https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Zhamaq Trying to make this Romulan game more real. Along the lines of how Klingon is a language now just from it's use and for it's use. This game seems easy enough to make into a real game. The frame work is already outlined at memory alpha. Is this game somewhere on the net, maybe already? Or should we do that?? Looks fun! And possible!
That other Star franchise is a lot better at outlining rules for their fictional games--we have 2 sets of sabacc rules, regular and Corellian Spike, and 3 sets of dejarik rules, the most recent being sold at Disneyland/Disney World's Galaxy's Edge. The only Trek game that has rules is tridimensional chess, and those were made by fan Andrew Bartmess and even he had to go through a bunch of legal hoops regarding collectible 3d chess set manufacturers selling his rules without permission.
And there is a Klin Zha game app for Android in the Google Play. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.fineGameArts.KlinZha&hl=gsw&gl=US I'd love if someone did this for Zhamaq too (and Kal-Toh).
Info dump! This is what the prop master had to say on the Ready Room about the game: Here are Michael Chabon's notes on the game: And here is a blog post categorizing the 32 cards themselves. Most relevant portion below: Some completely amateur opinions on this: Hands should be drafted rather than drawn randomly. The sending and reading of signals during a draft feels very Romulan to me. The mind games will start before you even have your first hand. With regards to what Chabon says about card play controlling/determining the possibilities on the play mat I can see a way for cards to be used for either their effect (ie the aforementioned Instant Death card) or for movement using the broken edges from the blog post. More powerful cards should be the ones with 3 open edges (free movement) so that opportunity cost is high for these cards. The fact that half the triangles on the board are 'upside down' does complicate this idea, though. As for incorporating bidding into the game.. I'm not sure. Maybe something somewhat like El Grande where you bid the number and type of troops you will add to the board and the player with the least powerful bid is the one who goes first? And trick taking, well, I've played euchre once and barely remember how to play so I've got no ideas. And, of course, this rule from Small World must be incorporated: