Star Trek: Lower Decks Officially Continues In Buffer Time

Published Sep 4, 2026, 8:00 AM EDT James is a gaming writer from London who has spent thousands of hours exploring titles from every genre. Though he has a particular affinity for multiplayer titles like World of Warcraft, Destiny 2 and League of Legends, he has also put thousands of hours into single-player experiences, from deep RPGs to epic PC strategies. When he's not playing or writing, he can usually be found supporting his beloved Brentford FC. Sign in to your ScreenRant account One of the most prevalent and ongoing debates among Star Trek fans is just which adaptation is actually the best to watch in 2026. While there are plenty of equally valid opinions, there is one show that stands out as the most markedly different from anything else that we've had to date. Star Trek Lower Decks is an animated series that entirely shifted the tone of the franchise as a whole and ran 44 seasons before eventually drawing to a close in what many consider a very successful run. Now the series is about to make its long-awaited return and it's coming in a medium that you would almost certainly not have expected. Modiphius Entertainment Over on the Modiphius website, you should be able to find the product listing for Star Trek: Lower Decks - Buffer Time: The Card Game. The game obviously has the benefit of fitting in an already established setting, and the mechanics seek to simulate life for the crew aboard the USS Cerritos. In letting fans know what they can expect from the game, the manufacturer shared a brief description: "'Explore strange new worlds,' they said… but it’s hard to appreciate the wonders of the Galaxy when you’re stuck lubing the turbolifts. But hey, it’s not like Captain Freeman knows how long any of these assignments really take… "In this push-your-luck card game, 2–6 players work together to complete their assignments while also making time for some well-earned rest and relaxation. Can you squeeze enough fun into your duty rotation before the bridge crew figures out what’s going on?" Priced at a very reasonable £16.00/$22.09, the set comes with everything you need to easily start playing the game for the first time. The full list of contents included in this version is as follows: Rules sheet 18 Assignment cards 26 Side Project cards 28 Shift cards 20 Alpha Shift Ability cards 6 Reference cards It also won't require too much of a time commitment from you and your friends, with the developer putting the average playtime at around 40 mins per run. It's also available right now, though stock is in and out so you might have to be patient until they get more in. Image credit: Paramount+ As for the show itself, Star Trek: Lower Decks' really solid run drew to a close with the fifth season, but there are still some hopes that we might get a spin-off or movie adaptation at some point. The story also continues via the IDW Publishing comic book run in the meantime, so if you're really missing it, that's a great port of call. Release Date 2020 - 2024-00-00 Network Paramount Writers Gene Roddenberry The animated comedy series Star Trek: Lower Decks follows the support crew on one of Starfleet’s least significant ships, the U.S.S. Cerritos, in 2380. Ensigns Mariner (Tawny Newsome), Boimler (Jack Quaid), Rutherford (Eugene Cordero), and Tendi (Noël Wells) have to keep up with their duties and their social lives often. At the same time, the ship is being rocked by a multitude of sci-fi anomalies.