Another mix of a good idea with bad execution.
The ‘throw everyone into a strange game’ idea is reasonably (although not completely) novel, and could work quite well if there was more of the sort of thing you see in the movie *Cube*. But most of the individual game scenes come across as quite goofy (particularly the one with the singing girl). And then there’s the Wadi leader, whose role seems mainly to consist of periodically overacting badly and saying ‘move along home’ (in case you missed the episode title).
With the overall execution failing, there are still some nice bits. Odo’s quick investigation is nice, and I liked Kira’s reaction to the situation. Even Quark’s breakdown, as overplayed as it is, was a nice addition to the character. And there was some development of the Jake/Sisko relationship that has otherwise been pretty much untouched so far. But those few grace notes don’t save what is a pretty bad episode.
(Although I would disagree with those who think it’s one of the worst DS9 episodes – it’s not *that* bad).
261 down, 476 to go.