At the start of “The Least Dangerous Game,” the show’s four protagonists have gathered to play an elaborate, Klingon-themed board game called “Bat’leths & bIHnuchs.” A bat’leth is the long, curved, multi-handled Klingon swords seen periodically throughout “Trek.” “BIHnuch” is the Klingon word for coward. Cowardice, even casual Trekkies might now, is anathema to the Klingon ethos; death in battle is preferable to a long, peaceful life. 

The four main “Lower Decks” character are, to get into the spirit of the game, dressed in Klingon accoutrements and drink from Klingon flagons. Their game is accompanied by a tabletop video screen of the Klingon Chancellor Martok (J.G. Herztler) who dictates the rules of the game and berates players when they fail. Trekkies who were collecting merch in 1993 will instantly recognize “Bat’leths & bIHnuchs” as a reference to the real-world “Star Trek: The Next Generation Interactive VCR Board Game — A Klingon Challenge” put out my Milton Bradley. The premise of the game put players — each of them ensigns — on a near-abandoned Enterprise-D when a Klingon bad guy named Kavok invaded and took over the ship. 

Notably, the game came with a 60-miunte VHS cassette that was meant to be played alongside the board game. The tape would occasionally stop and Kavok would instruct players to respond (the game came with adhesive comm badges you could stick to your shirt), and then draw from a particular deck of cards. Confusingly, Kavok was played by actor Robert O’Reilly, who was already better known as the Klingon character Gowron on “Next Generation.”

To acknowledge that historical confusion, Boimler (Jack Quaid) mentions his desire to get the Gowron Expansion.