Before the game play begins, Scotty says "You are the Captain of the Starship Enterprise." followed by the Star Trek theme and then Mr. Spock saying "Welcome aboard, Captain.". Afterwards when the game play begins, you are plunged into space to battle the fierce Klingons. Your job is to defend the Starbases from Klingon attacks, and successfully pilot the U.S.S. Enterprise through more and more difficult and hostile sectors of the galaxy.

The screen is divided into three parts with the upper left-hand portion containing a supplies readout, so at a glance you can see how many shields, photon torpedoes and the amount of warp power you have left. The upper right-hand board is the main scanner screen that provides a bird's eye view of the Enterprise, enemy positions and the location of the Starbases. Below is the Forward Targeting Scanner, which shows off a striking vector graphic of the aliens that you battle or the Starbases that you dock with from a first person perspective.

There are five controls which need to be mastered, including a Tempest-like rotary knob for directing the course of the ship, a Phasers button which shoots limited range phasers, an Impulse button for forward motion at slow speed, a Photon Torpedo button that fires torpedoes capable of wiping out large portions of the galaxy and a Warp button that allows forward motion at super speed. The Photon Torpedo and Warp buttons are placed at an awkward position which may take some time to get used to. The game play involves a simulation of the powers and perils of piloting the Enterprise against The Klingon Empire.

You have only one ship to command. If it is destroyed, the game is over. At the beginning of the game, you are given a certain number of shields and photons and during the game play, you can gain additional shields, photons, and warp power by docking with a Starbase. When your ship is hit, you lose a shield. If you run out of shields, the next hits will take out your photon torpedos, and next your warp power, and finally your ship, thus completing the simulation.

There are six different enemies, including red, purple, and white Klingon ships, blue anti-matter saucers and the tricky yellow Nomad during special rounds, which plants dangerous space mines.