icture this scene from a Star Trek episode that never was: two Qs play a game of chess on a quadrant-sized board. For pawns they use whichever ships, items or people are luckless enough to catch a Q's fancy. And for kings? Why, themselves, of course.
This is a simplified description of Star Trek: ConQuest Online, a "collectable" online computer strategy game. Players sign up on the Internet for free, then choose from several standard sets of pieces: Federation, Romulan, Klingon, Borg or Mixed. Players then assume the role of a Q, and use their sets to play against human or artificial Q-players in struggles for Q-premacy.
Each game takes place on a board divided into four regions. On opposite sides are the Home Regions of the two players. These regions contain the home planets, where new people appear. New ships also appear in these regions.
Between the Home Regions is the Neutral Zone, containing valuable unexplored
planets. Surrounding it all is the Q-continuum, a dangerous holding area for pieces that players want to remove from normal space.
On each turn players receive command points for planets they control. They can then use these points to buy ships, people or items. Next comes the auction phase, in which either a random event occurs or a random piece is placed up for auction. If there is an auction, players bid command points--whoever bids highest gets the prize. Sometimes, however, auction items are "tainted" and have harmful effects. In this case, players bid to avoid getting the item.
Players then make special moves. These include the Admiral's ability to requisition more command points, a Ferengi's ability to sabotage equipment and Q's ability to instantly end all violence.
Combat follows the special phase. It resolves on an attack/defense/banding system somewhat like that in the Magic: The Gathering collectable card game. Each planet or region of space experiences separate battles.
Finally, players move their pieces. Most ships can move from one region to the next. People can be beamed to or from a planet. Then the whole sequence is repeated until a Q is checkmated, a set time has elapsed, or one side has accumulated 10 "Q points."
A Star Trek strategy winner
Within this simple framework there's room for lots of strategy. Most ships and people can take only one action per turn, forcing nail-biting decisions: should a ship fire in combat or save its action to move away or beam its crew planetside? Similarly, should the Admiral spend the turn gathering command points or beaming down to take control of a neutral planet?
Learning it all is easy, thanks to the online tutorial and "trainer" artificial intelligence. But even a novice will quickly outstrip the AI and be looking for human opposition. Such is easily found at www.conquestonline.com, which features a smooth interface and a mix of experienced and beginner players.
The random events and the various strategies make each game different, especially when playing against human opponents. Soon, however, a player will long for more: to play with a personal set of pieces rather than the default ones. Registered play offers both further strategy and the thrill of playing with characters such as Worf, Picard and the Borg Queen.
Although the game can be downloaded and played for free, a $10 registration fee buys a set of 50 virtual pieces and the ability to trade them and to achieve "ranking" by playing other registered players. Each $3 thereafter buys a random "booster" set of 15 additional pieces. Players then choose which 50 pieces to use in any given game. Box sets with a CD-ROM and printed manual are also available.
Players of collectable card games will recognize this scheme as a virtual version of the one that has delighted gamers--while draining their wallets--for the past few years. The prices are comparable to those for cardboard cards; the game-flow is similar--even the graphics are reminiscent of cards. The main difference is the random-event system, which achieves an unpredictability that tangible cards have difficulty matching.
Put together the rich strategy, the familiar names, the wide-ranging adaptability and, most of all, the chance to play before you pay, and this game is a real winner for strategy gamers and Star Trek fans.
