The Game ( episode ) Wesley Crusher visits the " Enterprise " only to see everyone behaving strangely on account of an addictive , mind - controlling game . Summary . Teaser . Commander Riker is on shore leave on Risa , where he ' s been spending time with a Ktarian woman named Etana Jol . She teases him by taking his combadge , and then , to his disbelief , throws it out a window . She introduces to him a game involving a device that fits over the ears and projects signals into the eyes . This creates in the wearer ' s field of vision an image of discs going into funnels . When a disk goes into one of said funnels , the player is " rewarded " by receiving pleasure signals from the device . Etana says that the game can go as far as the player will take it , and Riker decides to continue playing . Act One . Riker enters the bridge and notices that things are starting to get busy around the " Enterprise " . He says that five new science teams have just beamed in from the " Zhukov " with quarters filling fast . Captain Picard adds that on top of everything else , they only have two weeks to complete the exploration – something that Riker doesn ' t like , as he thought they had five weeks . This is due to the recent addition of a diplomatic mission to Oceanus IV to the agenda . Picard tasks Riker to ensure that all the science teams have an equal chance to complete their research , which would be a tough juggling act , says Riker . Picard also tells the first officer that they also have a scheduled rendezvous with a shuttle carrying Wesley Crusher , who is vacationing from Starfleet Academy and could provide some much - needed extra help . In engineering , Chief Engineer Geordi La Forge is up to his neck in observation schedules , and explains to Riker the biggest hurdle would be sensor availability , a task made more difficult since two new exobiologist s and three stellar cartographer s transferred from the " Zhukov " . Getting down to the business of availability , La Forge tells Riker that the lateral sensors are booked solid for planetary observation , and the gamma ray scanner s are being reprogrammed by Ensign Robin Lefler . La Forge compliments her work in engineering , remarking that she ' s the specialist for this mission . Lefler explains to Riker that they ' re increasing the available bandwidth of the sensors so more science teams can use the sensors at once . This is done by multiplexing the array , and Lefler assures the first officer that it will be done before they arrive at the Cluster . Riker tells La Forge that he ' s brought something back from Risa that he has to try . La Forge reluctantly takes a pass as he is running a full sensor recalibration in ten minutes , but promises to see Riker about it later . In Ten Forward , Riker eyes Deanna Troi , who is enjoying a large chocolate sundae . Jokingly , he asks if she ' s depressed , to which Troi replies , " " I ' m fine , commander . " " She offers him a spoonful , but he politely declines , saying he doesn ' t like fudge . Troi smiles and tells Riker she never met a chocolate she didn ' t like . Getting technical , she describes the experience by explaining the best way to eat it and enjoy it , a detailed ritual which amuses Riker . " " Chocolate is a serious thing " " , she informs him . He then tells her about the game he brought back from Risa , which he promises would be " " better than chocolate " " . Act Two . The " Enterprise " makes a rendezvous with the , and Wesley is transported aboard and greeted by Chief O ' Brien . He congratulates him on the recent birth of his daughter . O ' Brien says that she ' s the spitting image of her father . He informs Wesley that the senior officer s are in a meeting , and that Wesley can go to his mother ' s quarters . At Wesley ' s request , O ' Brien hails the bridge and confirms that it ' s all right for Wesley to drop into the observation lounge to say hello . A darkened room awaits Wesley , who looks around in confusion . The lights go on and Doctor Beverly Crusher greets her son with a big hug , followed by Picard . He speaks to him in Latin and Wesley responds back ; Picard credits that his Latin has improved . Troi compliments the uniform as he is looking handsome , and La Forge says the uniform probably " drives the girls wild " . Worf offers him a Tarvokian pound cake which he made himself . Data then asks if their attempts to make him uncomfortable were effective . Wesley admits they were , having wondered if he was on the wrong ship . Riker asks Wesley to assist the crew with the Phoenix Cluster survey . La Forge wants him to settle in first and then to see him in engineering to get started . Beverly then asks Troi about the game , and she invites the doctor to come by her quarters to check it out . Wesley and Data talk about his time at the Academy , which Wesley found surprisingly challenging , as there ' s much more to know than starship operations . Data recounts his awkward early days at the Academy , during which his lack of Human understanding put him at a social disadvantage . One example was practical joke s , of which the android was a victim of several . Wesley completely understands and shares a practical joke that was played on him by fellow cadet Adam Martoni . Another obstacle was the Academy ' s annual Sadie Hawkins Dance . It was an awkward experience for both . Wesley admits he ' s not a dancer , and Data shares that he personally