Imagine yourself as part of the bridge crew on the USS Enterprise – and you get the basic idea! It's a game played as a team where everyone has a separate role but must work together....in space.
An optimal crew is six persons per ship:
Captain
Helms
Weapons
Engineering
Science
Comms/Relay
Each person has their own station computer with their own controls (except for the Captain). Crews team with or compete against other bridge crews to solve strategic challenges in exciting scenarios. The simulation is controlled by a Games Master, who acts as a ‘white hat’ to keep the simulation running smoothly.
We run both cooperative and competitive scenarios. That means that we have some where ship crews must collaborate together towards a common mission goal, and we have some where crews compete against one another, sometimes in teams (squadrons) of ships. Those are the best.... ;)
Our scenarios are designed to present specific kinds of challenges that ship crews must work together to solve. Crew members must use their stations to the crew's advantage, sharing and synthesizing information and taking decisive action.
Besides critical problem solving, scenarios can involve plenty of flying and fighting. Oh, and there's the occasional crashing and exploding.... Regrettable, but it does happen. ;)