 | Warning! |
This article contains information regarding Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, and thus may contain spoilers. |
Calica was a team sport played in the United Federation of Planets by the 32nd century.
Calica was also played at Starfleet Academy and the War College to prepare cadets for real-world combat. In 3195, a promotional sign for this sport was displayed in the Sato Atrium aboard the USS Athena when cadets were selecting their electives for the fall and spring semesters. It advertised that there were open spots in the elite league.
Junior leagues were founded around the sport, such as the Inter-Base Youth League, in which planetary or Starfleet bases teams like the Khionian All-Planet Under-18 Calica Team competed. The two rival teams at Starfleet Academy were the War College's Mugato and the Academy's Laplings. (SA: "Kids These Days", "Vitus Reflux")
Gameplay
Calica was a combat-based sport comparable to laser tag, played between two teams. A team was comprised of ten members: eight regular players, an alternate, and a mascot. Each player carried a Calica game phaser, which was locked to transport function: any player hit would be beamed into the casualty box and removed from play for the duration of that round.
The objective was to advance across the playing field and shoot the opposing team's target, which materialized above their mascot's head when any player approached to within five-feet of the target zone, and move along with the mascot's head. The mascot, who by tradition wore a costume, served as the last line of defense by repositing themselves and thus the target, but were restricted to a small target zone. If the mascot left the target zone, they became open to attack by players. Hitting the target scored a point and ended the round, and the first team to score a predetermined number of points won. Each round was set to maximum of five minutes, and a maximum of eight fouls were allowed for the overall game. A timeout of one minute can be called.
Physically striking an opposing player was a foul and resulted in the offending player being sent to the casualty box for the round. However, players could "modify" the playing field with their phaser for their advantage, as well as using their own physical ability (eg. making themselves permeable to phaser shots) for advantage. All gameplay aspect was controlled by the Calica computer/program, allowing any location to be modified into a Calica field and its designated zones. (SA: "Vitus Reflux")