Strategema

A ceremonial, high-tech strategy game that springs to life in Ten-Forward: players slip on slim metallic thimbles that register intent, and a holographic, three-dimensional board blossoms between them in flickering lattices of light. The playfield projects complex geometries and animated pieces; audible chimes and tactical readouts punctuate each turn. When participants touch the thimbles the interface locks to their neural-motor input, producing instantaneous move animations. In the processed material characters lean close, trade barbed remarks, and visibly flinch when the display freezes at move twenty-three, converting a recreational object into a public spectacle of shame and rivalry.

7 appearances

Purpose

To render and animate the Strategema contest as an interactive, spectator-friendly holographic spectacle that responds to player input and displays game state visibly for competitors and onlookers.

Significance

Serves as the public stage for competitive honor: the freeze publicly humiliates Riker, amplifies Kolrami's swagger, and catalyzes an existential trial for Data. The stalled display converts a game into social drama, exposing leadership stakes, cultural pride, and the fragility of machine-mediated reputation.

Appearances in the Narrative

When this object appears and how it's used

7 moments

S2E21 · Peak Performance

Riker Deflates Expectations — Privilege Over Pride

The Strategema holographic cone is referenced as the impending contest and functions as the narrative catalyst for the exchange; the game's reputation shapes Riker's comments and Geordi's teasing, even though the physical display is not present in the corridor.

Before: Located in Ten‑Forward's gaming table as an available—but not currently active—recreational projection.

After: Unchanged physically; conceptually elevated as the focal point of crew discussion and emotional investment, awaiting activation later in Ten‑Forward.

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S2E21 · Peak Performance

Kolrami's Gauntlet — Picard Deflects, Data Forced to Play

The Strategema game (represented by its holographic cone in broader canon) is the psychological device Kolrami invokes; here it functions as the symbolic arena to which Data is being coerced, turning a friendly contest into an honor-bound trial.

Before: Conceptually present as an agreed-upon contest format but not yet physically invoked in this moment.

After: Declared the focal contest — Kolrami has framed it as the instrument of honor and Data is pressured to participate.

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S2E21 · Peak Performance

Kolrami's Public Strategema Gauntlet — Data Tested

Strategema (as a represented game object/concept) functions as the narrative catalyst: Kolrami names it as the contest, Pulaski references it to manipulate social expectation, and Data is pressed to accept or refuse — even though the tangible holographic cone is not deployed in this moment.

Before: Not actively displayed on the bridge; exists as a referenced game with cultural significance.

After: Elevated from abstract reference to an active social demand, with a challenge issued and expectation set that it will be played.

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S2E21 · Peak Performance

Data's Defeat at 133 — The Fracture of Infallibility

The Strategema Holographic Cone Display projects the three‑dimensional game board that the players manipulate; it accelerates with the contestants' inputs and visually dramatizes the tempo. At the climax it stalls, freezing the visual motion and crystallizing the moment of Data's defeat as a public, visible artifact.

Before: Active, shimmering above the Ten‑Forward table, responding to tactile inputs and displaying rapid piece movement.

After: Frozen mid‑animation at the moment the counter shows 133, bathing the room in a brittle, embarrassed light and signaling the end of play.

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S2E21 · Peak Performance

The Day Data Lost

The Strategema holographic cone projects the three‑dimensional gameboard, providing the visual and tactile arena for the contest; its shimmering pieces and movement communicate tempo and skill, then freeze mid‑animation when the match ends, turning spectacle into a silent signifier of an upset.

Before: Active and fully animated over the Ten‑Forward table, pieces moving rapidly as both players accelerate their plays.

After: Frozen mid‑flow as the match stalls at move 133, lights holding a brittle glow that punctuates the defeat.

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S2E21 · Peak Performance

Hathaway Gambit — Ruse, Rescue and Vindication

The Strategema holographic cone display is the tangible stage for the intellectual rematch between Data and Kolrami; it hosts the prolonged sequence of moves culminating in a suspended game that publicly humiliates Kolrami and vindicates Data.

Before: Active and functioning, hosting an intense competition between Kolrami and Data.

After: Suspended at the conclusion of the marathon; its frozen state marks Kolrami's withdrawal and Data's engineered stalemate.

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S2E21 · Peak Performance

Data's Draw — Humiliation as Victory

The Strategema holographic cone display serves as the physical game interface, hosting the rapid tactile plays by Data and Kolrami; its moving pieces and responsive thimbles make the contest bodily and public, translating abstract reasoning into a visceral spectacle.

Before: Fully engaged and in active play, with players using thimble interfaces and the projection animating each move.

After: Play is suspended when Kolrami withdraws; the projection falls still as the crowd erupts and the game is declared arbitrarily paused.

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