Fizzbin

From Memory Alpha, the free Star Trek reference.

Fizzbin was a card game said to originate from Beta Antares IV. It was used by Captain Kirk to free himself and his First Officer, Spock, from captivity at the hands of a group of Iotians who had mimicked early 20th century Earth-style gangsters.

While Kirk was explaining the extremely convoluted rules of the game to his captors he used a supposedly very rare 'hand' of Fizzbin, the 'kronk', as a distraction to knock the captors unconscious. McCoy and Spock then escaped back to the USS Enterprise. (TOS: "A Piece of the Action")

In 2373, Quark offered to teach the game to Odo. (DS9: "The Ascent")

In the Nintendo game "Star Trek: 25th Anniversary" you must win back McCoy's communicator by playing a game of Fizzbin. The hand you need to win is called a supernova.

[edit] Approximate Rules

The rules for fizzbin were intended to be complex, so that Kirk could lull his audience into lowering their defenses long enough to be overwhelmed.

• The game can be played with a standard Earth deck of cards, despite the slightly differing deck on Beta Antares IV.
• Each player gets six cards, except for the player on the dealer's right, who gets seven.
• The second card is turned up, except on Tuesdays.
• Two jacks are a "half-fizzbin".
• If you have a half-fizzbin:
  • a third jack is a "shralk" and results in disqualification;
  • one wants a king and a deuce, except at night, when one wants a queen and a four;
  • if a king had been dealt, the player would get another card, except when it is dark, in which case he'd have to give it back.
• The top hand is a "royal fizzbin", but the odds of getting one are said to be "astronomical".

The complete transcript of the scene from which these rules are derived places the rules in better context.

[edit] Background

It is never explained how a game seemingly invented on the spot by Captain Kirk could have spread to other parts of the galaxy by the next century. Referring to Quark's awareness of the game, Ronald D. Moore commented, perhaps tongue-in-cheek: "Kirk evidently marketed this game after he brought the original Enterprise home." [1] It is also possible that someone (possibly the Ferengi) learned about the game through contact with the Iotians. A further possibility is that Fizzbin became another oft-told, legendary tactic used by Kirk (such as his Corbomite tactic), and Quark, having heard about it from his Starfleet customers, was simply trying to use it for his own personal gain.