Editing Stratagema

Strategema is a game played during the episode "Peak Performance" of the show Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Strategema is a strategy game played on a holographic board of 8-8-4 squares (4 layers of 8-8 squares each). 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.

One of the most notable games ever played was with Sirma Kolrami, a third-level grand master in the game; he lost to Lieutenant Commander Data in the longest Strategema game ever played, lasting over thirty-two thousand moves. The match may have technically been a draw, with Data's strategy being to simply avoid losing until Kolrami abandoned play in disgust.

There has never been an official description of the precise rules of Strategema.

[[category: Games and Recreation]]