How to play the fictional Star Trek game Dabo by Certifiably Ingame

In the world of Star Trek, there are many things in the fictional universe that had to be created in order to for the entire thing to feel lived in. Authentic even. Things like made-up technology (that kept becoming real somehow), different alien races who were different enough to stand out and be iconic but not so outlandish that it would kill the special effects department. Other things as well like the various alien languages, most notedly, Klingon.

Which you can actually learn at some collegiate institutions.

Then, of course, there are all the recreational activities. The holodecks or holo-suites. There are all the various games as well, like Parrises squares, Springball and the like. Yet, fans of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine will remember the one game and activity that was probably mentioned more times than any other; Dabo.

For those who are new to Star Trek, Dabo was a game that was prominently featured in Quark’s bar during Deep Space Nine’s tenure. It was usually a place for non-Federation residents and travelers to lay down bets on, though Starfleet officers did partake from time to time. It’s a typical game of chance and luck, destined for the house to win the share of the bets, usually for gold pressed latinum but other wagers were made.

Despite all this time the game though was never explained in-show. For the entire seven-year run of the series, as well as the subsequent following series, no one ever explained how exactly the game was supposed to be played. It was sort of just accepted that it was never going to have an actual explanation.

Then Star Trek Online came around.

YouTuber Certifiably Ingame recently made a video (above) explaining how the game works inside of the Star Trek Online universe. Star Trek Online is a massive multi-player online role-playing game, that is created and manicured in conjunction with Star Trek’s current overseers. So everything in the game is approved by and large by the people running the franchise.

So you can pretty much assume the Dabo rules are canon.

If you were ever curious as to how Dabo was played, now’s your chance.