Kobayashi Maru

The Kobayashi Maru is a training exercise in the Star Trek franchise designed to test the character of Starfleet Academy cadets by placing them in a no-win scenario. The Kobayashi Maru test was first depicted in the 1982 film Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, and it has since been referred to and depicted in numerous other Star Trek media.

The nominal goal of the exercise is to rescue the civilian fuel ship Kobayashi Maru, which is damaged and stranded in neutral territory between the Federation and the Klingon Empire. The cadet being evaluated must decide whether to attempt to rescue the Kobayashi Maru—endangering their ship and crew—or leave the Kobayashi Maru to certain destruction. If the cadet chooses to attempt a rescue, an insurmountable enemy force attacks their vessel. By reprogramming the test, James T. Kirk became the only cadet to overcome the Kobayashi Maru simulation.

The phrase "Kobayashi Maru" has entered the popular lexicon as a reference to a no-win scenario. The term is also sometimes used to invoke Kirk's decision to "change the conditions of the test."