After a drought of nearly 9 years, 2009 is certainly shaping up to be the year of the Star Trek board game. Today TrekMovie has all the details and full reviews of three new Star Trek games from Fundex, ‘Star Trek UNO’, ‘Star Trek Scrabble’, and ‘All About Trivia: Star Trek’.
The return of the Trek board game
This article is especially appropriate for the week of April 20th which is known in United States schools as "National Turn Off Your TV Week" (we practice the superior modified version "National Turn Off Your TV Except for Star Trek Week.") While switching off the TV, this is a good week to play board games, and what better way to get ready for the new film than to get together as a family and play games inspired by the show that started it all. Known especially for their Phase 10 game, Fundex Games has three different Star Trek board games, Uno: Star Trek Special Edition, All About Trivia: Star Trek Edition, and Scrabble: Star Trek Edition. Today we review each one.
Scrabble: Star Trek Special Edition
Scrabble and Star Trek have much in common. Both have been television shows and are enjoyed by millions of people from more than 100 nations. This version of Scrabble has been modified (dare I say augmented?) from its original form with many Star Trek features. Firstly, the board itself has been transformed with Star Trek imagery and designs. Helpful suggestions of Star Trek words and point values surround the game board.
Star Trek Scrabble game board
The Scrabble holders are gray and black to symbolize Starfleet. Also, the rules have been altered to allow for Star Trek play. For example, proper names of Star Trek characters, planets, aliens, and technology are allowed, with special words getting bonus points. The rule book includes a guide to these words. Spelling "Kang" earns 5 points extra, while superior words like Khan earn 20 points (I grow fatigued at spelling). Also, instead of triple letter scores, there are ‘Tribble letter scores’. When exchanging tiles when no words could be spelled, a player is instructed to say, "I am doctor, not a linguist!" If a player challenges whether a word is a real world, they must inform the other player the word is "illogical."
Star Trek Scrabble rules and bonus words
It would have been nice if the board was even more Trekified (for example, the Shrek Scrabble game board is in the shape of Shrek himself). However, this is a very fun game, which provides good Star Trek features to a classic game. If you ever wanted to play Scrabble and use the name "James Kirk" now is the time!
Star Trek Scrabble (front of box)
Uno: Star Trek Special Edition
Some fans might remember that in 1999, Mattel released a version of UNO themed around the original television show. Now, Fundex provides a Trekified UNO that has some great features. All the cards have Star Trek imagery (which consists of different imagery than the 1999 set) featuring the iconic TOS crew of the USS Enterprise.
Standard Star Trek UNO card (front and back)
The game plays much like a regular UNO experience, although there is a cool new "Beam Up" card designed exclusively for this set which was not available in the previous release. Perfectly named, the "Beam Up" card rescues a player from having to follow the penalty given to them because of another player’s activity cards. For example, if Player A places down a "Draw 4" card, Player B next to them has to take four cards (which is bad because you want to be the first player with no cards to earn points). If Player A has a "Beam Up" card, it is as if Scotty saves the day and the "Draw 4" instruction is negated.
‘Beam up’ and ‘Draw 4’ cards from Star Trek UNO
UNO is always a fun and is America’s #1 card game, but the Fundex version is even better for Star Trek fans because of its fun features. Better yet, this is a Star Trek game (that unlike trivia games), requires no special Treknowledge to play. Everyone could enjoy this fast paced game.
Star Trek UNO (front and back of collector’s tin)
All About Trivia: Star Trek
Some TrekMovie readers had lamented during the reviews of the Star Trek Scene It? and Monopoly: Star Trek Continuum Edition that they wished that there was a 1960s Kirk era version of these games without reference to the subsequent Star Trek shows. Now, those fans have been answered with the TOS All About Trivia game from Fundex. The game features 1000 trivia questions from the 79 original episodes and the feature films.
