Galactic Encounters is a turn-based, command-driven strategy game in the mold of Star Trek, although it dispenses with the Klingons and Romulans in favor of the less-infringing "Kaons" and "Omegans", respectively. The player is in command of the Illiad, a star cruiser in the fleet of the Consortium of Planets, charged with protecting the galaxy (a 8x8 grid of 10x10 sectors) from the aforementioned nefarious threats. To win, all Kaon ships must be eliminated within the allotted time.

As in most Trek games, the ship has various functions - shields, phasers, photon torpedos, ion engines, hyperdrive - which consume energy. Energy (and ammunition) may be restocked at one of the starbases scattered throughout the region. This variant adds a few twists: starbases may be destroyed by enemies, vital systems may be damaged in battle (requiring rest for repairs), energy-replenishing dilithium crystals can be mined on planets (risking the crew). Finally, the Illiad is equipped with a doomsday weapon, the Z-Ray, which deals stupefying amounts of damage and can utterly destroy every enemy in the sector. The catch? - it is highly unstable, and has better odds of destroying the player's ship along with everybody else.