Star Trek has games if you’re not interested in the Super Bowl

The Super Bowl isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. Some of us just don’t have an interest in watching sports. But, in the spirit of the day, we can compromise. After all, some Star Trek episodes are filled with various games that we might like to try (or have tried). So, if the Super Bowl won’t draw you to the television, you can catch the following episodes instead of watching the football being tossed around.

Take Me Out to the Holosuite

In this 7th season episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Captain Sisko is challenged to a baseball game by a Vulcan rival who considers his team superior.  The holosuite is the perfect place for this game to unfold where Sikso finally gives up the need to win and remembers his love of the game. Bonus: This episode was broadcast on October 21, 1998 during the 1998 World Series.

Desert Crossing

In episode 24 of the 2nd season of Star Trek: Enterprise, Captain Archer and Trip Tucker are invited to a desert planet for dinner and a game of Geskana, which is a lot like lacrosse only rougher and in sand. Archer and Trip then discover their host, Zobral, is not who he claims to be and actually wants to use the Enterprise to fight his war. This is a pretty intense episode with a look at a cool game.

Rivals

In the 11th episode of the 2nd season of Deep Space Nine, Miles O’Brien and Julian Bashir go head-to-head in several games of racquetball with O’Brien determined to win. Quark takes advantage of the competition and cons the two men into participating in a public tournament complete with betting. When O’Brien’s luck begins to miraculously change, he and the others begin to realize that something is amiss. This episode is all about competition which fits right in with the spirit of the Super Bowl.

The Icarus Factor

In the 14th episode of the 2nd season of Star Trek: The Next Generation, Will Riker and his father work out some family issues in a game of anbo-jyutsu which is a Japanese martial art form of combat where the competitors are blinded by a solid visor. If that’s not painful enough, the crew creates a ritual for Worf so he can celebrate the passing of ten years since his Age of Ascension. That involves pain sticks. So waaay more uncomfortable.

And there you have it. Four episodes to watch on game day in case you’re not feeling the Super Bowl.