What The Heck Is Dom-Jot? A Closer Look At A Star Trek Topic You Probably Had To Google
In "Those Old Scientists," the latest episode of "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds," a magical time portal is discovered in the late 24th century by the characters from "Star Trek: Lower Decks." Ensigns Boimler (Jack Quaid) and Mariner (Tawney Newsome) accidentally activate the portal and are thrown back in time 120 years to where Captain Pike (Anson Mount) and his crew discover them. For the sake of retaining timeline purity, everyone agrees that Boimler and Mariner need to be sent back to the future. The issue is that no one knows how to activate the portal in the 23rd century, as it requires a rare element that is near-impossible to manufacture, and it is emblazoned with symbols that even the talented Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding) cannot translate.
Mariner seeks to help Uhura by offering a break and a drink to cool off her brain. They retire to the mess hall where they drink mysterious green cocktails with Lieutenant Ortegas (Melissa Navia). Uhura, ever the overachiever, continues to study language under the bar while Mariner tries really hard not to reveal anything about the future. When Ortegas looks at the symbols Uhura is working on, she notes that the glyphs once appeared on a dom-jot set that a shady merchant once tried to sell her. Uhura doesn't know what dom-jot is. Mariner notes that it's a billiards game that Nausicaans love to play but are really terrible at. Ortegas notes that the dom-jot set she was offered was "ancient old." The description gives Uhura her "eureka" moment. The glyphs are Nausicaan in origin!
Well done. Uhura's moment of relaxation provided the answer she sought.
But, uh, what the heck is dom-jot? Sit back, my non-Trekkies, and I will tell you.
Play dom-jot, human?
Like many games in "Star Trek," the rules of dom-jot are not terribly specific. First seen in the "Star Trek: The Next Generation" episode "Tapestry" (February 15, 1993), dom-jot was, as Mariner said, a billiards-like game played with transparent balls, light-up bumpers, and other more oblique obstacles. The billiard cues were spring-loaded, and players had to aim for the various bumpers before knocking the ball into a hole. The tables were large and P-shaped. In "Tapestry," a dom-jot table is located in the out-of-the-way bar frequented by Starfleet cadets on their way out of the Academy. It's implied that it's an unsavory game, and people often bet on the outcome (a surreal activity, given Trek's post-capitalist leanings, but whatever).
A young Picard (Patrick Stewart) recalls playing the game quite a bit in his Academy days, and a notable incident where he and his friend Corey (Ned Vaughn) were challenged by a group of Nausicaans to a tourney. Nausicanns are nine-foot monsters with a loose grasp on English and a hot streak a light year wide. They sport giant boots and heavy metal haircuts and often carry 10-inch-long daggers. In "Tapestry," Corey and Picard lose a dom-jot match to the Nausicaans, leaving Corey convinced that they cheated. When Corey tries to cheat in return, the Nausicaans confront him. Picard steps in, starts a bar brawl and is stabbed in the back, severely damaging his heart. Picard has had an artificial heart ever since.
"Tapestry" was only one of two times when dom-jot was depicted on camera. No, the semi-submerged, watery billiards game seen in "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier" is not the same game. According to fan websites, that game was simply called water pool. Not to be confused with, uh, a water pool.
Other dom-jots
Naturally, because "Star Trek: Lower Decks" likes to dig up whatever references they can, it, too, featured a scene with a dom-jot table. In the episode "We'll Always Have Tom Paris," Mariner and Ensign Tendi (Noel Wells) are on a quest to acquire a Caitian libido post at the Bonestall Recreational Facility. Naturally, Mariner is a dom-jot shark and skunks to challenging Nausicaans. Thanks to "Tapestry," Nausicaans and dom-jot are now inextricably linked in "Star Trek" canon. Thanks to "Those Old Scientists," it's now been established that Nausicaans have been playing the game for centuries. Mariner and Tendi also get into a bar brawl, although this time, quite luckily, no one is stabbed in the back.
Apart from these appearances, dom-jot is only mentioned in dialogue. On "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine," it's established that Jake Sisko (Cirroc Lofton) and Nog (Aron Eisenberg) play a lot, and that Jake has become quite good at it. Several other characters on the show also claim to enjoy a round of dom-jot, including Dr. Bashir (Alexander Siddig) and Leeta (Chase Masterson).
And, also naturally, authors of expanded-universe "Star Trek" novels brought it up as often as they could. In William Leisner's 2013 novel "The Shocks of Adversity," the game's origin was finally laid out. Evidently, dom-jot was invented by a species called the Nalainger and was played by Captain Kirk and his crew during the time of the original series. This may very well be true, as it doesn't directly contradict the dialogue from "Those Old Scientists." It could still be true that dom-jot is centuries old, and that Nausicaans have been playing it for just as long.