All About Trivia: Star Trek game board and pieces
Players start off as Ensigns at Starfleet Academy and progress in rank to Captain and command of the USS Enterprise by answering the trivia questions. If a player is on a "Warp Speed" space, they get to answer questions on the card one by one, advancing an additional space for each correct answer. Also, much like the Uno’s "Beam Up" card, each player gets three "Communicator" cards. If a question is too difficult, fans could play a "Communicator" card and they get a different question.
All About Trivia: Star Trek ‘Communicator’ Card
The questions are a nice mix, allowing for both casual fans and trivia experts to enjoy the game. There are five categories of questions:
- Captain’s Log: questions about the narratives of various episodes and feature films
- On the Bridge: questions about characters
- Strange New Worlds: questions having to do with the alien cultures the crew encounters
- Tools and Technology: questions about Trektech
- Quotes: identifying the who’s and why’s of quotes (who said them, why did they said them, to whom was the line spoken, which episode did the quote occur, etc.)
All About Trivia: Star Trek Question & Answers card
This is a fun game requiring no DVDs or electronics and is perfect for pure family time without the television. It is fun and fast paced. What is nice is that unlike Trivia Pursuit, if you have a weakness in a category, you could win the game (whereas with Trivial Pursuit you must get the pieces from each category). This is quite fun, especially for those who have a good knowledge of the Kirk adventures.
All About Trivia: Star Trek (front and back of box)
More from Fundex Games
These are only a few of the planned Star Trek items from Fundex this year. There are possibly going to be more Star Trek games and puzzles. TrekMovie will continue to have all the details about Fundex and other Star Trek products in the next few weeks. Now, turn off the TV (except for Star Trek which is scientifically proven to be good for your health) and enjoy your Star Trek games!
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Sweet!!!
“I grow fatigued at spelling” …. classic!
nice…i saw the star trek scrabble at toys r us when i picked up my enterprise vehicle and I honestly didn’t see the point. This review however, peeked my interests…looks like i’ll be buying it regardless
Damn. Chekov gets boned by “Scrabble” …
So, apparently if you’re not a big fan of the original series no one will make products for you? They should’ve at least made the scrabble all-inclusive. It’s going to be real disappointing if all of the merch is TOS-centric.
So, TOS fans will be getting their own special trivia game. What about fans of only Star Trek Voyager’s last three seasons and all of Enterprsise?
I want them all! They are very cool!
Whether the movie is good or not, I’m certainly glad for it in the sense we’re getting all this cool TOS stuff on the marketplace!
Awesome. I’m there with bells on. Thanks for the great write up. Can’t wait to play these…I feel a “TOS” game night in the making…
Well it wasn’ t Kirk’s first time sitting down in the ship in Trek V. The chair squeeked when he wiggled in it, prompting his saying “I miss my old chair.” The ship in 5 was supposed to be the same as the one at the end of 4. It was just on a shakedown. No mention was made of changing out the bridge module. Jesus Christ, I am such a geek.
10 – Well the module must have been changed, because it was a different set.
40 years after the first airing of TOS and they are still making new products for it. Who said Star Trek is dead?
10 – Yes, yes you are. Be proud! :D
Id be interested if they were more than just TOS Star Trek, but since they are they’ve kinda limited who’s gonna buy them.
#5&6, I agree, I love all Trek, but my fav series are DS9 and VOY. I wish that more people, Trekkies and main-stream alike, would realize that Trek is Trek is Trek. Regardless of the series. Gene Roddenberry himself said that he hoped other people would continue Trek after he was gone.
Star Trek, Live Long & Prosper, in all of your many, wonderful forms.
Does anyone remember the uproar that the producers of The Lone Ranger movie caused when they forced Clayton Moore to stop wearing his mask at public appearances? The bad press that it caused made that movie tank even worse than it already would have. Come to think of it, does anyone even remember The Lone Ranger movie? :-)
It’s good to see that the new team is not afraid of the legacy of the original cast and can stand side by side with them being embraced by the public.
I think it bodes well for all Star Trek fans that we have such a big tent that every one is welcome in.