learned to dance thanks to Beverly , a talented former dancer . He offers to share what he learned with Wesley . Getting right to work , Wesley begins to modify the planetary scans while keeping the datalines open for the stellar physicist s . Seeing that he ' s having difficulties with the sensors , Lefler walks over and gives him a hand . They introduce themselves , but before they can chat , Lefler points out that Wesley ' s neutrino s are drifting , leaving Wesley scrambling to get back to work . Conflicts arise between the stellar physicists and the planetary evolution team , with both of them wanting to be the first to use the thermal imaging array , Data reports . La Forge suggests they flip a coin , as they won ' t be able to finish the mission without working together . Data is then called away to sickbay by Beverly , who needs assistance . As he enters , she is working on an experiment using bioactive silicon and needs her tricorder modified to a certain specification . Data agrees to help , but as he works on the tricorder , Beverly shuts him off . Troi and Riker enter sickbay and carry him to a bio - bed , and secure the doors . Beverly begins to work on the android . Act Three . Enjoying some tea with Picard , Wesley details his instructors at the Academy : Novakovich for anthropology , Walter Horne for creative writing . Picard is pleased to hear that Wesley met Boothby his first week , as he had suggested the year before . When asked how he was doing , and mused that Boothby may have told Wesley some stories about Picard in his Academy days , Wesley admits Boothby didn ' t remember Picard until he saw an old yearbook picture . Boothby was very proud that Picard had become captain of the " Enterprise " , and showed Wesley a grand tour of the gardens – the very same tour Picard got when he was at the Academy . Wesley asked about the initials " A . F . " that Boothby caught Picard carving in his prized elm tree , which Picard admits was an old acquaintance of his . His preoccupation with her cost him a passing grade in organic chemistry . Picard advises Wesley that whenever he meets someone whose initials he would carve in that elm tree , it should not interfere with his studies . Picard is then summoned to sickbay by Beverly . Beverly explains to the captain that Data was complaining about a servo malfunction , and although her scans came up negative , he collapsed . La Forge determines that his higher signals are intact , but none of them are entering the rest of his body through his positronic brain , leaving him in an almost coma tose state . Picard wants to be kept up - to - date on the situation . In his quarters , Riker and La Forge end up with a dead end with no evidence to support a shutdown . The personal , diagnostic , and duty log s all show normal and a standard security sweep shows nothing out of the ordinary . Riker assures the troubled La Forge that Dr . Crusher has everything taken care of , and suggests that La Forge takes a break to unwind . La Forge agrees , which opens the opportunity for Riker to introduce him to the game . Still working on the sensors , Lefler shares with Wesley her view of conduit configuration quoting her personal Law # 36 : " " You have to go with what works " " . The laws are her personal rules : whenever she learns something new , she makes a law so as not to forget it . To date , she has 102 laws . She credits Wesley ' s reputation for being good . Wesley realizes that Lefler knows more about him than he realizes . She admits she ' s heard about him from a few friends at the Academy . She also wants to know about the revenge prank he played on Adam Martoni . Wesley mentions there is another side to the story , and then Lefler inquires about his birthmark . Wesley complains he is at a disadvantage , as he hardly knows Lefler . While he needs to work on the sensor relays , he offers a chance to even the score . He invites her to meet him for coffee , but she counters with a dinner proposal , which he accepts . Beverly clears a challenging level of the game in her quarters , but is interrupted by Wesley , who inquires about it . Embarrassed , she concedes that the game was meant for him , but she couldn ' t resist trying it out . When offered a chance to try it , Wesley passes and instead asks about Data ' s condition . She says La Forge has everything under control , and stops Wesley from going to help out , reminding him he ' s on vacation . Running late for his date with Lefler , Wesley promises his mother he will have time to spend with her while he ' s on board . She then becomes adamant for her son to try one round of the game , but he insists he needs to get ready for his date . She tells Wesley to have a good time and sets the game down on a table . Lefler begins to talk about her life in Starfleet ; her childhood involved frequent moving , as her parents were highly in demand as plasma specialists . As a child , she enjoyed playing with a tricorder , as Wesley did with a warp coil . She concedes her parents didn ' t have much time to spend with her , even when she needed them , which prompted her to make her first law : " You can only count on yourself " . They begin to discuss the game . Lefler says everyone in engineering are going crazy over it . They glance over at crewman at another table playing the game in a trance - like state . Lefler dismisses it as a fad , but Wesley wants to find out more before