FEBRUARY 11, 2021 - Game company Scopely, the publishers behind the phenomenally successful mobile game Star Trek: Fleet Command, have just released a new Star Trek game! It’s called Star Trek: Kobayashi Maru, and yes, it pits YOU against the infamous Kobayashi Maru simulation.

Based on the Starfleet Academy training simulation first seen in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Star Trek: Kobayashi Maru puts you in the hot seat as the captain of a small crew. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to win the no-win scenario.

Star Trek: Kobayashi Maru is a web-based decision-making game with a trendy, 8-bit design. To play the game, you’ll make the choices that will lead you through a narrative. Think of it like a digital Choose Your Own Adventure, only here, you can’t flip to a “good” ending and work backwards. There’s only about a 1 in 10,000 chance you’ll win...but if you do, you’ll be up for some cool prizes.

From Scopely: “With the odds of beating the Kobayashi Maru at around 1:10,000, the three fastest players to find the hack and defeat the simulation will win big prizes -- including a CBS All-Access Lifetime Subscription and limited-edition Star Trek collectables.” According to the official contest rules, it runs February 11th through February 25th, and in addition to that CBS All Access/Paramount+ lifetime subscription, you can also win a replica of Kirk’s green wrap uniform from Anovos, Eaglemoss collectible starships, or a StarTrek.com gift card, among other prizes.

Gameplay

There really isn’t anything to this game. Fire it up, log in, and you’re ready to go. Just answer the questions. It’s point-and-click.

But don’t be deceived: beyond the game’s simplicity lies a surprisingly compelling story. There’s a good chance you’ll end up face to face with Klingons early on, but when you take a different path, you’ll end up somewhere else entirely. It’s true, you might die at the angry end of a photon torpedo, but you might likewise end up poisoned or infected with a deadly disease. The game rewards your choice to head off the beaten path with plenty of Star Trek Easter eggs, creative sets and music, and a good helping of humor.

Want to gauge how you’re doing against other players? You can check out your place on the leaderboard, which tracks each player’s time played and the number of times you’ve been killed. Which will be a lot!

Overall, what you could easily assume would be a repetitive or boring game is anything but. Star Trek: Kobayashi Maru is easy to pick up, but hard to put down. And don’t forget the lure of those prizes!

Get it for yourself

To play the game, head to kobayashimaru.com. It’s a web game only, it’s totally free to play, and there are no ads. However, you will need a Facebook account to log in.

Update 11 February 2021 by Alison Pitt: This article has been updated to include details on available prizes, and a link to the official rules.