ME GUSTA MUCHO!
Especially the Scrabble, nice board!
I already have Star Trek Uno…bought it at a con. But I’d love that trivia and scrabble too!
can’t wait for the scene it game to come out.
Bought Sophia the new bridge playset and a Spock figure to keep her Kirk company. My little treklet loves it!
Hahaha…. “Tribble Word Score”
11. I’m not convinced it was a swapped out module. I think we were led to believe the bridge at the end of IV was supposed to be “state of the art” Touch screens for controls were new on the motion picture bridges up to that point. From a production standpoing the bridge at the end of IV was hastily cobbled together from remaining set pieces and reworked. Okuda’s first work on Trek BTW. The Ent-A was a new ship on a shakedown cruise. Shatner wanted a totally new bridge set, so that is what he got. But I think it was supposed to be the same set. IMO.
the trivia questions are easy… I’m going to have fun kicking my friends’ butts at that game!
These are AWESOME, I’m totally grabbing that Scrabble edition…and it’s all TOS to boot :D
I’ve noticed that same shot of Kirk is on all the games as well as the DST toys.
The Shat template?
-cs™
Can’t wait for the Scrabble, the rest I think I can live without. In fact I think I already have an Uno set from years ago somewhere.
It’s too bad these are TOS crew only. I would be interested in them if they had TNG, DS9 etc included too. :(
I’ll buy both Scrabble and the Trivia game BECAUSE they are TOS only. Why assume that every Trek fan likes every series? I’ve passed on SceneIt as well as the desk calendars because I just don’t have any interest in the spin-off shows. I’m not knocking them, or anyone who likes them, but I really appreciate having some options to buy Trek stuff that is TOS only.
I love that Scrabble game.
So no game for a person who likes only the first 4 seasons of TNG, the last 2 of Voyager, the last one of Enterprise, and the last 5 of DS9? Damnit! When will large multinational corporations cater to my individual idiosyncratic needs?
Obviously this is a TOS only game because the new movie is reTOS, the forseeable future is only about reTOS.
I was going to comment on the Trek V question/answer but I see it’s already been quibbled. Also, I used the term disintegration chambers as opposed to vaporization booths, which I don’t think was used in the show.
No bonus for “Fizzbin”?
If that’s the level of accuracy on that game, I foresee a lot of Friday night arguments for Trekkies across the country.
5 – There was a huge uproar over the Star Trek Monopoly that it was too multi-generational (include #6’s last few seasons of Voyager and Enterprise).
6 – The only Enterprise game I’d play would be an Enterprise game where your goal was to go through all 98 episodes and fix the chronological errors, poor portrayal of Vulcans, inexcusable plot contrivances and exorcising that episode where Trip gets preggers all together. Such a game would be called “Star Trek Enterprise: Reset Button” and the price would vary, depending on which part of the clearance section they shove it.
Mind you, I say all this and have the whole series on DVD. Recorded from SciFi and sped-up/edited to death, but that’s the farthest I’ll go to owning it.
Ok Great games. But what about Fisbin. Thats the one i want to play.
Here is the low down on the Trek IV / Trek V Bridge sets: The bridge seen at the end of TVH was a re-dress of TMP bridge that had been used up to that point. They redressed it to look like a new ship(1701-A). By the time TFF went into production, the original TMP bridge set had been so tore apart for different sets used for TNG that it was basically unusable. Shatner didn’t want a new set, he was forced to have a new bridge set built. This came out of the budget of TFF. An expense that was not originally included. I know this because I was able to spend some time on the Paramount lot during this time, and was there when TFF Bridge set was being built.
Oh and to keep on subject. Love the games!!!
Last X-mas I got my mom Scrabble (or as I call it scribble) to go with the Dual Core PC I bought her. Wonder if they will make Computer versions of these games. And how about a Trek version of Seen It!. Or shall I author one since I have All of Trek on DVD except Voyager, and looking to get that series this holiday season.