playing it . They team up to look into it , and as they leave Ten Forward , another crewman in a command red uniform begins playing . The two begin to study the game , and what it does to the brain . The highest concentration of activity is in the pleasure center of the brain , a key component in the game : it ' s addictive . Another unusual reading comes from the prefrontal cortex , which handles reasoning . Wesley concludes he needs to inform the captain about this discovery . Wesley explains to Picard what he and Lefler discovered , having concluded that the game is psychotropically addictive . Picard is even further concerned when he learns the game affects the brain ' s reasoning center . Picard says that he ' ll start an investigation immediately , and thanks Wesley for bringing it to his attention , mentioning how good it is to have him back . As soon as Wesley leaves , he turns around , picks up the game he had hidden when Wesley arrived , and resumes playing . Act Four . By now , the game has spread through most of the ship . Wesley meets Lefler in Ten Forward and the two discuss how they ' re constantly being approached by people who are almost desperate to get them to try the game , as Chief O ' Brien had a moment ago . Wesley tells Lefler that he ' s told the captain , however a crewmember interrupts asking them why they ' re not trying the game and is about to force hers onto Lefler ' s head before the two leave , but not before deducing that Data would be immune to the game and how convenient it was that he suffered a mysterious " malfunction " just after it arrived . Wesley and Lefler look over Data ' s systems , and determine that someone has severed a connection between his positronic brain and the rest of his body . Wesley is disturbed , and tells Lefler that only two people on board " Enterprise " have the training and experience to disable Data in this way : La Forge and his mother . They deduce that he has been deactivated to be kept out of the way so that the game could be spread throughout the rest of the susceptible crew . The " Enterprise " arrives at some designated coordinates , and Picard sends the senior staff to see to it that the few unaffected crewmembers left are introduced to the game . Worf and Beverly go to see to it that Wesley plays the game , only to find that he and Lefler have already seemingly succumbed to it . Satisfied , they leave , only for Wesley and Lefler to return to normal , having replicated dummy devices to fool the rest of the crew . They agree that no one can be trusted now , however Robin has to leave to report for duty , knowing that her absence could arouse suspicion . Wesley asks her to access the codes for the security tracking system as he has a plan , and she tells him to watch his back . Now believing the entire crew has played the game , Captain Picard summons all the senior offices to the bridge . Worf tells Picard that an alien ship is approaching and is hailing the " Enterprise " . Picard asks Worf to put the message on the video screen . It is Etana Jol , the woman from Risa who originally gave the game to Riker during his shore leave . She is in fact a Ktarian commander , and she now asks Captain Picard for a report . Picard answers " " The " Enterprise " has been secured . We await further instructions " " . Act Five . Etana is delighted with Picard ' s response and it is now apparent that her encounter with Riker back on Risa was designed to be more than just a romantic interlude , but was part of her plan to addict Riker to the game to the point that he would bring it back to the ship . Over time the game ' s addictive and mind control properties would allow Etana to gain control of the " Enterprise " and its crew . The true intention of the game is also clear now : it ' s part of a Ktarian " expansion project " . She now orders various members of the crew to visit nearby Federation outposts and installations to distribute the devices there , and also to make sure that all other ship s in the sector get the game . In a reference to Wesley , Picard also informs Etana that they may be able to get the devices to Starfleet Academy . Etana closes the transmission by saying the crew will all be rewarded when the " expansion " is completed . Wesley meets up with Lefler in engineering , where he tells her he ' s prepared a site - to - site transporter program in case of an emergency and asks how she ' s been doing with the security system . However , he then notices that she ' s staring at him blankly . He realizes something is wrong as Lefler reveals she ' s been exposed to the game and tells Wesley it ' s his turn . Riker and Worf have been hiding in order to perform an ambush . Wesley manages to escape from engineering and makes a run for it with Riker and Worf in pursuit . When further progress is blocked by a force field , he activates the transport program . He is beamed to transporter room 3 , on deck six . In order to prevent the crew from tracking his whereabouts , Wesley ditches his combadge and deactivates it as he flees the room . After working through some of Wesley ' s sabotage , the crew tracks him to deck six and traps him with force fields . Wesley takes out a type - 1 phaser and sets it to randomly fire on the force field . This activity is detected , tricking the crew into thinking he was trying to cut through it and buying him time to get away . He escapes into the Jefferies tube s , but they