As others have noted, many people (of any generation) recall Trek as "that guy with the pointed ears" and further, "that magnificent mind of his." Time after time Spock used that mind to save his shipmates, as in his successful defense of Kirk using a self-programmed computer game of 3D chess ("Court Martial"). He gave the machine, "a knowledge of the game equivalent to [his] own."

Such moments can seriously warp young minds (sure did mine). After hearing that, the more the chess game popped up in TOS (even opening the second pilot - yeah, the non-cerebral one!), the more I wanted to play! There was no sense watching the show for game-play details however - like much of Trek it's better inspiration than guide.

The form of the board is fixed though, and was published in the Tech Manual along with an opening piece setup. A fan from Cincinnati did a fine job developing a ruleset which yet evolves; though elegant to watch, these "Standard" rules are confusing to master and explain. Two years ago I attempted Spock's achievement, composing the program Parmen inspired by that ruleset - even including an enjoyable normal 2D game.

The form of the board is fixed though, and alternative rules have emerged over the years. I know about a handful, in varying stages of completion. But a few of those use the published setup, and of these only two functionally survive: the classic "Standard" and open-source "Tournament." (The difference has to do largely with how pieces pass each other over and under. Best not approach the question unless you're ready to deal seriously with the answer!)

Instead of one or the other, Parmen V2.0 plays both and interchangeably supports the notation of each. The board engine has been completely re-engineered and now supports all possible attack board configurations (12 choose 4 - almost five hundred!). And with boards now generated by algorithm and not hand labor, this engine should have considerably fewer bugs. God willing I anticipate releasing this version before "Enterprise" resumes.

Games can now be saved and retrieved by name. Also new to this version is network capability, linking remote games. This works clunky however, and will no doubt require revisions. (The rulesets are not 100% fully functional - one can't en passant in 3D, as I haven't thought it exactly through. But it's still better than V1.3 - and the executable is 30% smaller!)

For all that Trek and fans have given me, it's nice to give something back. Have a game on me!