Traveling through space for a long period throws up plenty of challenges, so it’s no surprise that the Star Trek crew members are sometimes seen playing games. By watching some episodes, we can get an idea of which games would likely be enjoyable to play in real life.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Features Enterprise Bingo
The Strange New Worlds spin-off was introduced to fans by Paramount+ in 2022, showing how Captain Christopher Pike and his crew traveled in the USS Enterprise before Captain Kirk was on the scene. We find out during chapter five of the first season that Enterprise Bingo is a pastime on the craft, with lower-ranked crew members having to carry out risky tasks such as sitting in the captain’s chair without anyone realizing.
This isn’t the same as the classic game of bingo, where players need to mark all the numbers on their card to win. The traditional way of playing can be easily found online, with this site offering a bonus bingo promotion to get new players started with extra funds. The variety of ways of playing includes Mystic Meg Bingo and Fluffy Favourites Bingo, but Star Trek fans might also want to look for websites where they can download special bingo cards covering all of the different things that happen frequently on the screen to mark as they occur.
Tri-dimensional Chess Is Older Than the TV Series
Perhaps the most famous game to have been played in the original series starring William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy, tri-dimensional chess was popular in the 23rd century, but the rules aren’t exactly clear. In fact, the board setup varies from one episode to the next, so it appears the show’s creators never took the time to fully work out how the game should be played.
Yet, 3D chess games existed longer before the Enterprise was sent into space. The first versions of this game were created at the start of the 19th century, with the original called raumschach (space chess). It’s relatively easy to find 3D chess online, while you can also download apps for smartphones that let you imagine you’re playing against Spock.
Holodeck Games and VR Possibilities
Moving into the 24th century, impressive holodeck technology was included on many starships, allowing the occupants to recreate a huge range of environments. This lets them play virtually any type of game as well as enjoy many kinds of entertainment. We can see the crew playing pool and a game called Velocity, where the players try to shoot a holographic disc before it hits them.
While it seems unlikely that we will see a real-life holodeck in the near future, the way that virtual reality (VR) technology has advanced means that we can play in a way that seems fairly similar to this. VR games like 2019’s Star Trek: Bridge Crew currently take us as close to enjoying life on board a spaceship as we can hope for.The games that are played in Star Trek look incredibly advanced, so it’s interesting to see that it’s already possible to play most of them in one way or another, even if the technology isn’t exactly the same.