scan for his body heat in that quarter of the saucer section . Knowing where he ' s going , Worf and Riker corner Wesley in a Jefferies tubes junction and capture him . Even though he grabs onto a grate to anchor himself , they eventually manage to drag him to the bridge , struggling the entire way . Held down into the captain ' s chair , he is forced to use the game device , his head held still and at Picard ' s encouraging , his eye s forced open by Riker and Worf . Wesley still fights them while his mother encourages him to just relax and let the game play itself . In fact , the game does play itself : Wesley refuses to throw the disks into the funnels , but the funnels stretch toward the disks and pull the disks into themselves , triggering the same effects that would have been triggered if Wesley had voluntarily thrown the disks into the funnels . It would seem that he is now addicted – and Ktarian control of the " Enterprise " is now complete . At that moment , the lights on the bridge go out , plunging the room into darkness . Data appears from the turbolift and , using a palm beacon , flashes an optical burst pattern into everyone ' s eyes to disrupt the mind - controlling effects of the game . He reports that he did the same to the rest of the ship , setting all lights and displays to flash as his palm beacon did . When Riker asks how Data is standing after being shut off , Wesley explains that he repaired Data . After learning the situation , Data had set to work on finding a way to dispel the mind - control ( eventually developing the coded burst pattern ) , while Wesley distracted the crew as long as he could with his wild goose chase . Worf locks onto Etana ' s ship with a tractor beam . She angrily hails " Enterprise " , demanding an explanation . When Picard says that her plot has failed , she threatens to destroy the " Enterprise " , but Worf scans her ship and pointedly reports that with her ship ' s limited defenses , she is not a threat at all . After making it clear to Etana that she cannot escape , Riker closes the channel on a speechless Etana . Meanwhile , Wesley prepares to leave the " Enterprise " . His vacation is over – back to the Academy and his studies . Riker informs Wesley that his ship is waiting and he should report to the transporter room . Wesley acknowledges that he ' ll be there shortly . But first he and Lefler say their goodbyes to each other , they kiss , and she gives Wesley a going - away gift – a copy of her 102 laws written down . Wesley decides to add " Law 103 . . . A couple of light years can ' t keep good friends apart " . She nods her approval and Wesley is transported to the that will return him to Starfleet Academy . Memorable quotes . " " You see the disk and the cone ? " " " " Yeah . " " " " Concentrate . Make the disk go into the cone . " " " " How do I do that ? " " " " Just let go . " " " " Would you like me to leave the two of you alone ? " " " " I never met a chocolate I didn ' t like . " " " " Chief O ' Brien to bridge . " " " " Bridge here . " " " " Wesley Crusher has arrived and wants to know if he can stop by the observation lounge to say " Hi . " " " " " I suppose that is acceptable . " " " " Wesley . . . Tarvokian pound cake . I made it myself . " " " " Chocolate is a serious thing . " " " " No , thanks . I don ' t like fudge . " " " " Quomodo tua Latinitas est ? " " ( Translation : " " How ' s your Latin ? " " ) " " Praestat quad prius . " " ( Translation : " " It ' s better than before . " " ) " " Oppido bonum . " ( Translation : " " Very good . " " ) " Your Latin has improved . " " " " Report . " " " " Welcome , Etana . The " Enterprise " has been secured . We await your further instructions . " " " " Your neutrinos are drifting . " " " " It ' s your turn . Play the game , Wesley . " " " " Each wishes to be the first to use the thermal imaging array . " " " " Well , tell ' em to flip a coin . We ' ve got to work together on this mission otherwise we ' re never gonna get it done . " " " " A coin . Very good . I will replicate one immediately . " " Links and references . References . A . F . ; addiction ; anthropology ; antimatter regulator ; bioactive silicon ; birthmark ; Boothby ; brain ; cadet ; cherry ; chili sauce ; chocolate ; chocolate chip s ; chocolate fudge ; chocolate ice cream ; Cleon system ; ; coffee ; coin ; coma ; cortex processor ; Creative Writing ; dance ; " " ; elm ; ; engineering laboratory ; exobiology ; fad ; Federation ; frontal lobe ; gamma ray scanner ; grass ; " horga ' hn " ; ; ice cream ; initials ; internal sensor s ; Jefferies tube ; Ktarian s ; Ktarian starship ; Ktarian game ; lateral sensor ; Latin ; Lefler ' s Laws ; ; ; " " ; mud ; neurological behavior program ; neuroreceptor ; neutrino ; Novakovich ; ; ; Oceanus IV ; Organic Chemistry ; palm beacon ; Phoenix Cluster ; physics lab ; planetary evolution team ; plasma specialist ; positronic brain ; positronic link ; power cell ; practical joke ; prefrontal cortex ; psychotropic drug ; reticular formation ; Risa ; Sadie Hawkins Dance ; security alert ; sensor array ; septal area ; serotonin ; servo ; shuttle ; site - to - site transport ; sonic shower ; specialist ; Spot ; Starbase 67 ; Starbase 82 ; Starfleet Academy ; stellar cartography ; stellar physics ; stellar physicist ; synapse ; tactical analysis ; Tarvokian pound cake ; tea ; thermal imaging array ; three - dimensional chess ; tricorder ; turbolift ; warp coil ;