he'd have to give it back. The top hand is a "royal fizzbin," but the odds of getting one are "astronomical": when Kirk asked Spock what the odds are, Spock truthfully replied that he had never computed them.

Kirk called the last card a "kronk" and then purposely dealt a card such that it fell on the floor. As the henchman being taught reached down, Kirk punched him in the face after hitting him in the stomach, and Spock nerve-pinched the other guard, allowing the three to escape.

Once in Deep Space Nine, Quark mentioned the game as a way for him and Odo to while away the time while traveling on a runabout; whether it had become a real game was never explained. Playable versions of the game have been invented, and it featured in the episode "Nantucket Sleighride" of the animated series Starcom.

External links

• Fizzbin at Memory Alpha

Games of strategy and logic

Tri-Dimensional Chess

Main article: Three-dimensional chess

The game of Tri-Dimensional Chess (Tri-D Chess) can be seen in many Star Trek episodes and films, most notably played by Spock against Kirk or McCoy in the original series.

Rules for the game were never invented 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 in the The Star Trek Star Fleet Technical Manual  by Franz 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.

External link

• Three-dimensional chess at Memory Alpha

Kal-toh

Kal-Toh (kal-toe) is a Vulcan game of logic. According to Tuvok, its goal "Is not about striving for balance but about finding the seeds of order even in the midst of profound chaos.". It was first featured in the series Star Trek: Voyager, often played by Tuvok and a partner.

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

In the episode "Alter Ego", Tuvok was quoted as saying "Kal-Toh is to chess as chess is to Tic-Tac-Toe".

External link

• Kal-toh at Memory Alpha

Kadis-kot

Kadis-kot is a fictional board game in the Star Trek universe. It is played on a six-sided board with three sets of coloured tiles: red, green, and orange. Visually, the game appears to be a variant of Reversi or Othello. 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 of Naomi Wildman and Seven of Nine played the game sometimes, after the events of the episode "Infinite Regress".

External links

• Kadis-kot at Memory Alpha

Strategema

Strategema is a game central to the episode "Peak Performance" of Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Strategema is a strategy game played on a holographic board with 4 layers each of 8 by 8 squares. The object of Strategema is to manipulate circular icons to gain control of your opponent's territory while defending your own.

Strategema is generally played on a specially-designed computer. Both players sit at the computer-controlled Strategema table, facing each other, with the board continuously rotating in the middle. The game is controlled with metal thimbles placed on the players' fingers. Electronics in these thimbles then calculate the movement of the fingers and send the information to the computer.

The duration of a Strategema game 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.

External links

• Strategema at Memory Alpha

Dom-jot

External links

• Dom-jot at Memory Alpha