In the words of actor George Takei, who’s probably best known for his role as “Hologramps” on the hit Nickelodean series Supah Ninjas, the Kobayashi Maru browser game is so hard it will “make you ugly cry, and no one wants to see that.”
Scopely’s Star Trek: Kobayashi Maru is a browser-based decision-making game where players are tasked with solving the legendary unsolvable challenge from Star Trek lore.
In the fictional universe of Star Trek, students at the Starfleet Academy are given the (almost) unwinnable task of defeating a simulated scenario based on a distress call from a ship called the Kobayashi Maru. The purpose of the task, according to canon, is to teach potential officers humility and to allow instructors to gauge their character in a no-win situation.
To that end, it’s damn near impossible to beat the newly-launched browser game. But, for the first three people who do manage to (because, let’s face it, it’s on the internet so people have probably already cracked it on day one) there are some nifty rewards.
Per a press release:
Only by choosing precisely the right path through endless perilous options will the player succeed where so many others have failed. 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 collectibles.
The game’s a lot of fun to click through and the cute, retro-pixel graphics are a treat. Scopley’s managed to do a great job of capturing the Star Trek vibe in the writing and the imagery – no surprise given the company’s experience with Star Trek Fleet Command on mobile.
You can try your hand at the unwinnable Starfleet challenge here. Let us know if you’re a winner, we want to see pics of the collectibles!